ALMOST EXACTLY two years ago, softly spoken Donegal native James Joyce asked a neighbour to look after his faithful dog for a couple of days. He was never seen again.

Residing at Lymington Road, just opposite the Garda Station, the 72 year-old, who would now be 74, was last seen in Enniscorthy on June 5 of 2015, and now seems to have fallen from the face of the earth. Gardaí are puzzled by Mr Joyce’s disappearance and have said that they have “absolutely no leads” and that he appears to have “completely vanished”.

A quietly spoken man, James was known locally as “Donegal Jim”. He is believed to have moved to Enniscorthy from his native Donegal in 2008 and was a familiar face in local shops and was also known to enjoy a pint or two in pubs up around the Duffry. At the time of his disappearance, his partner had been going through some health difficulties, having suffered a stroke, and was being cared for at a nursing home in Cork.

While gardaí issued numerous public appeals requesting information on Mr Joyce’s whereabouts, none has been forthcoming and two years since he was last seen, gardaí are none the wiser as to what has happened to him.

“It’s a strange one,” a garda spokesman said. “He’s never been heard of since. You would hope that someone would have seen him somewhere, but we’ve had no reports at all. It’s like he’s vanished from the face of the earth.”

Many would fear that after two years without a sighting, the prognosis is not looking good. However, gardaí are keen to stress that Mr Joyce may still be alive and well. They believe that if the 74 year old was in fact dead, his remains surely would have been recovered by now.

“This is very much still an ongoing investigation,” the garda spokesman said. “Gardaí here at the station are still making enquiries from time to time and we are still asking members of the public who may have come across Mr Joyce to come forward to us here at Enniscorthy Garda Station.”

Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of James Joyce is asked to contact Enniscorthy Garda Station on 053-9242580.

James Joyce who was last seen in Enniscorthy on June 5 of 2015.