The brigade was described by author Don Mullan
Don Mullan (born 1956, Derry, Northern Ireland) is an Irish author and media producer. His book '' Eyewitness Bloody Sunday'' is officially recognised as a primary catalyst for a new Bloody Sunday inquiry, which became the longest-running and m ...
as one of the most ruthless units operating in the 1970s. At the time of the attack the Mid-Ulster Brigade was commanded by Robin Jackson
Robert John Jackson (27 September 1948 – 30 May 1998), also known as The Jackal, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and part-time soldier. He was a senior officer in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) during the period of violen ...
, also known as "The Jackal". 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. According to authors Paul Larkin
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
and Martin Dillon
Martin Dillon (born 2 June 1949) is an Irish author, journalist, and broadcaster. He has won international acclaim for his investigative reporting and non-fiction works on The Troubles, including his bestselling trilogy, ''The Shankill Butcher ...
, Jackson was accompanied by Harris Boyle
Harris Boyle (1953 – 31 July 1975) was an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier and a high-ranking member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation. Boyle was implicated in the 1974 Dublin an ...
when he killed Hanna. Hanna was named by former British Intelligence Corps operative
Colin Wallace
John Colin Wallace (born June 1943) is a British former member of Army Intelligence in Northern Ireland and a psychological warfare specialist. He refused to become involved in the Intelligence-led 'Clockwork Orange' project, which was an att ...
as having organised and led the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, along with Jackson. 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
Gardaí in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the Dublin bombings. Dillon suggested that because there were a number of UDR members in the UVF, and were planned to be used for the Miami Showband ambush, Hanna was considered to have been a "security risk", and the UVF decided he had to be killed before he could alert the authorities.
Jackson was an alleged
RUC Special Branch
RUC Special Branch was the Special Branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and was heavily involved in the British state effort during the Troubles, especially against the Provisional Irish Republican Army. It worked closely with MI5 and the Int ...
agent who was said by
Yorkshire Television
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
's ''The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre'' programme to have had links to both the Intelligence Corps and Captain Robert Nairac.
A report in the ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' implicated Jackson in the Dublin bombings. More than 100 killings have been attributed to him by the
Pat Finucane Centre
The Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) is a human rights advocacy and lobbying entity in Northern Ireland. Named in honour of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, it operates advice centres in Derry and Newry, dealing mainly with complaints from Irish natio ...
, the
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
-based civil rights group.
The Miami Showband
The Miami Showband was a popular Dublin-based
Irish showband
The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...
, enjoying fame and, according to journalist
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
, "
Beatle-like devotion" from fans on both sides of the
Irish border
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
.
A typical Irish showband was based on the popular six- or seven-member dance band. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of
pop songs
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. The music ranged from
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and
country and western
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
to
Dixieland jazz
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...
. Sometimes the showbands played
traditional Irish music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...
at their performances.
Originally called the ''Downbeats Quartet'', the Miami Showband was reformed in 1962 by rock promoter Tom Doherty, who gave them their new name. With Dublin-born singer
immy Harteas frontman followed by
Dickie Rock
Richard "Dickie" Rock (born 10 October 1936) is an Irish singer. He experienced much success on the Irish charts during the 1960s, but has continued on as a popular live act as well as occasionally hitting the charts ever since.
Early fame
Rock ...
as frontman, the Miami Showband underwent many personnel changes over the years. In December 1972, Rock left the band to be briefly replaced by two brothers, Frankie and Johnny Simon. That same year, keyboardist Francis (Fran) O'Toole (from
Bray,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
) had won the ''Gold Star Award'' on
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
's ''Reach For the Stars'' television programme.
In early 1973, Billy MacDonald ( "Billy Mac") took over as the group's frontman when the Simon brothers quit the band. The following year, Fran O'Toole became the band's lead vocalist after Mick Roche (Billy Mac's replacement) was sacked. O'Toole was noted for his good looks and popularity with female fans,
and was described by the Miami Showband's former bass guitarist, Paul Ashford, as having been the "greatest soul singer" in Ireland. Ashford had been asked to leave the band in 1973, for complaining that performing in Northern Ireland put their lives at risk.
