Griffin's father had been serving as the chairman of Galway County Council when he died in 1914; he had also been associated with the Irish National Land League, along with the political movement of its founder, Charles Stewart Parnell, and was imprisoned for his activities in the 1880s.

[12] According to IRA veteran Jack Feehan, Barna schoolmaster and police informant Patrick Joyce was widely believed to have given up Father Griffin's name to British security forces.

[13] The leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, Joseph Devlin, raised the issue of Griffin's disappearance in the British House of Commons, claiming "it is clear that it was the officers of the Crown who have kidnapped this clergyman.

"[14] In response, the Chief Secretary for Ireland Sir Hamar Greenwood described Griffin to the House of Commons as "an extreme Sinn Feiner"[15] who allegedly "told his congregation that some among them were as bad as the "Black and Tans.

"[15] However, Greenwood professed ignorance as to the involvement of the Auxiliary Division in Griffin's disappearance, stating, "I do not believe for a moment that this priest has been kidnapped by any of the forces of the Crown.

"[14] Another Irish Member of Parliament, Jeremiah McVeagh, openly accused Greenwood of complicity, claiming "[i]t was your own men, your minions, who committed the murder.