The family of Seamus Ludlow, the Thistle Cross forestry worker murdered by loyalist paramilitaries have repeated their calls for a full independent public inquiry into his murder.

They told the Joint Oireactas Sub-Committee which began its investigation into the Barron Report on his murder that they had been treated very badly by the Gardai over the past thirty years.

According to the Barron Report the names of the four loyalists involved in Mr Ludlow’s killing were known to the Gardai since 1979. The family claim that they were told nothing but lies by the Gardai.

At the hearing in Leinster House last week, the murdered man’s last surviving brother Kevin broke down as he recalled indentifying Seamus’ body. “I just couldn’t believe it,” he said.

He said the Gardai had treated the family very badly and had implied that his brother was an IRA informer and that the IRA had murdered him.

“Seamus definitely had nothing to do with the IRA,” he told the hearing.

“We shouldn’t have had to go through all of this for 30 years,” he said. “It wasn’t fair what was done to us. They were covering up the whole thing all the time. It’s a shame to think of the way the Gardai acted. We were treated very badly. Nothing only lies from the Gardai.”

Mr Ludlow said they had thought the Gardai would tell them something but they could not even tell them when the inquest was in 1979.

“The Gardai never even said sorry for anything. Will it ever come? I don’t know.” He added that he thought the family should get an apology.

A retired garda detective told how his superiors failed to follow up information about the murder of Seamus Ludlow.

John Courtney told the committee yesterday (Tuesday) that he passed the names of the main suspects in the case to a senior garda, but the case never went any further.

Mr Courtney said his superiors promised to follow up the information he gave them, but "after that then, I don't know what happened. I didn't hear any more about it."

“The Barron report left a lot of unanswered questions. The forum for these to be addressed is an independent public inquiry,” Mr Ludlow’s nephew, Jimmy Sharkey told the hearing.

A nephew of Seamus Ludlow, Michael Donegan told how his father Kevin had opened the door of his Co Louth home to members of the UDR. He was taken away for interrogation by helicopter to Northern Ireland and brought back after an hour.

“A murder in Dundalk shouldn’t have been any of their business and I believe the British army knew about it from day one,” he stated.

Mr Ludlow’s sister, Mrs Nan Sharkey, recalled her brother as “a good fellow”.

“He never gave any trouble. He was very kind. He kept to himself.”

Solicitor Mr James MacGuill described the family as ordinary and law-abiding who found themselves in a set of completely life-changing circumstances which was compounded by the State authorities.