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. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. 8 in the
Irish charts
The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music ...
.
The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. 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
Caledon () is a small village and townland (of 232 acres) in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 10 km from Armagh. It lies in the southeast of Tyrone and near the borders of C ...
; saxophonist Des McAlea (a.k.a. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...
,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from
Antrim. O'Toole and McCoy were both married; each had two children. Geraghty was engaged to be married.
Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island.
The band had no overt interest in politics nor in the religious beliefs of the people who made up their audience. They were prepared to travel anywhere in Ireland to perform for their fans.
According to the ''Irish Times'', at the height of Irish showbands' popularity (from the 1950s to the 1970s), up to as many as 700 bands travelled to venues all over Ireland on a nightly basis.
Ambush
Bogus checkpoint
![1973-1980 Volkswagen Kombi (T2) van 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/1973-1980_Volkswagen_Kombi_%28T2%29_van_02.jpg)
Five members of the Dublin-based band were travelling home after a performance at the Castle Ballroom in
Banbridge
Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road (Northern Ireland), A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, c ...
,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, on Thursday 31 July 1975. 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 band's road manager, Brian Maguire, had already gone ahead a few minutes earlier in the equipment van. At about 2:30 am, when the band was seven miles (11 km) 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
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...
of Buskhill.
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.
During "The Troubles" it was normal for the British Army to set up checkpoints at any time.
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. 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. How are things? Can you step out of the van for a few minutes and we'll just do a check".
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.
More uniformed men appeared from out of the darkness, their guns pointed at the minibus. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon.
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.
As Crozier took down the information, a car pulled up and another uniformed man appeared on the scene. He wore a uniform and beret noticeably different from the others.
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.
The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. At no time did this new soldier speak to any of the band members nor did he directly address Crozier. He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command.
[ Excerpted from: ] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. Just after the arrival of this mysterious soldier, McCoy nudged Travers, who was standing beside him, and reassured him by saying "Don't worry Stephen, this is British Army".
Travers thought that McCoy, a Protestant from Northern Ireland, was familiar with security checkpoints and had reckoned the regular British Army would be more efficient than the
Ulster Defense Regiment
The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...
(UDR), who had a reputation for unprofessional and unpredictable behaviour, especially toward people from the Republic.
McCoy, son of the
Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...
's Grand Master for County Tyrone,
["Kevin Myers: The Miami Showband massacre was one of the most depraved massacres of the Troubles". ''Irish Independent''. Kevin Myers. 16 December 2011](_blank)
Retrieved 3 January 2011 had close relatives in the security forces; his brother-in-law was a former member of the
B Specials
The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the par ...
which had been disbanded in 1970.
Travers described McCoy as a "sophisticated, father-type figure. Everybody was respectful to Brian". McCoy's words, therefore, were taken seriously by the other band members, and anything he said was considered to be accurate.
Explosion
At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. Martin Dillon suggested in ''The Dirty War'' that at least five serving UDR soldiers were present at the checkpoint.
All the gunmen were members of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade and had been lying in wait to ambush the band, having set up the checkpoint just minutes before.
Out of sight of the band members, two of the gunmen placed a ten-pound (4.5 kg) time bomb that was inside a briefcase under the driver's seat of the minibus.
The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic.
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.
They had hoped to embarrass the Government of Ireland, as well as to draw attention to its level of control of the border.
This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations.
Dillon opined that another reason the UVF decided to target the Miami Showband was because Irish nationalists held them in high regard; to attack the band was to strike the nationalists indirectly.
Des McAlea and Stephen Travers heard two of the gunmen rummaging in the back of the minibus, where they both kept their respective instruments. Concerned they might be damaged, McAlea first approached the two gunmen and asked if he could remove his saxophone. 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.
Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. Asked whether he had anything valuable inside the case, Travers replied no. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up.
Meanwhile, two other gunmen at the front of the minibus were placing the briefcase containing the bomb under the driver's seat.
