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The band was . [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. Geraghty was engaged to be married. Journalist Emily O'Reilly noted in the Sunday Tribune that none of the three men convicted of the massacre ever implicated Nairac in the attack or accused him of causing Boyle's death. In a rare interview with the BBC Spotlight programme before his death of kidney cancer in 2015, Somerville spoke only once and very briefly about the Miami Showband Massacre. 14 December 2011. 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. [40] Three of the musicians were killed: lead singer Fran O'Toole, trumpeter Brian McCoy, and guitarist Tony Geraghty. 10th December, 2014. The two men were found shot dead nearby. [62] The attack was blamed on loyalists; Lost Lives an account of every death in the conflict states that reliable loyalist sources have confirmed the UVF was responsible. [34][81][82] The panel stated that it was unclear why Crozier, Jackson and Neill were not in police custody at the time the Miami Showband killings took place. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. The Miami Showband toured throughout 1970s Ireland before the attack The musicians were ordered to line up at the roadside outside Newry while the gang loaded a bomb on to their bus. The incident had an adverse effect on the Irish showband scene, with many of the bands afraid to play in Northern Ireland. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. Major Boyle ordered his patrol to apprehend the occupants for questioning. Robin Jackson died of cancer in May 1998 aged 49. Sometimes the showbands played traditional Irish music at their performances. The only identifiable body part from the bombers to survive the blast (which had been heard up to 4 miles (6.4km) away) was a severed arm belonging to Wesley Somerville. It was released under the heading Ulster Central Intelligence Agency Miami Showband Incident Report:[20][48][42]. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [17][87], During the six years from the onset of "the Troubles" until the July 1975 attack, there had never been an incident involving any of the showbands. He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney. [4], A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. [4] He spoke with an educated English accent and immediately took charge, ordering a man who appeared to have been the leader of the patrol to tell Crozier to obtain their names and dates of birth instead of addresses. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were then one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. 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. A long battle for justice for three members of a popular Irish music group, Miami Showband, who were murdered during The Troubles in Northern Ireland received a huge boost this week with. Over the following month, there were two similar attacks in the area. In January 2015, he was found dead in his Shankill Road flat. Vergrern Sie die Reichweite Ihrer Marke authentisch und teilen Sie Markeninhalte mit Kreativen im Internet. He subsequently stated they refused to accept his description of the different-coloured beret worn by the soldier with the English accent. The band's road manager, Brian Maguire, had already gone ahead a few minutes earlier in the equipment van. This is one of the first real crime scene photos ever taken. Het ontwerp van Getty Images is een handelsmerk van Getty Images. 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. [55] Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49. [22] He presently resides near Craigavon. [77] However, Ministry of Defence documents released in 2020 contain suggestions that Nairac acquired equipment and uniforms for the Miami Showband killers, and that he was responsible for the planning and execution of the attack itself. The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. The scene of the Miami Showband massacre Somerville would never. [6], In early 1975, Merlyn Rees set up elections for the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention at which all of Northern Ireland's politicians would plan their way forward. His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. [4][18][28][29] As Crozier took down the information, a car pulled up and another uniformed man appeared on the scene. [62][64], On 24 August 1975, Catholic civilians Colm McCartney and Sean Farmer were stopped in their car at what is believed to have been another fake checkpoint at Altnamackin (near Newtownhamilton). He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. I was given a sub-machine gun but I had never fired it. Laat uw merk op authentieke wijze groeien door uw merkcontent te delen met de makers van het internet. The explosion ripped through the building, killing 21-year-old married woman Marion Bowen, who was eight months pregnant at the time. [83] Journalists Kevin Dowling and Liam Collins in the Irish Independent however, suggested in their respective articles that Jackson had been the leader of the unit. [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. 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. When they agreed he placed it on the ground, opened its case and then went back into line; however this time he stood first in the line-up closest to the minibus when previously he had been third. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. They Cloned Tyrone. [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. "Billy Mac") took over as the group's frontman when the Simon brothers quit the band. [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. it is to say the least highly dubious, if not absurd to conclude from such superficial factors that Nairac was present at the Miami murders. The dead bombers were named by the UVF, in a statement issued within 12 hours of the attack. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. Died from several gunshot wounds. [4], The killings shocked both Northern Ireland and Ireland and put a serious strain on Anglo-Irish relations. One of these men, Lance-Corporal Thomas Raymond Crozier (aged 25, a painting contractor from Lurgan) of C Company, 11th Battalion UDR was charged with the Miami killings. [89] Hudson, a Unitarian minister, had been a close friend of Fran O'Toole. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. [47][71] In his first parliamentary speech on 7 July 1987, Ken Livingstone MP told the House of Commons, "it was likely" that Nairac had organised the attack. But it went nowhere when a senior RUC officer advised the UVF leader to lie low for a while. [44] None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". The Luger was destroyed by the RUC on 28 August 1978. And two years later when he was scooped in an RUC raid in Dungannon on September 26, 1980, he made a detailed confession outlining his involvement in numerous UVF murders. Pinnwnde sind ideal zum Speichern von Bildern und Videoclips. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. How are things? The massacre dealt a blow to Northern Ireland's live music scene, which had brought young Catholics and Protestants together. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband Massacre) was an attack by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, on 31 July 1975. Crozier told police, and later a court, that he had not played a large part in the attack. They sprung terror attacks in south Armagh, south Down, east Tyrone and even as far away as south Derry. 