The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, is to appeal for information about people murdered and buried secretly by Irish paramilitary groups during the Troubles.

Archbishop Brady's appeal is in response to a request from the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains, reports Sky News.

It is hoped that people with information on the bodies of victims, known as "the disappeared", will come forward using the confidential phone line and Post Office box number set up by the commission, with the hope of eventually finding the bodies and returning them to their families for burial.

There are thought to be nine remaining "disappeared" from the Troubles, including British Army Captain Robert Nairac, who is believed to have been killed after going undercover in south Armagh in 1977, reports Sky News.

Most are thought to have been killed by the IRA, though in some cases no group has claimed responsibility for their deaths.

Archbishop Brady has described the issue as "unfinished business from the Troubles" and says his appeal is not a political but a pastoral matter.

Churches will detail the appeal on their noticeboards and in parish bulletins in Armagh this weekend and it is expected that other Catholic dioceses in Ireland will repeat the appeal later this month.