A man in his 50s is currently being detained at a station in Co. Kildare.
Meanwhile, gardaí are searching open ground at a location in Co.Wicklow near the Wicklow/ Kildare border.
It is expected to be excavated, with technical and forensic examinations due over the coming days.
Gardaí also searched two private homes this morning.
Larry Murphy was considered as a person of interest in the case by Operation Trace, set up by gardaí to investigate the disappearance of six women in what became known as Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle.
JoJo Dullard, Annie McCarrick and Deirdre Jacob vanished from an area on the East coast of Ireland between 1993 and 1998, along with Ciara Breen, Fiona Sinnott and Fiona Pender.
Clockwise from top left: Annie McCarrick, JoJo Dullard, Fiona Pender, Deirdre Jacob, Fiona Sinnott and Ciara Breen
Larry Murphy was a suspect in the murder of Deirdre Jacob, however, in 2022, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed no charges be brought against him.
Deirdre Jacob (18) was last seen metres from the front gate of her home in Newbridge, Co Kildare on Tuesday, July 28, 1998.
In 2018, her disappearance was upgraded to murder with gardaí saying that they had received vital new “credible and corroborated” information that led to Larry Murphy becoming the chief suspect in the murder of the 18-year-old.
Larry Murphy
Two years later in February 2020, gardaí prepared all their evidence in the case and sent a file linking Murphy to the murder of Deirdre Jacob to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Investigators believe Ciara Breen, Fiona Sinnott, and Fiona Pender were all murdered by someone known to them.
Last year Annie McCarrick’s disappearance was upgraded to a murder investigation.
Today marks the first time someone has been arrested in connection with JoJo’s death after her missing persons case was upgraded to a murder investigation in 2020.
At a press conference this morning, a garda spokesperson said: “An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be, to contact Naas Garda Station on 045 884 300 or any garda station, or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”
Missing JoJo Dullard. Photo: Crimestoppers Trust/PA Wire.
On Saturday, gardaí renewed their appeal for information on the anniversary of her disappearance.
Josephine ‘JoJo’ Dullard went missing on November 9, 1995, after travelling to Dublin where she spent the evening in Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street.
She missed the last bus home to Kilkenny that evening and instead boarded a bus to Naas, Co Kildare.
She had intended to hitchhike the rest of the way home to Callan, in Co Kilkenny. She hitched a lift from Naas to the slip road on the M9 motorway at Kilcullen, Co Kildare. At approximately 11.15pm, she hitched another lift to Moone, Co Kildare. This is where she was last heard from.
At a phone box she contacted her friend Mary Cullinan at 11.37pm, and told her that a car had stopped to offer her a lift.