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. He was given a total of four life sentences (three for the murders of the Miami Showband members and one for the Falls murder) on 9 November 1981; he had pleaded not guilty. 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. The scene of The Miami Showband Massacre 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. He also provides other alibis for Nairac precluding his presence at the scenes of both the John Francis Green killing and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. It comprised elements of the British security forces who, together with the UVF, carried out sectarian killings in the Mid-Ulster/County Armagh area. This is one of the last photographs taken of the band before the massacre on 31st July 1975. [7] At the time of the attack the Mid-Ulster Brigade was commanded by Robin Jackson, also known as "The Jackal". 50 True-Crime Documentaries on Netflix | 2023 . [63] The IRA has denied responsibility. [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. After meeting a new woman, Somerville settled on the Shankill and for a while he worked in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. [62] However, police have blamed the IRA. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images Somerville was sent to jail for 35 years and, despite being firmly opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, he was released under its terms after spending just 18 years behind bars. UVF serial killer John Somerville told how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become Special Branch tout and avoid jail, No remorse: Miami Showband killer John Somerville. Somerville told other paramilitary prisoners how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become a Special Branch tout operating inside the UVF. [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. Touts aren't welcome here.". Former serving Secret Intelligence Service agent Captain Fred Holroyd, and others, suggested that Nairac had organised the attack in co-operation with Robin Jackson and the Mid-Ulster UVF. [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. [98] In 2011, Journalist Kevin Myers denounced the attack with the following statement: "in its diabolical inventiveness against such a group of harmless and nave young men, it is easily one of the most depraved [of the Troubles]". Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. [99], The findings noted in the report confirmed Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson's involvement and identified him as an RUC Special Branch agent. In prison John Somerville lived a reclusive life. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. 2023 Getty Images. 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. And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. [17] Five Catholic civilians were shot; passenger Joseph Toland was killed outright and driver James Marks died of his wounds in January 1976. However, the officers suspected that the checkpoint was fake. At no time did this new soldier speak to any of the band members nor did he directly address Crozier. [76] Retired diplomat Alistair Kerr wrote a biography of Nairac entitled "Betrayal: the Murder of Robert Nairac" published in 2015, which offers documentary evidence that clears Nairac of having been at Buskhill overseeing the attack. But he quit when the Troubles erupted on the streets of Belfast and Derry in the autumn of 1969. 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. Near the anniversary of the killings, a temporary plaque is placed at the location of the killings. [30] The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. I did what I did. On July 30, 1972, the final details. Optimieren Sie Ihren Workflow mit unserem erstklassigen Digitalen Asset Management System. They were: lead vocalist and keyboard player Fran O'Toole, 28, Catholic; guitarist Anthony (Tony) Geraghty, 24, Catholic, from Dublin; trumpeter Brian McCoy, 32, Protestant, from Caledon, County Tyrone; saxophonist Des McAlea (a.k.a. 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. . The UVF maintains regular border patrols due to the continued activity of the Provisional IRA. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. Somerville walked over to McCaughey saying: "Get back on the bus. Jackson was charged with possession of the silencer but not convicted, the trial judge having reportedly said: "At the end of the day I find that the accused somehow touched the silencer, but the Crown evidence has left me completely in the dark as to whether he did that wittingly or unwittingly, willingly or unwillingly". 5 languages The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre) [1] was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. The three men were sent to serve their sentence in the Maze Prison, on the outskirts of Lisburn. "They also hoped he would one day take over the leadership of the organisation in mid-Ulster when Robin 'The Jackal' Jackson either stood down or was executed.". Despite his conversion to Christianity, Somerville remained virulently anti-Catholic and he strongly opposed the Good Friday Agreement. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . It was one of a series of four stamps issued by An Post, celebrating the "golden age of the Irish showband era from the 1950s to the 1970s".[24]. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. [22], At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. "Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, Sub-Committee on the Barron Report", "The Miami Showband Massacre, 1975: A Survivor's Search for the Truth", "Miami Showband Massacre: Involvement of UVF Man Robin Jackson". Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. [81] Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack. Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". [96], In a report on Nairac's alleged involvement in the massacre, published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper on 16 May 1999, Colin Wills called the ambush "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. Can you step out of the van for a few minutes and we'll just do a check". I got them with dum-dums". He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold. It allows for commemoration and leaving of flowers at the location itself. Everybody was respectful to Brian". Originally called the Downbeats Quartet, the Miami Showband was reformed in 1962 by rock promoter Tom Doherty, who gave them their new name. Abe Reles, 1941 Place: Half Moon Hotel, Coney Island Date: 25th October 1957 Means: Pushed out of the window Angelo Bruno, 1980 Place: Intersection of 10th Street and Snyder Avenue, South Philadelphia Date: 21st March 1980 Means: Shotgun blast to the back of the head [51] An independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre has established that among the weapons actually used in the killings were two Sterling submachine guns and a 9mm Luger pistol serial no. He was one of the men taken in by the RUC in August 1975 and questioned as a suspect in the killings, but was released without charge. [18][22] Meanwhile, two other gunmen at the front of the minibus were placing the briefcase containing the bomb under the driver's seat.

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