She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. 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. The attack was carried out by. [86] Weir alleged the bomb used in the Miami Showband attack came from Mitchell's farm. [59] Two days later, Portadown disc jockey Norman "Mooch" Kerr, aged 28,[60] was shot dead by the IRA as he packed up his equipment after a show at the Camrick Bar in Armagh. They were prepared to travel anywhere in Ireland to perform for their fans. [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. 10th December, 2014. 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. 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. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. In December 1972, Rock left the band to be briefly replaced by two brothers, Frankie and Johnny Simon. There was very little planning. It was my own personal feelings and convictions at the time these things happened. The plaque describes them as having been "killed in action". Browse 22 the miami showband stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Lightly built and standing less than 5ft 7in, he wasn't a stereotypical loyalist killer. 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. This had meant the possible withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland. Ray Millar, the band's drummer, was not with them as he had chosen to go to his home town of Antrim to spend the night with his parents. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. Two days before, Jackson and Somerville had carried out a bomb and gun attack at McGleenan's pub in Armagh, killing its owner Jack McGleenan and customers Patrick Hughes and Thomas Morris. In 2005, Somerville attended a ceremony in Portadown honouring his dead brother Wesley. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. The music ranged from rock and country and western to Dixieland jazz. [47] The UVF gunmen had worn green UDR berets, whereas the other man's had been lighter in colour. [18] A typical Irish showband was based on the popular six- or seven-member dance band. And he wanted Frazer to ensure the Miami killer received any assistance he needed in adjusting to life on the outside. 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. The explosion ripped through the building, killing 21-year-old married woman Marion Bowen, who was eight months pregnant at the time. [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. Three UVF members are being treated for gunshot wounds after last night but not in hospital. The scene of The Miami Showband Massacre By this time the gunmen had left the scene, assuming everyone else had been killed. "Special Branch Agent colluded in Miami killings". Ashford had been asked to leave the band in 1973, for complaining that performing in Northern Ireland put their lives at risk. What little that remained intact of their bodies was burnt beyond recognition; one of the limbless torsos was completely charred.[20]. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. 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". 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. Three band members were taken from their tour bus and shot . Verzamel, beheer en geef commentaar bij uw bestanden. According to former Intelligence Corps agent Captain Fred Holroyd, the killings were organised by British intelligence officer Robert Nairac, together with the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade and its commander Robin "the Jackal" Jackson. The meeting was arranged by Rev. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. [55] Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. They asked him if he recognised it or could he identify it. 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. And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. Somerville would never have gone to prison if he'd agreed to work for the RUC. December 29, 2022 by Corinne Sullivan. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". [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. Pat Finucane Centre. [80] The same panel revealed that about six weeks before the attack, Thomas Crozier, Jackson and the latter's brother-in-law Samuel Fulton Neill, were arrested for the possession of four shotguns. Two of the gunmen, both soldiers, died when a time bomb they were hiding on the minibus exploded prematurely. [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. [30] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. 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. Millionen hochwertiger Bilder, Videos und Musiktracks warten auf Sie. Some wounds are a deep red, with blood vessels clearly visible; others expose underlying tissue. [62] One report says it was stopped at a fake British Army checkpoint. crime scene photos 1,913 Vintage Crime Scene Premium High Res Photos Browse 1,913 vintage crime scene stock photos and images available, or search for crime scene photos to find more great stock photos and pictures. They also discovered a stolen white Ford Escort registration number 4933 LZ,[43] which had been left behind by the gunmen, along with two guns, ammunition, green UDR berets and a pair of glasses later traced to James McDowell, the gunman who had allegedly ordered the shootings. As they began to enter the vehicle, a bomb was detonated and both men were killed outright. [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. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. [27], After McCoy told them they were the Miami Showband, Thomas Crozier (who had a notebook) asked the band members for their names and addresses, while the others bantered with them about the success of their performance that night and playfully asking which one was Dickie Rock. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. "After the explosion, the red mist came down and I went mad with a machine-gun," he once told a fellow loyalist prisoner. [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. [20], Bassist Stephen Travers was seriously wounded by a dum-dum bullet which had struck him when the gunmen had first begun shooting. [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. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. It was released under the heading Ulster Central Intelligence Agency Miami Showband Incident Report:[20][48][42]. The government held the view that the British Government had not done enough to stop sectarian assassinations in Northern Ireland. [58] He was later shot dead in Portadown on 25 January 1976, allegedly by Jackson for having informed the RUC about Thomas Crozier's participation in the attack. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. [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". [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. The scene of the Miami Showband massacre Somerville would never. [30][32], McCoy, son of the Orange Order's Grand Master for County Tyrone,[33] had close relatives in the security forces; his brother-in-law was a former member of the B Specials which had been disbanded in 1970. 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] 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. [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. She also thinks that had everything gone to plan once the bomb was planted in the van McCoy would have been instructed to drive through Newry where the bomb would have gone off and the UVF could then afterwards portray the Miami Showband as IRA members on a mission to blow up the local RUC barracks. No one coerced me. Het ontwerp van Getty Images is een handelsmerk van Getty Images. 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. ;UVF killer Harris Boyle who died in the attack. Two serving UDR soldiers and one former UDR soldier were found guilty of the murders and received life sentences; they were released in 1998. Fortnight Magazine reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status. 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 . [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. In 1974, while on the way home from a gig, the apolitical rock group, The Miami Showband, fell into the crosshairs of a Protestant unionist paramilitary group that planted explosives on their bus when it was stopped at a fake checkpoint. 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. How are things? He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. The band was . 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. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. 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. Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. [88], Travers travelled to Belfast in 2006 for a secret meeting with the second-in-command of the UVF's Brigade Staff, in an attempt to come to terms with the killing of his former colleagues and friends. Touts aren't welcome here.". [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. 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]. Stroomlijn uw workflow met ons toonaangevende beheersysteem voor digitale bestanden. [33], A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney. Note: Initially it was believed that the bomb had been placed in the rear of the minibus and that the closure of the door had triggered the blast. 2023 Getty Images. Bei kommerzieller Verwendung sowie fr verkaufsfrdernde Zwecke kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihr. The night after the Miami Showband massacre, gunmen shot a minibus near Gilford. [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. This is one of the last photographs taken of the band before the massacre on 31st July 1975. The Miami Showband massacre in 1975, had a devastating effect on the showband and live music scene. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [22], According to Peter Taylor, the Provisional IRA's gun and bomb attack on the loyalist Bayardo Bar in Belfast's Shankill Road on 13 August was in retaliation for the Miami Showband ambush. His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. [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. Miami showband massacre Stock Photos and Images (9) See miami showband massacre stock video clips RF TTNAG4 - A plaque in Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland to those who died in what became known as the Miami Showband Massacre in 1975 at Buskhill, Newry. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. Hier knnen Sie Inhalte sammeln, auswhlen und Anmerkungen zu Ihren Dateien hinterlegen. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. 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. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images [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. It was . 2023 Getty Images. Optimieren Sie Ihren Workflow mit unserem erstklassigen Digitalen Asset Management System. On 15 October 1976, Crozier and McDowell both received life sentences for the Miami Showband murders. [18][22] Meanwhile, two other gunmen at the front of the minibus were placing the briefcase containing the bomb under the driver's seat. This meant that both it and the UDA were legal organisations. He wore a uniform and beret noticeably different from the others. 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". [53] The judge, by sentencing McDowell and Crozier to 35 years imprisonment each, had handed down the longest life sentences in the history of Northern Ireland; he commented that "killings like the Miami Showband must be stopped". UVF killer Wesley Somerville who died in the attack. Martin Dillon suggested in The Dirty War that at least five serving UDR soldiers were present at the checkpoint. Das Getty Images Design ist eine eingetragene Marke von Getty Images. 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. [62] However, police have blamed the IRA. Agent Elvis. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". Video: Netflix. [70] Crozier, McDowell, and Somerville were released after 1998 under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. [30][39], When the device was tilted on its side,[30] clumsy soldering on the clock used as a timer caused the bomb to explode prematurely, blowing the minibus apart and killing UVF men Harris Boyle (aged 22, a telephone wireman from Portadown) and Wesley Somerville (aged 34, a textile worker from Moygashel) instantly. [53] It was believed he had been betrayed to the RUC by a member of the gang. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". He . 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. But our investigations this week revealed that shortly before he died, Jackson sent for self-confessed loyalist gunrunner Willie Frazer, also now deceased. [5], UK Home Secretary Roy Jenkins introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which gave the government unprecedented powers against the liberty of individuals in the United Kingdom in peacetime. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were then one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands. Please check your inbox to verify your details, Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. "IRA 'responsible' for killings blamed on loyalists", "Decision as to the admissibility of Application no. Concerned they might be damaged, McAlea first approached the two gunmen and asked if he could remove his saxophone. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. 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. [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. The ruthless UVF killer fell into a deep depression fuelled by alcohol. Vergrern Sie die Reichweite Ihrer Marke authentisch und teilen Sie Markeninhalte mit Kreativen im Internet. [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. At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and all were members of the UVF. [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". 3/2/2023 1:00 AM PT. It also devastated the burgeoning live music scene in Northern Ireland.. [44], McDowell's statement of admission was published in David McKittrick's book Lost Lives:[44]. Five members of the Dublin-based band were travelling home after a performance at the Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, County Down, on Thursday 31 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. [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. Boards zijn de beste plekken om beelden en videoclips op te slaan. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. According to RT, "Their families were in deep mourning and Ireland mourned with them". "John said the cops told him there was no need for him to go to prison. The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". Site of the massacre; a commemorative plaque shows where the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by. Updated / Monday, 13 Dec 2021 22:28. And six years later - seconds before he was handed four life sentences - his voice boomed across the courtroom: "I'm being sent to prison because I wouldn't become an informer like the rest of them," he yelled at the trial judge. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. Somerville told other paramilitary prisoners how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become a Special Branch tout operating inside the UVF. Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the Northern Ireland peace process. Jane Carter says late son received many threats prior to his death. According to loyalists who knew him, Somerville turned down countless RUC Special Branch offers to work as a police agent. And despite being married with a family, he immersed himself in loyalist terrorism. [25] As McCoy rolled down the window and produced his driving licence, gunmen came up to the minibus and one of them said in a Northern Irish accent, "Goodnight, fellas. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. [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. [19], The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. 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. [35] Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:[75]. The Officers and Agents of the Ulster Central Intelligence Agency commend the UVF on their actions and tender their deepest sympathy to the relatives of the two Officers who died while attempting to remove the bomb from the minibus. [6] The existence of these talks led unionists to believe that they were about to be abandoned by the British government and forced into a united Ireland; as a result, the loyalist paramilitary groups reacted with a violence that, combined with the tit-for-tat retaliations from the IRA (despite their ceasefire), made 1975 one of the "bloodiest years of the conflict". The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, "Sunningdale pushed hardliners into fatal outrages in 1974", "Events: Dublin and Monaghan Bombs Chronology of Events", "Collusion in the South Armagh / Mid Ulster Area in the mid-1970s", "All About the Miami Showband (19611996)", "The Miami Band Lined Up Against the Van. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. The Miami Showband Massacre, the latest in Netflix's ReMastered music documentary series, may feature a band unfamiliar to Americans but the horrendous violence on display puts most American true . 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 .
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