When the device was tilted on its side,
clumsy
soldering
Soldering (; ) is a process in which two or more items are joined by melting and putting a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the adjoining metal. Unlike welding, soldering does not involv ...
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
William Wesley Somerville ( – 31 July 1975) was an Ulster loyalist militant, who held the rank of lieutenant in the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade during the period of conflict known as "the Troubles". With claims t ...
(aged 34, a textile worker from
Moygashel
Moygashel () is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is near the southern edge of Dungannon. Although the village's name is pronounced , the trademark of the Irish linen named after it is pronounced .
People
One ...
) instantly. Hurled in opposite directions, they were both decapitated and their bodies dismembered. What little that remained intact of their bodies was burnt beyond recognition; one of the limbless torsos was completely charred.
Shootings
Following the explosion pandemonium broke out among the remaining gunmen; shouting obscenities, they started shooting the dazed band members, who had all been blown down into the field below the level of the road from the force of the blast. According to Martin Dillon, the order to shoot was given by the patrol's apparent leader, James McDowell,
to eliminate witnesses to the bogus checkpoint and subsequent bombing.
Three of the musicians were killed: lead singer Fran O'Toole, trumpeter Brian McCoy, and guitarist Tony Geraghty.
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.
Despite the heavy gunfire, Tony Geraghty and Fran O'Toole attempted to carry a severely injured Stephen Travers to safety, but were unable to move him far. 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. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. Almost his entire head was destroyed. 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. Both men had pleaded for their lives before they were shot; one had cried out, "Please don't shoot me — don't kill me".
Bassist Stephen Travers was seriously wounded by a
dum-dum bullet
Expanding bullets, also known colloquially as dumdum bullets, are projectiles designed to expand on impact. This causes the bullet to increase in diameter, to combat over-penetration and produce a larger wound, thus dealing more damage to a liv ...
which had struck him when the gunmen had first begun shooting.
He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy.
Saxophone player Des McAlea, who had been standing closest to the minibus, was hit by its door when it was blown off in the explosion, but was not badly wounded. He lay hidden in thick undergrowth, face down, undetected by the gunmen. He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. 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. By this time the gunmen had left the scene, assuming everyone else had been killed. Travers later recalled hearing one of the departing gunmen tell his comrade who had kicked McCoy's body to make sure he was not alive: "Come on, those bastards are dead. I got them with dum-dums".
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.
Forensic and ballistic evidence
When the RUC arrived at the site they found five dead bodies, a seriously injured Stephen Travers, body parts, the smoldering remains of the destroyed minibus, debris from the bomb blast, bullets, spent cartridges and the band members' personal possessions, including clothing, shoes and a photograph of the group, strewn across the area. They also discovered a stolen white
Ford Escort registration number 4933 LZ,
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.
One of the first RUC men who arrived at Buskhill in the wake of the killings was
scenes of crime officer
A scenes of crime officer (SOCO) is an officer who gathers forensic evidence for the British police. They are also referred to by some forces as forensic scene investigators (FSIs), crime scene investigators (CSIs) (although their job differs fro ...
James O'Neill. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place ... burning blood, burning tyres". He also added that "that bomb was definitely placed there with a view to killing all in that band".
The only identifiable body part from the bombers to survive the blast (which had been heard up to away) was a severed arm belonging to Wesley Somerville. It was found from the site with a "UVF Portadown" tattoo on it.
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.
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.
Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin.
Until 1922 it was the se ...
. He subsequently stated they refused to accept his description of the different-coloured beret worn by the soldier with the English accent. The UVF gunmen had worn green UDR berets, whereas the other man's had been lighter in colour.
The dead bombers were named by the UVF, in a statement issued within 12 hours of the attack.
Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF.
[Mid Ulster Brigade mural](_blank)
Cain Web Service. Retrieved 9 July 2009. In 1993, Boyle was named by ''The Hidden Hand'' programme as one of the Dublin car bombers.
The stolen Ford Escort belonged to a man from Portadown, who according to Captain
Fred Holroyd
Captain Frederick John Holroyd is a former British soldier who was based at the British Army's 3 Brigade HQ in mid-Ulster, Northern Ireland during the 1970s. He enlisted as a gunner in the Royal Artillery, and three years later, in 1964, he was c ...
, 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
Parnell Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland, which runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east. It is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it forms the south side of Parnell Square.
History ...
, Dublin, on 17 May 1974. He was also one of the prime suspects in the sectarian killing of Dorothy Traynor on 1 April 1975 in Portadown.
![Sterling SMG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Sterling_SMG.JPG)
Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. 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 gun
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun (SMG). It was tested with the British Army in 1944–1945 as a replacement for the Sten but it did not start to replace it until 1953. A successful and reliable design, it remained as stan ...
s and a 9 mm Luger pistol serial no. U 4. The submachine guns, which had been stolen years earlier from a former member of the B Specials,
[''Observer''. Indiana University. 1977. p.3. Retrieved 4 April 2012] were linked to prior and later sectarian killings, whereas the Luger had been used to kill leading IRA member
John Francis Green
John Francis Green (18 December 1946– 10 January 1975), was a leading member of the North Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, holding the rank of Staff Captain and Intelligence Officer. He was killed in a farmhouse outside ...
the previous January.
In a letter to the ''Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern'' dated 22 February 2004, the
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
stated that: "The
PSNI
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
have confirmed that a 9 mm Luger pistol was ballistically traced both to the murder of John Francis Green and to the Miami Showband murders." In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger.
["Miami Showband Massacre: Involvement of UVF Man Robin Jackson". Pat Finucane Centre. 14 December 2011](_blank)
Retrieved 15 December 2011 Both the silencer and pistol – which was later established to have been the same one used in the Miami Showband killings – were found by the security forces at the home of Edward Sinclair. 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". The Luger was destroyed by the RUC on 28 August 1978.
Aftermath
Reactions
Within 12 hours of the attack, the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership based on the
Shankill Road
The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill.
The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast a ...
) issued a statement. It was released under the heading ''Ulster Central Intelligence Agency – Miami Showband Incident Report'':
The statement also said:
[ The statement appeared in the August 1975 edition of ''Combat'', the UVF's journal, which also published sympathy letters from "A" Company of the 9th Battalion of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and from the '']Protestant Action Force
The name Protestant Action Force (PAF) was used by Ulster loyalism, loyalists, especially members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), to claim responsibility for a number of paramilitary attacks during the Troubles. It was first used in this ...
'', a cover name of the UVF.
Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were given UVF paramilitary funerals conducted by
Free Presbyterian minister
William McCrea, a
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
politician.
The killings shocked both Northern Ireland and Ireland and put a serious strain on Anglo-Irish relations.
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. The government held the view that the British Government had not done enough to stop sectarian assassinations in Northern Ireland.
Following the post-mortems, funerals were held for the three slain musicians; they received televised news coverage by RTÉ, Ireland's public service broadcaster. According to RTÉ, "Their families were in deep mourning and Ireland mourned with them".
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. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack.
Two days later, Portadown disc jockey Norman "Mooch" Kerr, aged 28,
["Special Branch Agent colluded in Miami killings". ''Portadown Times''. 21 December 2011](_blank)
Retrieved 31 March 2012 was shot dead by the IRA as he packed up his equipment after a show at the Camrick Bar in
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
. Although not a member of any loyalist paramilitary group,
he was a close friend of Harris Boyle and the two were often seen together. The IRA said it killed him because of an alleged association with British Army officer and member of
14th Intelligence Company
The Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (internally "The Det") was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps involved in plainclothes operations in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwa ...
, Captain Robert Nairac, and claimed it was in possession of his diary, which had been stolen in Portadown.
Gilford and Altnamachin attacks
Over the following month, there were two similar attacks in the area.
The night after the Miami Showband massacre, gunmen shot a minibus near
Gilford. It had been travelling from Banbridge to Bleary with nine people on board; all were Catholics and most had been returning from a regular bingo session.
One report says it was stopped at a fake British Army checkpoint.
Five Catholic civilians were shot; passenger Joseph Toland was killed outright and driver James Marks died of his wounds in January 1976.
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.
However, police have blamed the IRA. 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. A report by the police's
Historical Enquiries Team
The Historical Enquiries Team was a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles, specifically between 1968 and 1998. It was wound up in September ...
(HET) also suggests this. The IRA has denied responsibility.
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
Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants.
...
). They were driving home from a
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
match in Dublin. The two men were found shot dead nearby.
Earlier that night, three RUC officers in an unmarked car had been stopped at a checkpoint but allowed through. However, the officers suspected that the checkpoint was fake. After receiving radio confirmation that there were no authorised checkpoints in the area that night, they reported the incident and requested help from the British Army to investigate it, but no action was taken. RUC officer
John Weir claims that UDR corporal and alleged UVF member
Robert McConnell was involved in the attack.
Convictions
A number of suspects were arrested by the RUC in early August 1975. 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.
It was believed he had been betrayed to the RUC by a member of the gang.
Thomas Crozier recounted that on the night of the killings, he had driven to the grounds of a school in Lurgan where he had picked up two men. 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. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". Crozier told police, and later a court, that he had not played a large part in the attack. He refused to name his accomplices, as he felt that to do so would put the lives of his family in danger.
On 22 January 1976, a second UDR soldier, Sergeant James Roderick Shane McDowell (aged 29, an optical worker, also from Lurgan) was arrested and charged with the Miami killings. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. The RUC were led to him through his glasses which had been found at the murder scene. 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.
McDowell's statement of admission was published in
David McKittrick
David McKittrick (born 1949) is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971.
Professional career
McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the ''East Antrim Times''. He joined the ''Irish Times'' in 1973 as a r ...
's book ''Lost Lives'':
On 15 October 1976, Crozier and McDowell both received life sentences for the Miami Showband murders.
McDowell had pleaded guilty. Crozier had pleaded not guilty.
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". He added that had the death penalty not been abolished, it would have been imposed in this case.
During the trial, Des McAlea had received death threats which made him fear for the safety of his family; this caused him to eventually leave Northern Ireland.
A third person, former UDR soldier John James Somerville (aged 37, a lorry-helper and the brother of Wesley), was arrested following an RUC raid in
Dungannon
Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...
on 26 September 1980. He was charged with the Miami Showband murders, the attempted murder of Stephen Travers, and 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.
The three convicted UVF men, although admitting to having been at the scene, denied having shot anyone. None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught. The three men were sent to serve their sentence in the
Maze Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...
, on the outskirts of
Lisburn
Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...
. ''
Fortnight Magazine
''Fortnight'' was a monthly political and cultural magazine published in Belfast, Northern Ireland. '' reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status.
Crozier, McDowell, and Somerville were released after 1998 under the terms of the
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
.
Allegations
A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. Former serving
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
agent Captain Fred Holroyd, and others, suggested that Nairac had organised the attack in co-operation with Robin Jackson and the Mid-Ulster UVF. In his first
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
speech on 7 July 1987,
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...
MP told the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, "it was likely" that Nairac had organised the attack. Surviving band members Stephen Travers and Des McAlea told police and later testified in court that a British Army officer with a "crisp, clipped English accent" oversaw the attack, the implication being that this was Nairac.
In his book ''The Dirty War'', Martin Dillon adamantly dismissed the allegation that Nairac had been present. He believed it was based on the erroneous linkage of Nairac to the earlier murder of IRA man John Francis Green in
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...
– the same pistol was used in both attacks.
Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:
Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. The RTÉ programme ''
Today Tonight
''Today Tonight'' is an Australian current affairs television program produced by the Seven Network. It aired from January 1995 to November 2019 in Adelaide and Perth. Editions in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne were previously produced befo ...
'' 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. Journalist
Emily O'Reilly
Emily O'Reilly is an author and former journalist and broadcaster who became Ireland's first female Ombudsman in 2003, succeeding Kevin Murphy. On 3 July 2013, she was voted European Ombudsman by the European Parliament. She was re-elected ...
noted in the ''
Sunday Tribune
The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tab ...
'' that none of the three men convicted of the massacre ever implicated Nairac in the attack or accused him of causing Boyle's death. 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. 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.
However,
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
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'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. As Maguire continued ahead, up the by-pass toward Newry, he noticed a blue
Triumph 2000
The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. It was introduced on 15 October 1963. It was styled by Giovanni Michelotti.
It competed with the c ...
pulling-out from where it had been parked in a lay-by. Maguire recalled that the car first slowed down, then it accelerated, flashing its lights.
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.
Another persistent allegation is the direct involvement of Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson, a native of
Donaghmore, County Down
Donaghmore is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half, with two townlands in the barony of Iveagh Lower, Upper Half.
People
Loyalist Robin Jackson, nicknamed "The Ja ...
, away from Buskhill. 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. The independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre concluded that there was "credible evidence that the principal perpetrator
f the Miami Showband attack
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
was a man who was not prosecuted – alleged RUC Special Branch agent Robin Jackson".
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.
Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack.
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.
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.
Martin Dillon maintained in ''The Dirty War'' that the Miami Showband attack was planned weeks before at a house in Portadown, and the person in charge of the overall operation was a former UDR man, whom Dillon referred to for legal reasons as "Mr. A".
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.
Journalists Kevin Dowling and Liam Collins in the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' however, suggested in their respective articles that Jackson had been the leader of the unit.
Former British soldier and writer
Ken Wharton
Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916 – 12 January 1957) was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing ...
published in his book ''Wasted Years, Wasted Lives, Volume 1'', an alternative theory that was suggested to him by loyalist paramilitarism researcher Jeanne Griffin; this was that the ambush was planned by Robin Jackson as an elaborate means of eliminating trumpet player Brian McCoy. 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. When McCoy refused, Jackson then hatched his plan to murder McCoy and his bandmates in retaliation for what he viewed as having betrayed the loyalist cause, even macabrely choosing Buskhill as the ambush site due to its similarity to Bus-kill. 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. 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. Griffin based her theory on the nine bullets that were fired from a Luger into McCoy's body and that Jackson's fingerprints were found on the silencer used for a Luger. She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead.
The Pat Finucane Centre has named the Miami Showband killings as one of the 87 violent attacks perpetrated by the
Glenanne gang
The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles. against the Irish nationalist community in the 1970s. The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. It comprised elements of the British security forces who, together with the UVF, carried out sectarian killings in the Mid-Ulster/County Armagh area. 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. Weir alleged the bomb used in the Miami Showband attack came from Mitchell's farm. Weir's
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
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.
Later years
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 incident had an adverse effect on the Irish showband scene, with many of the bands afraid to play in Northern Ireland. The emergence of
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
s later in the decade meant that ballrooms were converted into nightclubs, leaving the showbands with few venues available in which to perform. 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.
The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. It is fronted by McAlea, who returned to Northern Ireland the same year after living in South Africa since about 1982.
In 1994, Eric Smyth, a former UDR member and the husband of Brian McCoy's sister, Sheila, was killed by the IRA.
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. The meeting was arranged by
Rev. Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
. Hudson, a Unitarian minister, had been a close friend of Fran O'Toole.
The encounter took place inside Hudson's church, All Souls Belfast. 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.
It was revealed in Peter Taylor's book ''Loyalists'' that "the Craftsman" had been instrumental in bringing about the 1994
Combined Loyalist Military Command
The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee.
Bringing t ...
(CLMC) ceasefire.
Travers also visited the home of Thomas Crozier, hoping to meet with him but the latter did not come to the door.
He presently resides near
Craigavon Craigavon may refer to:
* Craigavon, County Armagh, a planned town in Northern Ireland
** Craigavon Borough Council, 1972–2015 local government area centred on the planned town
* Viscount Craigavon, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
** ...
. James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast.
The UVF had cut all ties with Somerville after he had opposed the 1994 ceasefire. In January 2015, he was found dead in his Shankill Road flat. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney.
Memorials
![Plaque at location of the Miami Showband Killings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Plaque_at_location_of_the_Miami_Showband_Killings.jpg)
A monument dedicated to the dead Miami Showband members was unveiled at a ceremony at
Parnell Square
Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district.
Formerly named ''Rutland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (18 ...
North, Dublin, on 10 December 2007. Survivors Stephen Travers and Des McAlea were both present at the unveiling, as was the
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
,
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
, who made a tribute. The monument, entitled ''Let's Dance'' is made of limestone, bronze and granite, by
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
sculptor
Redmond Herrity
Redmond Herrity ( ga, Réamann Ó hOireachtaigh) is an Irish sculptor from Letterkenny, County Donegal.
Redmond Herrity, who works from his home place of Letterkenny in County Donegal, Ireland, has traveled extensively, creating private and pu ...
, and is at the site of the old National Ballroom, where the band often played.
A mural and memorial plaque to Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville is in the Killycomain Estate in Portadown, where Boyle had lived. The plaque describes them as having been "killed in action".
In a report on Nairac's alleged involvement in the massacre, published in the ''
Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...
'' newspaper on 16 May 1999, Colin Wills called the ambush "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". ''Irish Times'' diarist, Frank McNally, summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". In 2011, Journalist
Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary".
Myers is kno ...
denounced the attack with the following statement: "in its diabolical inventiveness against such a group of harmless and naïve young men, it is easily one of the most depraved
f the Troubles.
A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. The 55-cent stamp, designed with a 1967 publicity photograph of the band, included two of the slain members, Fran O'Toole and Brian McCoy, as part of the line-up when Dickie Rock was the frontman. It was one of a series of four stamps issued by
An Post
(; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...
, celebrating the "golden age of the Irish showband era from the 1950s to the 1970s".
Near the anniversary of the killings, a temporary plaque is placed at the location of the killings. It allows for commemoration and leaving of flowers at the location itself.
The band is remembered in the song "The Miami" by English folk singer-songwriter
Jez Lowe
John Gerard "Jez" Lowe (born 14 July 1955) is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, ...
on his album ''Jack Common’s Anthem''.
The HET Report
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.
The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour".
The findings noted in the report confirmed Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson's involvement and identified him as an RUC Special Branch agent.
According to the report, Jackson had claimed during police interrogations that after the shootings, a senior RUC officer had advised him to "lie low". Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. 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".
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.
Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49.
The families held a press conference in Dublin after the report was released. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last".
He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder.
and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology.
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".
Documentary
A
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
documentary titled ''ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre'' was released 22 March 2019, highlighting the efforts of Steve Travers to track down who authorized the attack, for what purposes, and to get an admission of culpability.
'Remastered: The Miami Showband Massacre' On Netflix Unmasks a Conspiracy and False Flag Attack
/ref>
See also
* List of massacres in Ireland
This is a list of incidents that happened on the island of Ireland (encompassing what exists today as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and are commonly called massacres. All those that took place during the late 20th century were p ...
* List of massacres in the United Kingdom
Inclusion Criteria
This is a list of massacres that have occurred in the purely geographical definition of Great Britain, being in the countries of England, Scotland and Wales and ''excludes'' Northern Ireland and massacres in Ireland before i ...
* Kingsmill massacre
The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and s ...
– A 1976 massacre of civilians who had also been travelling in a minibus
* Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions
This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group since 1966. It includes actions carried out by the Red Hand Commando (RHC), a group integrated into the UVF shortly after their formation in ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official Miami Showband website
into Dublin and Monaghan bombings, Kay's Tavern bombing (includes Miami Showband killings information).
BBC ''On This Day'' article about the Miami Showband killings
"Miami Showband massacre remembered"
''Breaking News''
{{Good article
British military scandals
Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland
False flag operations
Improvised explosive device bombings in Northern Ireland
Massacres in Northern Ireland
Military scandals
People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland)
Terrorism in Northern Ireland
The Troubles in County Down
Ulster Defence Regiment
Ulster Volunteer Force actions
1975 in Northern Ireland
1975 murders in the United Kingdom
July 1975 events in the United Kingdom
Mass murder in 1975