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[100] He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder. Days before the Miami attack, Robin Jackson murdered William Hanna, the UVF commander in mid-Ulster. 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. [28][45] The RUC's investigative unit, the Assassination or "A" Squad of detectives, was set up to investigate the crime and to discover the identities of the UVF gunmen who perpetrated the killings. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. It was found 100 yards (91m) from the site with a "UVF Portadown" tattoo on it. [81] Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack. Optimieren Sie Ihren Workflow mit unserem erstklassigen Digitalen Asset Management System. There was very little planning. And he wanted Frazer to ensure the Miami killer received any assistance he needed in adjusting to life on the outside. A report by the police's Historical Enquiries Team (HET) also suggests this. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. 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. Site of the massacre; a commemorative plaque shows where the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by. Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. [79], Another persistent allegation is the direct involvement of Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson, a native of Donaghmore, County Down, 1.5 miles (2.4km) away from Buskhill. In photographs of the Miami Showband in the 1970s he is a slim and beautiful young man in blue denim , bright-eyed and brimming with fun and music and confidence in himself and in the future.. [5] This move made loyalists apprehensive and suspicious that a secret accord was being conducted between the British government and the IRA, and that Northern Ireland's Protestants would be "sold out". [78], The band's road manager, Brian Maguire stated that when he drove away from Banbridge in the lead, a few minutes ahead of the band's minibus, he passed through security barriers manned by the RUC. But two other UVF men, Thomas Crozier and James McDowell - both soldiers in the UDR - were jailed for life. In 1978, he became a born-again Christian. In his flat - which few people visited - Somerville kept a large photograph of Robin Jackson on the wall of his living room. Halfway to Newry, their minibus was stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered them to line up by the roadside. Somerville walked over to McCaughey saying: "Get back on the bus. At no time did this new soldier speak to any of the band members nor did he directly address Crozier. Griffin goes on to add that the bogus checkpoint was set up not only to plant the bomb on board the van but to ensure the presence of McCoy which would have been confirmed when he handed over his driving licence to the gunmen. [21] He was replaced by Johnny Brown, who in turn was replaced by Dave Monks until Stephen Travers eventually became the band's permanent bass player. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. Tests done on the glasses, which were eventually traced back to McDowell, revealed that the lenses were of a prescription worn by just 1 in 500,000 of the population. 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. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. [44], McDowell's statement of admission was published in David McKittrick's book Lost Lives:[44]. A". She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. It is fronted by McAlea, who returned to Northern Ireland the same year after living in South Africa since about 1982. And nearer home, they carried out five operations in one day in the Moy and Stewartstown. Fortnight Magazine reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status. [97] Irish Times diarist, Frank McNally, summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". Although not a member of any loyalist paramilitary group,[26] he was a close friend of Harris Boyle and the two were often seen together. Crime Scene Photos The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office released graphics images this week, taken in the aftermath of 27-year-old Christian Obumseli's death. The Luger was destroyed by the RUC on 28 August 1978. 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. [31] Travers described McCoy as a "sophisticated, father-type figure. Survivors and relatives of those murdered in the Miami Showband massacre are to receive nearly 1.5m (1.75m) in total damages to settle claims over . He was charged with the Miami Showband murders and the attempted murder of bass player Stephen Travers, as well as the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. Others had already been convicted for the Miami attack and they wanted John to stay in the UVF, but to work for them," said a former loyalist prisoner who served time in prison with Somerville. [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. View On One Page Photo 22 of 51 ADVERTISEMENT () Start Slideshow . 34575/04 by Sean McCartney against the United Kingdom: The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section)", "John Weir's Affadavit, Statement by John Weir 03.01.99", "On this day 15October: 1976: UDR men jailed for Showband killings", "Miami Showband massacre survivor shakes with anguish as he remembers his slain friends 40 years on", "Evidence clears Robert Nairac of murders he has been linked to: author", "MoD documents link Robert Nairac to Miami Showband massacre", "Statement of Miami Showband families and survivors in response to the findings of the Historical Enquiries Team into the murders of Anthony Geraghty, Brian McCoy and Francis O'Toole", "Day of 'The Jackal' has finally drawn to a close", "Robert Nairac in command at massacre says Miami guitarist", "Miami Showband Killer Dies at 70; UVF murderer Somerville found dead of cancer in his squalid flat", "Memorial to victims of Miami massacre to be unveiled in Dublin", "Miami Showband killings: Police tipoff helped suspect elude justice, says report", "Miami Showband massacre: HET raises collusion concerns", "Netflix fails to make sense of the Miami Showband Massacre", 'Remastered: The Miami Showband Massacre' On Netflix Unmasks a Conspiracy and False Flag Attack, Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, "Interim Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings [The Barron Report]", "Interim Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern, Dundalk", Interim reports (more detail than final reports) of Irish parliamentary inquiries, Ceasefires of the Provisional IRA, UVF, UDA and RHC, Murders of Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine, Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miami_Showband_killings&oldid=1142010371, Improvised explosive device bombings in Northern Ireland, People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland), Articles with dead external links from April 2012, Articles with dead external links from May 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2020, Articles with dead external links from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 01:35. Can you step out of the van for a few minutes and we'll just do a check". [85], The Pat Finucane Centre has named the Miami Showband killings as one of the 87 violent attacks perpetrated by the Glenanne gang against the Irish nationalist community in the 1970s. He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. While the Miami is synonymous, for many, with the atrocity, the musical tells the whole story of the band, Lynch says, from when it re-formed in 1967, and Fran O'Toole and Des Lee first joined . It would appear that the UVF patrol surprised members of a terrorist organisation transferring weapons to the Miami Showband minibus and that an explosive device of some description was being carried by the Showband for an unlawful purpose. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. With Dublin-born singer [Jimmy Harte] as frontman followed by Dickie Rock as frontman, the Miami Showband underwent many personnel changes over the years. The massacre dealt a blow to Northern Ireland's live music scene, which had brought young Catholics and Protestants together. [22], At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. 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]. How are things? Gaelic footballer brothers John Martin Reavey (24) and Brian (22) died at the scene, while 17-year-old Anthony died three weeks later. Brian McCoy was the first to die, having been hit in the back and neck by nine rounds from a 9mm Luger pistol in the initial volley of gunfire. [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". By the mid-1980s, the showbands had lost their appeal for the Irish public; although The Miami Showband, albeit with a series of different line-ups, did not disband until 1986. Originally called the Downbeats Quartet, the Miami Showband was reformed in 1962 by rock promoter Tom Doherty, who gave them their new name. The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. In a report published in the Sunday Mirror in 1999, Colin Wills called the Miami Showband attack "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". They had killed many Catholics together and they trusted each other implicitly," said our source. [53] The three convicted UVF men, although admitting to having been at the scene, denied having shot anyone. Touts aren't welcome here.". Other photographs in the set show similar injuries to all four limbs, his buttocks and face. [50], The stolen Ford Escort belonged to a man from Portadown, who according to Captain Fred Holroyd, had links with one of the UVF bombers and David Alexander Mulholland the driver of the bomb car which had been left to explode in Parnell Street, Dublin, on 17 May 1974. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. But our investigations this week revealed that shortly before he died, Jackson sent for self-confessed loyalist gunrunner Willie Frazer, also now deceased. I got them with dum-dums". [67][clarification needed], A number of suspects were arrested by the RUC in early August 1975. 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. Twenty minutes before - in what was clearly a co-ordinated operation - another loyalist killer gang made up of police officers and UDR soldiers launched a murder attack on the Reavey family home in Whitecross. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Aaron Carter 's mother believes he was the victim of a crime, not an overdose -- so, she's made the tough decision to let the . [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. He was released in 1998. He then drove to a lay-by on the Newry-Banbridge dual carriageway and met up with another five men, who were all wearing British Army uniforms. In a police statement made following his arrest for possession of the silencer and Luger on 31 May 1976, Jackson maintained that a week before he was taken into custody, two RUC officers had tipped him off about the discovery of his fingerprints on the silencer; he also claimed they had forewarned him: "I should clear as there was a wee job up the country that I would be done for and there was no way out of it for me". When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". These were held on 1 May 1975 and the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC), which had won 11 out of 12 Northern Irish seats in the February 1974 general election, won a majority again. Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. [55] Although ballistic testing had linked the Luger (for which the silencer had been specifically made) to the Miami Showband attack, Jackson was never questioned about the killings after his fingerprints had been discovered on the silencer, and the Miami inquiry team were never informed about these developments. Jackson was convinced Hanna was a Special Branch informer and he feared he may spill details of the imminent Miami attack to his RUC handler. The Gruesome Death Scene Launch Gallery. 3/2/2023 1:00 AM PT. [14], Jackson was an alleged RUC Special Branch agent who was said by Yorkshire Television's The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre programme to have had links to both the Intelligence Corps and Captain Robert Nairac. Those responsible for the attack belonged to the Glenanne gang, a secret alliance of loyalist militants, Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers and UDR soldiers. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack. The following year, Fran O'Toole became the band's lead vocalist after Mick Roche (Billy Mac's replacement) was sacked. "ReMastered: The Miami Showband . 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. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. The emergence of discos later in the decade meant that ballrooms were converted into nightclubs, leaving the showbands with few venues available in which to perform. Griffin suggests that McCoy, who originally came from Caledon, County Tyrone, and had strong UDR and Orange Order family connections, was possibly approached at some stage by Jackson with a view of securing his help in carrying out UVF attacks in the Irish Republic. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". 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. When three young musicians lost their lives on 31 July 1975, the heart was torn out of Ireland's showband community. [35] Dillon also opined in God and the Gun: The Church and Irish Terrorism that the dead bombers, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, had actually led the UVF gang at Buskhill. 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. More than 100 killings have been attributed to him by the Pat Finucane Centre, the Derry-based civil rights group.[15][17]. [19][25][26] During "The Troubles" it was normal for the British Army to set up checkpoints at any time. Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". 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. [19], The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. The two men were found shot dead nearby. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. [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. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. [47] The RT programme Today Tonight aired a documentary in 1987 in which it claimed that former UVF associates of Harris Boyle revealed to the programme's researchers that Nairac had deliberately detonated the bomb to eliminate Boyle, with whom he had carried out the Green killing. A musician who survived the Miami showband massacre has, 40 years on, made an appeal to trace a young couple who helped him at the time. The patrol sergeant immediately ordered the patrol to shoot back. At about 2:30am, when the band was seven miles (11km) north of Newry on the main A1 road, their Volkswagen minibus (driven by trumpeter Brian McCoy with bassist Stephen Travers in the front seat beside him) reached the townland of Buskhill. Their name comes from a farm in Glenanne, County Armagh, which was owned by RUC reservist James Mitchell; according to ex-RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir, it was used as a UVF arms dump and bomb-making site. [90] The encounter took place inside Hudson's church, All Souls Belfast. He wore a uniform and beret noticeably different from the others. Three band members were taken from their tour bus and shot . But by this time, he was ready to go to jail. They Cloned Tyrone. [8] The brigade was described by author Don Mullan as one of the most ruthless units operating in the 1970s.