Gardaí are making a fresh appeal into the 1998 disappearance of Deirdre Jacob.

It comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of her disappearance on Saturday.

Deirdre was a trainee teacher from Newbridge, and had returned home from London for the summer.

The then 18-year-old went missing shortly after 3.00pm on the afternoon of July 28th, 1998.

She had been visiting her grandmother a short distance from her home.

She was last seen walking along the Barretstown Road in Roseberry - from the Newbridge direction.

On that day, Deirdre was carrying a black canvas bag with the yellow Caterpillar logo (CAT) on it.

This bag has never been found.

A replica of bag Deirdre was carrying when she went missing | Image: An Garda Síochana

When she went missing, she was wearing a navy v-neck t-shirt with white trim on the collar and sleeves, navy or black straight jeans and blue Nike runners.

Her father Michael told KFM it comes flooding back all the time.

"We have suffered the long trek of 20 years - searching and searching and searching - and then on the other hand, it has flown by and you wonder where all those years have gone".

"There are so many markers: even when we're just driving out the gate - wherever we might be going, or returning - it all flashes back.

"At our gate was the last positive sighting of Deirdre, so you're just wondering trying to picture 'what happened there' or was it somewhere else or wherever.

"So it keeps flashing back all the time."

Deirdre Jacob before she went missing (left) and how she may look today (right) | Image: An Garda Síochana

He said no clear further information has been uncovered as to what happened.

"The searches started at 10 o'clock on that night and continued through the night - local people around - and then the gardaí were on the case the following morning.

"A huge, huge landscape search took place around, and that continued on for almost a month - every field, every hedge, every ditch was probed and checked.

"No traces whatsoever were found."

"We feel that maybe the fact that 20 years have passed that it would convince or stir someone... that have held on to some nugget of information or maybe they think it's not very significant - but that may not be the case.

"It's those little pieces that might make the difference - they're like the little jigsaws that put it all together".

Anyone with information can contact Naas garda station on 045-884-300, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800-666-11 or any garda station.