Morgan calls on Taoiseach to meet Ludlow family

Published: 3 April, 2006

Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Arthur Morgan, has today reiterated his call for the Taoiseach to meet with the family of Seamus Ludlow, the forestry worker kidnapped and shot dead by loyalists in 1976 and to respond positively to the family's demand for a public inquiry in his murder.

Deputy Morgan said, "As the apparatus of Britain's war machine is today being dismantled from the hills of South Armagh it serves as a timely reminder of the sinister role played by the so-called security services on both sides of the border during the conflict.

"While Seamus Ludlow was picked up and murdered by a loyalist death squad controlled and operated by the British state it was the forces of law on order in this state that were criminally negligent in prosecuting a proper investigation in to that murder. And it is these actions or inactions that need proper and thorough scrutiny. Serious questions need to be answered as to the behaviour of both Gardai and politicians following the murder of Seamus and the manner in which they deliberately tried to prevent the truth emerging in relation to this case.

"The Taoiseach recently supported an all-party Dáil motion calling for a full public inquiry in to the killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane. I welcomed that move. However, if that stance is only adopted in relation to incidents that occurred outside the jurisdiction of this state then it will prove to be nothing more than empty rhetoric.

"Otherwise the Taoiseach should immediately open his door to the Ludlow family, as he has done for others and hear their story. He should also support, in the same spirit as his support for the Finucane Inquiry, the establishment of the public inquiry into Seamus' killing. The family have been through too much -- its time their nightmare was ended."