"Kevin Myers: The Miami Showband massacre was one of the most depraved massacres of the Troubles". Both men had pleaded for their lives before they were shot; one had cried out, "Please don't shoot me don't kill me". He was charged with the Miami Showband murders, the attempted murder of Stephen Travers, and the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. [34] Afterward, as Travers recovered in hospital, the other survivor Des McAlea gave the police a description of McDowell as the gunman with a moustache and wearing dark glasses who appeared to have been the leader of the patrol. [41] Fran O'Toole attempted to run away, but was quickly chased down by the gunmen who had immediately jumped down into the field in pursuit. [10][11] Hanna was named by former British Intelligence Corps operative Colin Wallace as having organised and led the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, along with Jackson. Died from several gunshot wounds. There was very little planning. But the Sunday World has also learned that on January 4 1976, Jackson was accompanied by John Somerville when he burst into the home of the O'Dowd family at Ballyduggan, near Gilford, shooting three of them dead. There are also allegations that British military intelligence agents were involved. [44] The independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre concluded that there was "credible evidence that the principal perpetrator [of the Miami Showband attack] was a man who was not prosecuted alleged RUC Special Branch agent Robin Jackson". As the UUUC would not abide any form of power-sharing with the Dublin government, no agreement could be reached and the convention failed, again marginalising Northern Ireland's politicians and the communities they represented. Browse 25,406 crime scene photos stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The band's road manager, Brian Maguire, had already gone ahead a few minutes earlier in the equipment van. What little that remained intact of their bodies was burnt beyond recognition; one of the limbless torsos was completely charred.[20]. [19], The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. The Miami Showband massacre in 1975, had a devastating effect on the showband and live music scene. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. He was also one of the prime suspects in the sectarian killing of Dorothy Traynor on 1 April 1975 in Portadown. Somerville told other paramilitary prisoners how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become a Special Branch tout operating inside the UVF. It comprised elements of the British security forces who, together with the UVF, carried out sectarian killings in the Mid-Ulster/County Armagh area. Pat Finucane Centre. It has been suggested that the bomb was meant to explode en route, so that the victim band members would appear to be Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb-smugglers and stricter security measures would be established at the border. As a teenager with strongly held anti-Catholic views, Somerville joined the B Specials, but he later went to sea as a member of the Merchant Navy. [5] Their fears were slightly grounded in fact, as the MI6 officer Michael Oatley was involved in negotiations with a member of the IRA Army Council, during which "structures of disengagement" from Ireland were discussed. [18] More uniformed men appeared from out of the darkness, their guns pointed at the minibus. [53] In a letter to the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern dated 22 February 2004, the Northern Ireland Office stated that: "The PSNI have confirmed that a 9mm Luger pistol was ballistically traced both to the murder of John Francis Green and to the Miami Showband murders. [46][49] In 1993, Boyle was named by The Hidden Hand programme as one of the Dublin car bombers. [12] Journalist Joe Tiernan suggested that Hanna was shot for refusing to participate in the Miami Showband attack and that he had become an informer for the Garda in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the Dublin bombings. Assuming it was a legitimate checkpoint, McCoy informed the others inside the minibus of a military checkpoint up ahead and pulled in at the lay-by as directed by the armed men. [55] Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49. He was released in 1998. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. [3] The UVF would be once more banned by the British government on 3 October 1975. [69] Stephen Travers decried: "We believe the only conclusion possible arising from the HET report is that one of the most prolific loyalist murderers of the conflict was an RUC Special Branch agent and was involved in the Miami Showband attack". In 2005, Somerville attended a ceremony in Portadown honouring his dead brother Wesley. The RUC suggested the IRA had meant to attack a police minibus in revenge for the Miami killings, but had mistakenly attacked a civilian minibus instead. The scene of the Miami Showband massacre Somerville would never. According to Kerr, on 31 July 1975 at 4 am Nairac had started out on a road journey from London to Scotland for a fishing holiday. Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. Het ontwerp van Getty Images is een handelsmerk van Getty Images. Weir's affidavit implicating Robin Jackson in a number of attacks including the 1974 Dublin bombings was published in the 2003 Barron Report; the findings of an official investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Judge Henry Barron. Touts aren't welcome here.". Browse 22 the miami showband stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". "After the explosion, the red mist came down and I went mad with a machine-gun," he once told a fellow loyalist prisoner. Crozier told police, and later a court, that he had not played a large part in the attack. [4], In May 1974, unionists called a general strike to protest against the Sunningdale Agreement an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland, which would have given the Government of Ireland a voice in running Northern Ireland. Can you step out of the van for a few minutes and we'll just do a check". The Story With thanks to Jimmy Harte, Anto Long and Caroline Allen Dickie's Miami (1962-1972) Few bands in Ireland have had as prolific, and tragic, a history as the Miami. [35], Out of sight of the band members, two of the gunmen placed a ten-pound (4.5kg) time bomb that was inside a briefcase under the driver's seat of the minibus. [19] The Irish Times reported that on the night following the attack, the British ambassador Sir Arthur Galsworthy was summoned to hear the Government of Ireland's strong feelings regarding the murder of the three band members. RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. [21][36] He suggested that had all gone according to plan, the loyalist extremists would have been able to clandestinely bomb the Republic of Ireland, yet claim that the band were republican bomb-smugglers carrying explosives on behalf of the IRA. However, the flames from the burning hedge (which had been set on fire by the explosion) soon came dangerously close to where he lay; he was forced to leave his hiding spot. Her brothers Seamus and Michael also died in the attack, which was later claimed by the Protestant Action Force, a cover name for the Mid-Ulster UVF. [100] According to the report, Jackson had claimed during police interrogations that after the shootings, a senior RUC officer had advised him to "lie low". He wore a uniform and beret noticeably different from the others. [18][27] The unsuspecting band members got out and were politely told to line up facing the ditch at the rear of the minibus with their hands on their heads. [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. Jackson had assumed command of the Mid-Ulster UVF just a few days before the Miami Showband attack, after allegedly shooting Hanna dead outside his home in Lurgan on 27 July 1975. The UVF man, who identified himself only as "the Craftsman", apologised to Travers for the attack, and explained that the UVF gunmen shot the band because they "had panicked" that night. The attack was carried out by loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and took place while the group, a popular cabaret band, were travelling home to Dublin after a performance. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were then one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. [22] Near the junction with Buskhill Road they were flagged down by armed men dressed in British Army uniforms waving a red torch in a circular motion. One of the first famous crime scene photos was taken on May 5, 1903, in the home of a Parisian woman named Madame Debeinche who had been murdered. [4][22] McAlea made his way up the embankment to the main road where he hitched a lift to alert the RUC at their barracks in Newry. Major Boyle ordered his patrol to apprehend the occupants for questioning. The massacre dealt a blow to Northern Ireland's live music scene, which had brought young Catholics and Protestants together. Before adjourning the Alex Murdaugh case today, Judge Clifford Newman warned against sharing graphic autopsy photos of Maggie and Paul's bodies that were accidentally shown during the trial.. . [4] Two men had been observed acting suspiciously inside the Castle Ballroom during the band's performance that night, suggesting that the Miami Showband's movements were being carefully monitored. [68] McDowell had pleaded guilty. A". I was told by a source close to "Mr. A" and another loyalist hitman that Nairac was not present at either murder [Miami Showband and John Francis Green]. It had been set up in Lurgan in 1972 by part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) sergeant and permanent staff instructor Billy Hanna, who made himself commander of the brigade. Tony Geraghty also attempted to escape; but he was caught by the gunmen and shot twice in the back of his head and a number of times in the back. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which was set up to investigate the more controversial Troubles-related deaths, released its report on the Miami Showband killings to the victims' families in December 2011. At 2.30am, their Volkswagen minibus was stopped at a bogus military checkpoint, where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered the band members to line up by the roadside. [58], Following the post-mortems, funerals were held for the three slain musicians; they received televised news coverage by RT, Ireland's public service broadcaster. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. According to Martin Dillon, the order to shoot was given by the patrol's apparent leader, James McDowell,[36] to eliminate witnesses to the bogus checkpoint and subsequent bombing. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. The Miami Showband was a popular Dublin-based Irish showband, enjoying fame and, according to journalist Peter Taylor, "Beatle-like devotion" from fans on both sides of the Irish border. From left: Steve Travers, Tony Geraghty, Ray Millar, Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole, Des Lee. [30] The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch.