Latest: Revised: April 22, 2010.
25 February 2010 - It is sad to report the death of Mr Justice Henry Barron (1926-2010), late of the Irish Supreme Court (1997-2000), and the author of the Barron Report into the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
The completed Barron Report, was passed to the Irish government in October 2004.
Mr Justice Barron, was a leading member of Ireland's tiny Jewish community. He passed away on 25 February 2010, aged 83. See his obituary on Times online.
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28 May 2009: See today's Irish News newspaper for an article headlined: Gardai have closed file on Seamus Ludlow murder: family.
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28 April 2009: At last, the news that the Ludlow family had been long expecting: the Garda's murder investigation having been wound up, the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided there would be no prosecutions in the matter of the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
Detective Superintendant Kane, of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, wrote to the Ludlow family solicitor James MacGuill:
Unfortunately, it has been decided that a prosecution would not be possible following the decision of two potential witnesses not to make statements or travel to this jurisdiction to give evidence.
Formal directions from the Director have not yet been received but were decided upon following a meeting between, the investigation team, senior counsel and representatives from the office of the Director.
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10 February 2009: See article headlined Ludlow family calls for truth in today's issue of the weekly Newry Democrat newspaper.
Ludlow family member Michael Donegan, a nephew of the late murdered Seamus Ludlow, makes a first public comment on the recent Pat Finucane Centre correspondence with the British army spokesperson.
To read the article click here>>>.
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5 January 2009: There was another pathetic response, from the British authorities to the inquiries of the Pat Finucane Centre (PFC).
Mrs C Harvey, again, wrote:
I am sorry that you are dissatisfied with my response but as I have previously explained we have not been able to locate any further documents that make reference to Mr Ludlow other than those referred to in the Baron (sic) Inquiry.
I am sure you will appreciate that as almost 35 years have elapsed since the death of Mr Ludlow, unit records relating to this period would have been destroyed in accordance with departmental regulations and without these records it is not possible to provide an answer to your questions.
I am sorry that I cannot be of any further assistance in this matter.
So there we have it, correspondence closed! The MoD can be of no "further assistance". The British authorities have simply nothing to say! They will not answer any of the questions put to them by our good friends at the PFC.
It is also galling that in none of the letters quoted do the British actually refer to the "murder" of Seamus Ludlow! It is simply a death that has nothing to do with them!
Shame on them!
It would be funny if it was not so serious!
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18 December 2008: In a further letter to Mrs Harvey, the British official responsible for the inadequate response of 19 November, the Pat Finucane Centre wrote again:
. . . Firstly, the information which you provided in your letter is already known to the Ludlow family. Secondly, your letter does not directly answer the question I put to you in my letter dated 20 February 2008 on behalf of the Ludlow family.
For clarity I will repeat the question. The Ludlow family would like to know if the UDR was informed at the time that two of its members were prime suspects in the murder of Seamus. If it was so informed, why was James Reid-Fitzsimmons, in particular, allowed to remain in the UDR until 1994? Is there any record that he reported the crime to his superiors? If so, what action was taken by the UDR?
I would appreciate it if you could respect the intelligence of the family and answer the questions directly.
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19 November 2008: The British authorities finally issued a response of sorts to the Pat Finucane Centre's (PFC's) letter of 20 February. But it was one that was evasive and woefully inadequate, if not also downright insulting to the intelligence of the Ludlow family and the good people at the Pat Finucane Centre!
The reply, when it finally came, was not from minister Des Browne MP or his successor John Hutton MP, but from a Mrs C Harvey (Band D G9(Pol)Sec), apparently a British army and ministry of defence official, representing Headquarters Northern Ireland and 38 (Irish) Brigade, British Forces Post Office 825.
Mrs Harvey's letter neatly side-stepped the simple questions posed by PFC'c Stephanie English on behalf of the Ludlow family. The questions were simply ignored!
The letter merely repeated details that were already in the public domain and well known to the Ludlow family. No answers were given to the simple questions asked about the UDR member and murder suspect James Reid-Fitzsimmons who remained in the British army for another 18 years until he retired in 1994!
The British authorities have nothing to say about a man who not only admitted to the RUC in 1998 to have been present at Seamus Ludlow's murder but was also a known suspect from 1977!
The British offiicial, Mrs C Harvey, responded as follows:
As you know the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Ludlow were investigated under Irish jurisdiction by the Barron Inquiry. In a letter dated 30 November 2002 the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Paul Murphy MP, forwarded details of three intelligence documents from the MOD which made reference to the death of Mr Ludlow. Summaries of these documents were subsequently published in the Baron (sic) Report which was presented to the Taoiseach on 19 October 2004.
Unfortunately we have been unable to locate any further documents that make reference to Mr Ludlow other than those referred to in the letter rom Paul Murphy to the Baron (sic) Inquiry.
It is of course remarkable that the British now hide behind the Barron Inquiry, whose failings stem in no small measure from their failure to cooperate. It should not be forgotten that the British authorities were completely inadequate in their response to Mr Justice Barron's inquiries and also to those of the subsequent Oireachtas Committee hearings.
The Ludlow family needs no advice about the Barron Inquiry from Mrs Harvey or the people she represents! It is notable that she has difficulty in spelling the honourable Irish judge's name correctly!
It should also be stated that it was completely unnecessary for the MoD/British army representative to look far and wide for documents regarding the murder of Seamus Ludlow. She merely had to comment on the fact that one of the admitted suspects remained in the British army until he retired in 1994!
The relevant information should be in the British army's personnel and intelligence records.
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27 October 2008: With still no detailed response from Des Browne MP or from the British ministry of defence (MoD) to the Pat Finucane Centre's letter dated 20 February, regarding UDR member and murder suspect James Reid-Fitzsimmons, the Pat Finucane Centre sought the assistance of Mr Mark Durkan MP MLA.
Mr Durkan kindly wrote to Mr Brown's successor John Hutton MP on 27 October:
I understand that the Pat Finucane Centre wrote to your predecessor, Des Browne MP, on 20 February in relation to matters arising from that murder. In particular, that correspondence referred to to the fact that the murder weapon was standard issue to UDR members and that the car used in the crime was owned by a then UDR Corporal, James Reid Fitzsimmons.
I have seen a copy of that letter which put a number of questions including whether the Regiment was informed at the time of this connection to such a heinous offence. Also, I understand that the RUC considered two UDR members to be suspects, including the above Corporal and Richard Long. A number of further pertinent questions were also put in that letter/
The death of Mr Ludlow raises extremely serious questions relating to the response of state agencies to the murder and to related circumstances. The loss of their loved one and the consequent denial of justice have been a heavy burden for the family. The burden is made no lighter by the ongoing strugglet o obtain information.
I would ask you to intervene so that a thorough investigation is concluded and a response issued to the family's representatives as expeditiously as possible.
Mr Durkan's welcome intervention put further pressure on the reluctant British authorities who appeared unwilling to answer the the simple questions posed by The Pat Finucane Centre in February 2008 on behalf of the Ludlow family.
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21 May 2008: Today's issue of the local Dundalk weekly The Argus reports the appointment of former Foreign Affairs Minister and Louth TD Dermot Ahern as Justice Minister in a recent cabinet reshuffle.
Jimmy Sharkey, a nephew of the murdered Seamus Ludlow, welcomed Mr Ahern's appointment and, says The Argus:
he hoped Minister Ahern might be able to get access to previously blocked files held in the department of justice.
He said: "It's not popular to talk about Seamus' death or the Dundalk bombing as there is now peace in the north and some people don't want things to be reopened.
"But, speaking personally, all the families deserve the truth and I hope Minister Ahern will do his best to ensure that we get it."
Unfortunately, Mr Ahern, who has been in government for quite some time, has previously shown little interest in the Seamus Ludlow case. He has been a prominent figure in a government that has consistently opposed the Ludlow family's demand for a public inquiry.
Sadly, there seems little cause for hope that this will change. Minister Ahern now has the opportunity to do the right thing for the Ludlow family.
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18 May 2008: There is still no sign of justice for Seamus Ludlow.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is gone, and is replaced by Brian Cowen, with no sign that the Dublin government is any closer to launching a public inquiry into the 1976 sectarian murder near Dundalk of Seamus Ludlow or the subsequent garda cover-up.
There is no sign either of the long expected report from the attorney general or of the garda inquiry that began over two years ago!
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18 March 2008: There was a brief response to the recent letter from The Pat Finucane Centre to Des Browne MP, secretary of state at the ministry of defence (MoD). An MoD/British army official, Mrs C Harvey, wrote:
As a large amount of time has past (sic) since the death of Mr Ludlow, thorough investigation is needed before we can address the points raised in your letter. I will write to you when our investigations have been completed.
That was it!
It would seem that the simple questions posed by the Pat Finucane Centre, were just too difficult for the British authorities to answer!
Or were the answers just too difficult or too embarrassing or shameful for the MoD and British army to provide? All that the Ludlow family and our friends at The Pat Finucane Centre could do was wait, wait, wait!
Indeed many months would pass and there would be no sign of the promised reply. It would appear that no reply would ever come - unless further pressure could be applied!
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7 March 2008: Former Derry MP, MEP and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume today unveiled a memorial in Castleblayney for the victims of a car bomb attack in 1976.
Local authorities, in conjunction with the Remembrance Commission, decided to erect the memorial in the centre of the Co Monaghan town, to commemorate victims of the attack on The Three Star Inn bar and night club, which claimed the life of one man and injured 17 others.
Mr Hume was joined at the ceremony by Anna Mone-McEneaney, whose former husband, Patrick Mone, a 53-year-old farmer, was killed by the bomb.
Mr Hume said the victim of the tragedy was unfortunately one of many innocent victims of a conflict in which they played no part.
He said the "loss of those who died in such circumstances could never be justified by any political motive, and while their loss could never be set right, it was important to know the people of Ireland shared their grief".
The 10-foot high monument, designed by Carlow-based artist Temco de Fouw, is erected on the town's Main Street, close to the pub which was targeted.
In common with the murder of Seamus Ludlow and all the other loyalist murder attacks in the Republic no-one was ever arrested for the murder of Patrick Mone in the bombing which took place on March 7, 1976.
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A plaque in memory of bombing victim Patrick Mone was erected at The Comet Bar, formerly the Three Star Inn, some years ago.
A report of that previous unveiling by journalist Patsy McArdle, with a photograph of the plaque, can be viewed here>>>>.
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26 February 2008: See today's issue of The Irish News for article headlined 'Flimsiest excuses' used to block 1976 murder inquiry say family. Southern Correspondent Valerie Robinson quotes from Jimmy Sharkey, a nephew of Seamus Ludlow.
Jimmy was commenting on a remark made by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last week that - based on the best advice he had received - there 'does not seem to be a way of getting a tight investigation that can meaningfully deal with this issue'.
Jimmy was justifiably concerned that the Irish government was at last signalling its intention that there would be no inquiry at all into the murder of Seamus Ludlow, that after many years of struggle it was coming to an appalling end: that the government has no intention of looking for the truth! Jimmy was angry, and justifiably so, that the whole thing was again to be swept under the carpet!
To read the Irish News report click on the headline above or try this link>>>>.
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20 February 2008: Stephanie English of The Pat Finucane Centre, Derry, has kindly written to Mr Des Browne MP, the British secretary of state for defence, on behalf of the Ludlow family, requesting the MOD's comments on one of the four loyalist suspects in Seamus Ludlow's murder who was a serving member of the UDR.
The man, identified as James Reid-Fitzsimmons, remained in the British army until he retired in 1994, even though he was a suspect since 1977!
As the letter from The Pat Finucane Centre points out, the weapon used in Seamus Ludlow's murder was
a .38 Smith and Wesson, a standard issue weapon to the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and the car used in the murder was owned by James Reid-Fitzsimmons, a corporal in the UDR. As early as 1977 the RUC was able to identify all four suspects in the murder, which included two members of the UDR, James Reid-Fitzsimmons and Richard Long.
The Ludlow family would like to know if the UDR was informed at the time that two of its members were prime suspects in the murder of Seamus Ludlow. If it was so informed, why was James Reid-Fitzsimmons, in particular, allowed to remain in the UDR until 1994? Furthermore, as Fitzsimmons was a member of the security forces at the time and was, at least, a witness to a murder, is there any record that he reported the crime to his superiors? If so, what action was taken by the UDR?
Such simple questions require simple answers, but as in every attempt to secure the truth from the British authorities many months would pass before a response would be issued. And when it came, some 10 months later, it was evasive and utterly useless in providing answers required by the Ludlow family.
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20 February 2008: The following was reported today in the main local news headlines by the local LMFM Radio.
Ludlow Family “not surprised” by Taoiseach's comments
The family of murdered Louth man Seamus Ludlow say they're not surprised by the Taoiseach's admission that he is not confident that a complete investigation into the murder can be undertaken. Speaking in the Dail yesterday Bertie Ahern said the prospects of British Authorities handing over sensitive files were not good. Seamus Ludlow was murdered by loyalists near his home at Thistle Cross outside Dundalk in May 1976. His nephew Jimmy Sharkey says he's not surprised by the Taoiseach's comments given his attitude during a recent meeting with the family.
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6 February 2008: See today's Dundalk weekly nespaper The Argus for article headlined Calls for public inquiry in which Louth TD Seamus Kirk calls for an inquiry into the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
Deputy Kirk also refers to the Dundalk bombing of December 1975, in which two local men Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters lost their lives.
See also two further reports from The Argus about the recent two-day Dail debate on collusion held on 30-31 December 2007.
Dail debate on collusion factor in 1975 Crowe Street bombing Implement Barron report say families
This first report features comments by Maura McKeever, daughter of Dundalk bombing victim Jack Rooney, as well as remarks by Margaret Urwin, of Justice or the Forgotten.
Dail debate on collusion factor in 1975 Crowe Street bombing 'State failed' the victims.
This second report features remarks made by Foreign Affairs Minister, Dermot Ahern, who is a TD for Louth and a native of Dundalk. The Minister says the findings of the Oireachtas Report that widespread collusion had occurred in this and other cases were brought to the attention of the British Government.
Minister Ahern calls the British government's response to the revelations of the Barron reports and the Oireachtas reports both 'inadequate and unsatisfactory'.
Perhaps he and his government are not shouting loudly enough!
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30
January 2008: Local radio Northern Sound News reports on today's Dail
debate on collusion.
Dail discusses Dublin - Monaghan bombings
A special debate on collusion in the Republic involving British military intelligence is taking place in the Dail this afternoon.
The British forces have been implicated in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings in 1974 which claimed 33 lives, the bombing of Kay's Tavern in Dundalk in 1975 and the Miami Showband massacre in 1976.
Members of bereaved families will be in attendance in the Dail public gallery this afternoon.
Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten says these atrocities will never be formally resolved until the British Government admits its involvement in the killings.
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See also Government continue to turn a blind eye to collusion – Ó Caoláin, for text of Sinn Féin TD and Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin's address at the Dail debate on collusion.
In the course of his address Deputy Ó Caoláin described the attacks under discussion:
"They were on attacks, including mass murders, where British state collusion with unionist paramilitaries was strongly indicated.
"Let it be said that every single death in the conflict was a tragedy. No family's grief counts less than any other and there should never be a hierarchy of victims. However during the conflict the British government tried to convince the world that it was a peacekeeper, a policeman, a neutral force keeping the warring sides apart. It tried to mask its central role in the conflict. It was for this reason that it resorted so extensively to collusion.
"To the shame of successive Irish governments they co-operated to a great extent with the British government in its so-called security strategies. They turned a blind eye to collusion. British agents worked within the gardai. There was open co-operation with the RUC during the worst phase of its repression against the nationalist community in the Six Counties.
"This is the reality which many in this House, now as in the past, are unwilling to state. . ."
Click on the link above to read the whole of Deputy Ó Caoláin's address
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22 January 2008: A group of Ludlow family members were in Dublin today for a meeting at 10.00am with An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
The hour-long meeting, at the Department of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, was also attended by Mr James MacGuill, the Ludlow family solicitor, and by Jane Winter, Director of British Irish Rights Watch (BIRW), London. Another welcome attendee was Co Louth Fianna Fail TD Seamus Kirk.
The Ludlow family circle was represented by Seamus' brother Kevin Ludlow, his sister Mrs Nan Sharkey, and her sons Jimmy and Nicholas Sharkey, her daughter Mrs Briege Doyle; and nephews Brendan Ludlow and Michael Donegan.
The Ludlow family was quite pleased that the meeting went well. The family put its case for a public inquiry into Seamus Ludlow's death, and the Taoiseach listened to it.
Mr Ahern extendeded his sympathies to the Ludlow family on the loss of their loved one and on the way the family was treated afterwards.He was polite and courteous throughout the meeting. The Ludlow family was deeply appreciative of his manner throughout.
As Jimmy Sharkey has been quoted: "It was a very cordial meeting and we are very happy with the outcome."
Though the meeting was indeed cordial throughout, Mr Ahern appeared to show he doesn't favour a public inquiry into the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
He pointed out that an inquiry looking into matters of collusion, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, Seamus Ludlow and a whole host of other incidents would go on for years and cost millions. Mr Ahern referred to the long-awaited Dail debate on collusion which would take place over two days on 30-31 January.
The Ludlow family and their solicitor James MacGuill responded that they are not calling for such an inquiry. Mr MacGuill noted he had a set of proposals for a shorter inquiry that had every chance of getting at the truth behind the cover-up. This did not require an inquiry into collusion or entail endless inquiries at great expense.
As Jimmy Sharkey, again, says: "There was some discussion about collusion but we are more concerned about the cover-up of a murder which took place in this State.
"We feel that a focused independent inquiry to be held over a set period of time would give us some of the answers we've been asking for."
The family don't see any point in re-opening the investigation into Seamus Ludlow's abduction and murder by loyalist/UDR personnel as vital files and forensic evidence, including bullets and clothing has been lost.
They Ludlow family is only calling for a limited and focused inquiry into the murder of Seamus Ludlow. It would be focused on the questions left by the failure of the Barron and Oireachtas Committee Reports, namely the cover-up, the stalled investigation, the first inquest and other matters in relation to how the Ludlow family was treated after the murder. It would concentrate on the interviewing of witnesses, under power of subpoena, in the Republic of Ireland who would have such information.
It was pointed that the limited number of witnesses required, mainly gardai and department of justice people are in his jurisdiction, along with the files and documentation that are relevant. Such an inquiry should only take a few weeks, months at most.
It was agreed that Mr James MacGuill, the Ludlow family solicitor would consult with the attorney general (AG) about a list of proposals for a focused inquiry about the family's proposals. It was hoped that the Ludlow family would meet with the AG in the near future. So, we'll see what happens next.
At the closure of the meeting, Seamus Kirk TD, who had been present throughout, remained for a few minutes of discussion, and he was asked to use his influence to have the matter advanced further.
As indicated below, the Ludlow family had been seeking a meeting with Mr Ahern for the past ten years. It came somewhat as a surprise when Mr Ahern said that he had in fact met them before a number of times!
Not so, Mr Ahern!
Unfortunately the good will that had been created at this meeting with Mr Ahern was soon to vanish with indications that perhaps he favours no inquiry at all! See The Irish News, 26 February 2008: Flimsiest excuses' used to block 1976 murder inquiry say family
For more information about this important meeting with Mr Ahern, go to Meeting with An Taoiseach
See report from The Irish Times newspaper's website ireland.com headlined AG decision on Ludlow inquiry due.
See also: The Argus (Dundalk), 23 January 2008: Family Seeking Ludlow inquiry
You will find below links to two brief videos on RTE TV News bulletins from today. They don't say much about the meeting with Mr Ahern, but you may like to view them.
Click on the appropriate video links on the RTE News pages.
RTE 1.pm news, 22 January 2008:
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22 January 2008: A brief report from
Northern Sound News, about today's hour-long meeting with An
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern:
Family of Seamus Ludlow meet with Taoiseach
The family of murdered man Seamus Ludlow have met the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern this morning.
Seamus was murdered in 1976, three miles north of Dundalk.
For years his brother Kevin, who lives in county Cavan, has been calling on the taoiseach to meet with the family, who claim the murder was covered up by gardai.
Seamus' nephew Jimmy Sharkey, speaking on Northern Sound earlier, described the outcome of todays meeting as favourable.
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21 January 2008: The following was
reported on local radio by Northern Sound News:
Kevin Ludlow hits out at Enda Kenny's comments
The brother of murdered man Seamus Ludlow has hit out against comments made by the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny last week.
Kevin Ludlow, who lives in County Cavan, says he did not believe Deputy Kenny when he said he raised the murder in the Dail on a number of occasions.
Mr. Ludlow's words come ahead of a planned meeting between thee Taoiseach and the family tomorrow.
Seamus Ludlow was murdered in 1976, three miles north of Dundalk.
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17 January 2008: See a report headlined Kevin Ludlow to meet Taoiseach about his brother's murder from the front page of the latest issue of The Anglo-Celt newspaper, read locally in County Cavan and Country Monaghan.
Included with the report is a photograph of Kevin Ludlow.
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15 January 2008: Kevin Ludlow was featured today on the front page of the weekly Cavan Post newspaper, under the headline Justice denied Belturbet man to meet Taoiseach over brother's controversial murder.
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9 January 2008: See today's issue of The Dundalk Democrat headlined: Ludlow family to meet taoiseach Confirmation of January meeting in Dublin.
Finally, Mr Ahern has agreed to meet with the Ludlow family, having failed to respond to the family's request for several years now.
Mr Ahern has met with many other families in similar positions, many on numerous occasions, but he could not be induced to meet the Ludlow family until now.
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Here is how the same development was reported by Northern Sound Radio on 8 January:
Taoiseach to meet Ludlow family
The Taoiseach has agreed to meet with the family of Seamus Ludlow, who was murdered in 1976, three miles north of Dundalk.
For years his brother Kevin, who lives in Belturbet in County Cavan, has been calling on the Taoiseach to meet with the family, who claim the murder was covered up by gardai.
Kevin Ludlow says, that after 30 years, the time has now come to get answers.
He is calling for a public enquiry to be set up to determine what happened.
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26 December 2007: Another Christmas has passed and still there is no news from the still ongoing garda investigation into Seamus Ludlow's murder and still no sign of a new judicial inquiry as demanded by the Oireachtas Committee some time ago!
The Ludlow family has waited patiently for justice for quite some time now, but the relatives of Seamus Ludlow could be forgiven for thinking that the wheels of justice may not just have stopped! They may actually have come off!
Justice for the Ludlow family seems as far away as ever! Questions left unanswered by the Barron Inquiry and the Oireachtas Report remain to be answered by an inquiry that can get at the truth behind this foul murder and the continuing cover-up.
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See today's issue of The Dundalk Democrat for an important development for the Rooney and Watters families in Dundalk.
A new memorial to the Dundalk bomb victims Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters has been unveiled outside Dundalk's Town Hall, on Crowe Street on the 32nd anniversary of the bombing at Kay's Tavern public house.
In a report headlined Relatives gather for unveiling of Dundalk bomb memorial, the Democrat features photographs from the unveiling and an interview with Maura McKeever, daughter of bomb victim Jack Rooney.
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2 May 2007: Today is the 31st anniversary of the vile sectarian murder of Seamus Ludlow near Dundalk in 1976.
The Ludlow family's pain of 31 years of lies, cover-ups and state indifference, continues with no end in sight.
Another
year of waiting for justice has ended as fruitless as the thirty traumatic
years before it.
The vexing questions posed by this murder of an innocent Irish man, the cruel lies and the cover-up which protected the UDR/Red Hand Commando killers and denied justice to the Ludlow family remain unanswered. The perpetrators remain at large and those who schemed to protect them have not been brought to account!
The Garda investigation demanded by the Oireachtas Committee's report in March 2006 continues with no end in sight. And possibly with little confidence of finally identifying those responsible for stalling the original investigation 31 years ago and for ordering no pursuit of the suspects identified by the RUC in 1979!
The private inquiry also recommended by the Oireachtas report in 2006 has yet to begin its work. Indeed, no-one has yet been appointed to head any such inquiry!
This anniversary occurs during an Irish General Election campaign: with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern still shamefully failing to meet the Ludlow family to discuss this case.
Mr Ahern has met many other families - some on several occasions - to discuss other cases of grave public concern.
Yet, Mr Ahern has consistently ignored the Ludlow family's written requests for a meeting. No request has ever been acknowledged! Strangely, also, he has gone on record to say that he has met the Ludlow family! Not so!
What is it about the murder of Seamus Ludlow and the cruel injustices which followed which makes such a meeting impossible for Mr Ahern? It is now clear that he will meet with any family who are not relatives of Seamus Ludlow!
Shame on you, Mr Ahern!
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5 April 2007: The final report of the Commission of Investigation, led by Mr Patrick MacEntee, into the May 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings has been published.
The report can be downloaded in pdf format from the Justice for the Forgotten's website>>>.
Disappointingly, the MacEntee inquiry, like the earlier Barron inquiry, found no evidence "available to it" of collusion in the winding down of the Garda investigation into the atrocities, which left 33 people, including a pregnant woman, dead on the streets of our capital city and Monaghan Town.
Here we have yet another private inquiry hampered by missing files and failing, as it was bound to do, to uncover the full truth behind the bombings of 1974.
As Mr Greg O'Neill, legal representative for the bombing victims' group Justice for the Forgotten, said in The Irish Times, the MacEntee inquiry had been unable to carry out its duties properly because vital Garda files had gone missing. He said the commission was hampered by what he called "an appalling and lamentable chronicle of failure and errors by our police force".
See The Irish Times, 5 April 2007: Families call for "abject apology" from Garda
The Irish Daily Mirror Comment, 5 April 2007: Shambolic probe insults blast victims
Download the MacEntee Commission of Investigation's Final Report from Justice for the Forgotten's website>>>.
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13 March 2007: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has today received the completed report of criminal barrister Patrick MacEntee into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974.
Mr MacEntee's Commission of Investigation into the car bombings which left 34 people dead and many more injured, followed the recommendations of an Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Justice which had studied a previous Barron Report into this atrocity.
See The Irish News, 14 March 2007: Long awaited report on bombings given to Ahern
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23
February 2007: See this statement headed NO
'GAME' FOR THOSE STILL SEEKING JUSTICE! from
J B Moffatt, the Director of Information of the Cletic League,
referring to feelings aroused by the use of the GAA ground at Croke
Park for international rugby and soccer, and a rugby match in Dublin
between the Combined Services of the British Armed Forces and Irish
Colleges.
While the Ludlow family would not normally comment on such highly
political issues in relation to the campaign for truth and justice
for Seamus Ludlow, there is no doubt that Mr Moffatt has made an
important point in relation to the unfinished business of forcing
the British state and its military and police forces to acknowledge
their blood-stained role in the events of recent decades, including
their shameful involvement in collusion with loyalist death squads.
Mr Moffatt's statement concludes:
However
as revelations, almost on a weekly basis, emerge about the nature of
the complicity between British security forces and loyalist
paramilitary murder gangs it is not just fervent republicans who
will be uneasy about such steps towards so called
"normalisation"
Many relatives of those killed by murder-gangs organised by the
British security apparatus in the North of Ireland will feel
betrayed at those who now hold out the olive branch to organisations
whose hands still drip with blood'.
Relatives of those killed in the 1974 bombings of Dublin and
Monaghan or the family of Co. Louth Forestry Worker Seamus Ludlow
are just some of the long suffering bereaved still seeking answers.
They should surely see their quest for justice given precedence over
a Rugby match?
Click on the link above to read all of Mr Moffatt's statement.
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3 February 2007: ireland.com, updated 15:58: SF to hold collusion conference
Sinn Féin is to hold a conference on collusion to step up political pressure on the British government to establish public inquiries, it emerged today.
Details of the one-day event, which will provide a forum for campaign groups and victims' relatives, were announced following today's Sinn Féin ard chomhairle meeting in Dublin.
Last week's report by Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan found collusion between RUC and Special Branch officers and loyalist paramilitaries in at least 15 murders.
A Sinn Féin delegation led by party leader Gerry Adams raised the issue during a face-to-face meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street last week.
The February 10th conference will be addressed by the Justice for the Forgotten and Relatives for Justice campaign groups.
Relatives of murder victims participating in the event include Amanda Fullerton, daughter of murdered Co Donegal Sinn Fein representative Eddie Fullerton; John Finucane, son of slain Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane and relatives of Dundalk forestry worker Seamus Ludlow. . . .
Click on the link above to read more of this report.
For further information about this conference go to this report and itinerary from sinnfein.ie, 3 February 2006: Sinn Féin to put demand for truth on collusion at the top of the political agenda
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21 January 2007: See also article State terrorism was used to uphold the Union by Gerry Adams MP, in The Andersonstown News, 21 January 2007.
Mr Adams' article includes the following brief comment on the recent Oireachtas Sub-Committee report on the Dundalk bombing of 19 December 1975 which concludes with a pointed reference to Irish State wrongdoing in the aftermath of the murder of Seamus Ludlow just five months later:
In addition a subcommittee of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in Leinster House concluded that these were acts of “international terrorism". It added: “The British government cannot legitimately refuse to co-operate with investigations and attempts to get to the truth.”
But of course it has. And part of the reason for that is the total failure of successive Irish governments to confront British governments on this policy. Indeed in the case of Seamus Ludlow the Irish government’s interest was not in the truth but in blaming republicans.
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11 December 2006: A Newry branch of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre was officially opened today by the murdered solicitor's widow, Geraldine, to coincide with International Human Rights Day.
The new office at Abbey Yard will be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will provide advice and information for people concerned about collusion.
The new office's Manager is Alan Brecknell, whose father was murdered 19 December 1975 in the loyalist attack on Donnelly's Bar, Silverbridge.
Among those in attendance at the opening was a member of the Ludlow family.
Also present were Margaret English and Maura McKeever, daughters of the victims of the Dundalk bombing of 19 December 1975.
See report in The Newry Democrat, 12 December 2006: Widow opens Newry's Pat Finucane Centre
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30 November 2006: See these further press reports about the sensational oireachtas report that was published yesterday in Dublin. These and further extensive coverage can be accessed on the Dundalk bombing campaign website:
The Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland edition): Brits did help kill eighteen civilians Thatcher knew of collusion says report into atrocities
The Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland edition): Massacre of the innocents
The Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland edition): (Editorial) Collusion: The truth
The Irish Daily Mail: Dundalk pub bomb horror
The Irish Daily Mail: Comment: Britain must own up to its role in dirty war
The Irish Daily Star: Brits colluded with loyalists in terror reign Justice committee's damning report into murders
The Irish Daily Star (Editorial Comment): Tell us the truth
The Irish Examiner: Government backs report on collusion in North
The Irish Examiner: The nine attacks — a litany of terror and death
The Irish Examiner: ‘What we have heard today are things we have known for years’
The Irish Independent: British colluded in 'butchery'
The Irish News: Families welcome collusion findings
The Irish Times: London must co-operate on collusion inquiries - Ahern
The Irish Times: 'Widespread' collusion by British forces behind atrocities
The Irish Times: Remit: the atrocities covered
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29 November 2006: See this e-mail news bulletin from the highly respected Derry-based human rights group The Pat Finucane Centre on today's publication of the Oireachtas committee's report on the fourth Barron Report on the Dundalk bombing and a number of other murderous attacks around the same time - including Silverbridge, Dublin Airport, Castleblayney, the Miami Showband and the Reavey and O'Dowd families.
This latest oireachtas report appears to have gone further than previous reports in confronting the British government on the issue of RUC and UDR/British Army collusion with loyalist killers in these various attacks.
The Pat Finucane Centre's bulletin reads:
Irish Parliamentary report on Collusion online
An Irish Parliamentary (Dail) report on Collusion, released this afternoon, is now available online. The PFC gave evidence to the parliamentary sub-committee and a recent report on collusion commissioned by the PFC, the Panel report, has been added as an appendix to the document. The Sub-Committee found extensive evidence of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British forces. The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern TD described the findings as "deeply disturbing."
PFC researcher Alan Brecknell, whose father died in one of the gun/bomb attacks carried out by members of a UVF/RUC/UDR gang based at Glenanne in South Armagh, welcomed the report and called on the Northern Secretary of State to "release the documents which to date have been withheld from the Irish Government, NGOs and families. It's time to come clean on the links between the northern security forces and loyalist paramilitaries."
Like the recent International Report on Collusion, this Oireachtas Report is a damning indictment of the British government and its various forces in Ireland who were actively involved in collusion with loyalist killers or perhaps even the instigation of sectarian murder on both sides of the Irish border during the 1970s.
The oireachtas committee's report can be downloaded as a .pdf file from the oireachtas website
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29 November 2006: Here in the plainest of language is the Oireachtas committee's condemnation of the UK government and its forces in north of Ireland for engaging in collusion with loyalist killers in acts of international terrorism in the Irish Republic.
At the outset we bear in mind that the Dundalk bombing, the Castleblayney bombing and the Dublin Airport bombing were acts of international terrorism where terrorists from another jurisdiction entered this one to murder and maim innocent civilians. . .
The fact that collusion occurred in these acts of international terrorism raises profound questions as to our relationship with the United Kingdom. The fact that we are dealing with acts of international terrorism also raises the question about whether or not the UK can legitimately refuse to co-operate with the investigation.
(Quote from The Final Report of the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern, Dundalk.)
To read more go to the Dundalk bombing campaign's website. See also: Dundalk Bombing Report Finds Collusion
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November 2006: See today's issue of The Argus (
Dundalk),
for an
article headlined A high level
of collusion found in Dundalk bombing, looking forward to
today's publication of the Oireachtas committee's final report on the
Dundalk bombing:
A high level of collusion existed between the British government and loyalist paramilitaries responsible for the 1975 Dundalk bombing, an Oireachtas report set to be published today (Wednesday) has found.
This is the final report from the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Womens' Rights, which investigated the Dundalk bombing, and is expected to confirm what the families of the Dundalk men who were killed in that bombing, had long suspected.
Margaret English, whose father Hugh Watters was killed in the blast, said that although this was certainly a breakthrough in their campaign for the truth to be told about the bombing at Kay’s Tavern on Crowe Street, the families were asking ‘What is going to be done now?”
She also expressed her shock at hearing the findings of the report on the news on Monday morning, and having to make her own enquiries about its publication. . .
Click on the link above to read the rest of the article.
See also in The Argus: "Christmas spoiled forever" for Maura, reporting an interview with Maura McKeever, daughter of bomb victim Jack Rooney
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26 November 2006: See this report by journalist Colm Heatley from thepost.ie: The Sunday Business Post online: Report Unearths Loyalist And British Collusion On Bombings.
The report announces the publication this week of the Oireachtas Justice committee's report on the Dundalk bombing and other loyalist atrocities in the 1970s.
The report begins:
Britain
colluded with loyalist gangs responsible for three bombings in the
Republic in the 1970s, including a bomb at Dublin Airport that
killed one man, an Oireachtas report has found.
Britain colluded with loyalist gangs responsible for three bombings
in the Republic in the 1970s, including a bomb at Dublin Airport
that killed one man, an Oireachtas report has found.
The joint Oireachtas committee report into the bombings at the
airport and Kay's Tavern in Dundalk, Co Louth, in 1975 and a bombing
in Castleblayney in Monaghan in 1976 will be published on Wednesday.
. .
To read more from The Sunday Business Post's report click on the link above.
See also: The Irish Examiner, 27 November 2006: Second collusion report pressurises Government - another report by Colm Heatley
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14 November 2006: The following is from an e-mail news bulletin produced by the local LMFM Radio.
Main
Local News Headlines 14th Nov 2006
PSNI
Chief to answer questions on Dundalk bombing The
Chief Constable of the PSNI will make history today when he
appears for the first time before an Oireachtas Committee in
Leinster House to answer questions about the 1975 Dundalk bombing.
Hugh Orde will be the first Head of Police in the North to engage
in such an undertaking since Ireland was partitioned in May 1921.
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13 November 2006: The following is from an e-mail bulletin produced by the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre.
The Report of the Independent International Panel on Alleged Collusion in Sectarian Killings In Northern Ireland
is now available online at www.patfinucanecentre.org(We are reprinting the hard copy version and it will be available again later this week from the office)
In 2004 the Pat Finucane Centre of Derry asked Professor Douglass Cassel, then of Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, USA, to convene an independent international panel of inquiry into alleged collusion by members of United Kingdom security forces in sectarian murders and other serious crimes in Northern Ireland in the mid-1970’s – and particularly the activities of the so-called “Glenanne group.”
Two of the four Panel members, Professor Douglass Cassel who teaches international human rights, international humanitarian and international criminal law at Notre Dame Law School in the United States of America and Susie Kemp, an international lawyer based in The Hague and is a former Investigator with the International Criminal Court, presented their report in Belfast and Dublin last week.
The 108 page report has been produced independently of the PFC and drafts were provided for commentary in advance to the British Government, the Office of the Police Ombudsman and the PFC. The Panel examined 25 cases on both sides of the border where collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and state agents was alleged. A number of the 25 cases involved multiple deaths and 76 people died in the incidents examined. The Panel investigation included a number of attacks in the Republic of Ireland including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Dundalk and Castleblaney bombings and the murder of John Francis Green.
The international report on collusion can be downloaded directly by clicking on this link.>>>
See the Dundalk bombing campaign's website.
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6 November 2006: See the following online press coverage of today's launch, in Belfast, of an independent report on British state collusion with loyalist murderers, compiled by an international panel of experts.
The international inquiry panel found strong witness and forensic evidence of RUC and British Army collusion with loyalists in no less than 74 killings on both sides of the Irish border during the 1970s. The panel looked at 25 loyalist attacks and found evidence of collusion in all but one!
Attacks covered by the report inculded the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 (34 dead), the bombings of Castleblayney (1 death) and Dundalk (2 deaths); and attacks north of the border at Silverbridge (3 deaths), and on the Reavey and O'Dowd families (3 deaths in each case); as well as the notorious Miami Showband massacre (three musicians murdered, after two of the loyalist/UDR checkpoint killers were blown up by their own bomb!).
Irish Times/ireland.com: Garda Castigated In Report On North Collusion
Irish American Information Service online: RUC APPROVED AND COLLUDED IN 25 MURDERS - REPORT 2006-11-06 11:53:00.0 EST
BBC News online: Security 'Links' To Murder Plots
Ulster Television News online: US academic shocked by report's findings
For more extensive press coverage of this important development please go to the Dundalk bombing campaign's website.
Download the independent inquiry report directly by clicking on this link.>>>
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November 2006: See The
Pat Finucane Centre, Derry, statement: INVITATION
TO
THE LAUNCH OF THE REPORT
OF THE INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL PANEL
See also the accompanying press reports of this important international independent report into collusion between the RUC and the British Army/UDR with loyalist killers operating on both sides of the Irish border during the 1970s.
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18 October 2006: In today's issue of the local weekly Dundalk Democrat newspaper, writer Anne Marie Eaton briefly reported:
The confrontation by the BBC television Spotlight programme of four men named as the main suspects in the 1976 murder of Seamus Ludlow has strengthened the Ludlow family's resolve to get justice, they said this week.
Jimmy Sharkey, a nephew of Seamus Ludlow, said: "We want to find out who suppressed the investigation. The people who suppressed the truth are as criminal as those who murdered Seamus."
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11 October 2006: See today's issue of the local Dundalk weekly The Argus: BBC 'Spotlight' programme on Ludlow murder
See also today's issue of The Newry Democrat: Mambo in Spotlight over Ludlow murder
One
of the four loyalists accused of the murder of Seamus Ludlow over 30 years
ago will be questioned about the murder on the BBC programme, which airs
tonight.
BBC reporter Kevin Magee tracks down the main suspect Samuel Black-Carroll
- also known as 'Mambo' - and for the first time, TV viewers will
see the suspect's reaction when confronted and asked if he pulled the
trigger.
All four suspects will appear on screen.
See screenshots from this BBC Spotlight documentary here.>>>
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11 October 2006: See two reports of the recent oireachtas committee hearings into the fourth Barron Report on the Dundalk bombing, from The Argus. The first report includes comment from Maura McKeever and Margaret English, daughters of the two victims of the loyalist car bombing at Kay's Tavern public house on Crowe Street, Dundalk, December 1975:
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11 October 2006: See the excellent coverage of the recent Oireachtas justice sub-committee hearings into the fourth Barron Report and the Dundalk bombing in today's local Argus newspaper.
Headlined Relatives tell of their sense of betrayal at collusion, The Argus quotes from interviews with Maura McKeever and Margaret English, daughters of the two murdered victims of the Dundalk bombing of 19 December 1975. The article begins:
Relatives of the two men killed in the loyalist bombing of Kay’s
Tavern, Crowe St on Friday 19th December 1975 told members of the
Oireachtas Justice Sub-Committee into the Barron Report of their sense
of betrayal when they learned of allegations of collusion and have
called for a public inquiry into the Garda investigation. . .
To read the article on the Dundalk bombing click the link above or here.>>>
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10 October 2006: See this e-mail news bulletin from LMFM Radio regarding the impending broadcast of the BBC Spotlight team's documentary featuring the four loyalist suspects in the murder of Seamus Ludlow:
Interview with Ludlow murder suspects to be broadcast
Interviews with the main suspects in the murder of Seamus Ludlow will be broadcast tonight. The 47 year old forestry worker was shot dead, by a gang of loyalists, neat his home at Thistle Cross, outside Dundalk in May 1976. No-one has ever been charged with the murder, although the alleged identities of the killers have been known for years. The BBC's Spotlight programme has tracked down the key suspects and their reaction to the allegations can be seen at 10.35 tonight.
See screenshots from this documentary here.>>>
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8 October 2006: See an exclusive report in today's Sunday World newspaper (Northern Edition) announcing a major development in the Seamus Ludlow case: Exclusive Ludlow suspect in TV interview / BBC track down death puzzle man / Beeb show has new evidence on 1976 killing
The BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight current affairs team are to broadcast a documentary on Tuesay, 10 October at 10.35pm (Irish time)
The Sunday World reveals that the Spotlight team have tracked down and interviewed for the programme Samuel Black-Carroll, one of the four main suspects named in the recently published Barron Report and Oireachtas Report. The Sunday World report includes a recent photograph of the suspect.
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6 October 2006: See statement issued today by the Pat Finucane Centre, Derry, regarding evidence given to the Oireachtas committee on Wednesday.
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5 October 2006: The following brief report is from a daily e-mail news bulletin issued today by local LMFM Radio:
Oireachtas Committee hears “culture of secrecy” persists
A solicitor for the families of the victims of the Dundalk bombings has claimed that a culture of secrecy and reluctance to hand over information to the Gardai still exists to this day. Solicitor James Mc Guill has told the Oireachtas Justice Committee that there should be an inquiry into the attitude of the authorities here into what they knew to be collusion between the Ulster Defence Regiment and loyalists in the 1970s. The families gave evidence last week about how they were treated at the time of the bombings and made a plea that it wouldn't happen to others. Hugh Watters and Jack Rooney were killed in a car bomb attack outside Kay's Tavern in Crowe Street on December 19th 1975.
For further comment on yesterday's hearing of the oireachtas committee, examining the Barron report into the Dundalk bombing of 19 December 1975, which was also addressed by Mr Paul O'Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre, in Derry see also, today's issue of The Irish Independent: 15pc of UDR ranks were loyalist paramilitaries.
It is of course widely known that UDR members were heavily involved in many of the collusion attacks on both sides of the border - including the Dundalk bombing and the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
A transcript of this hearing of the oireachtas committee can be downloaded from the Oireachtas website, address given below.
See also: Today's The Irish Daily Mail, The culture of secrecy Group alleges gardai are withholding crucial files on collusion by British in Dundalk car bombing
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4 October 2006: A further hearing of the Oireachtas sub-committee in Dublin examining the fourth Barron Report.
The Pat Finucane Centre (PFC), Derry, gave evidence concerning the activities of the 'Glenanne gang' in the murder triangle in the 1970s. The transcript can be accessed on the oireachtas website.
In a statement issued 6 October, PFC said:
One of the official documents referred to in evidence and titled Subversion in the UDR can be accessed through the PFC link below. It is ironic that the Dail transcript should become available today against the backdrop of the British Royal visit to Belfast to bestow honours on the Royal Irish Regiment. The locally based units of the RIR, which evolved from the UDR, are to be disbanded. The BBC devoted two hours of live TV coverage to the ceremony which saw Queen 'Lisbeth heap praise on the men who had apparently helped bring peace to the 'province'. The UDR was heavily infiltrated by loyalist paramiiltaries and was the most important source of weapons for loyalist groups and was known to be so by the Ministry of Defence as is made clear in the document below.
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25 September 2006: See the public statement from The Pat Finucane Centre and Justice For the Forgotten regarding the opening of public hearings of the Oireachtas Justice Committee into the fourth Barron Report on the Dundalk bombing and other loyalist collusion atrocities on both sides of the border in the 1970s.
The hearings open on 26 September.
As well as the bombing of
Dundalk, that of Castleblayney, Dublin Airport, the railway line at Baronrath
Bridge, Co. Kildare, the Miami Showband murders, the gun and bomb attack at
Donnelly’s Bar, Silverbridge and several other atrocities in which collusion
is suspected, will be included.
Family
members and survivors of these atrocities will tell their own personal stories
to the Committee at tomorrow’s session. On Wednesday, 27th
September, Justice for the Forgotten and the Pat Finucane Centre will
appear before the Committee and give presentations based on their substantive
written submissions already furnished to the Committee.
Justice
for the Forgotten and
the Pat Finucane Centre believe that it is now possible to make links
between four attacks in this State in the two-year period from May 1974 to March
1976, which claimed the lives of 38 people and that it is also possible to make
a very much stronger case for the existence of direct collusion in these cases
than ever before.
To access the full statement from Justice For the Forgotten and the Pat Finucane Centre use this link.>>>
See also: The Dundalk Bombing campaign website for further information about the Oireachtas sub-committee hearings.
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18 July 2006: See The Newry Democrat, SAS suspects in Ludlow murder
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13 July 2006: See The Irish News, Revealed — how British threatened harsh sanctions over SAS arrests
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5 July 2006: The Barron Report into the Dundalk bombing of 19 December 1975, in which local men Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters lost their lives has been published today. The report, which also covers a number of other loyalist attacks on both sides of the border is available to download from the link below. For more detailed information go to the Dundalk bombing campaign website.
Download the Barron Report into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern, Dundalk.
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June 2006: In a fresh development, Belfast Telegraph journalist
Michael McHugh reports on an interview with a nephew of the late George
Mussen, who has been identified as the intended target of the UDR/Red Hand
Commando killers of Seamus Ludlow. See The
Belfast Telegraph: Nephew
of loyalist murder gang's 'real target' tells of uncle's flight
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June 2006: See journalist Michael McHugh's report Ludlow
murder report to be finished in four weeks
from the Belfast Telegraph. The
Belfast Telegraph report includes comments from Jimmy Sharkey, a
nephew of the late Seamus Ludlow. I
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24 May 2006:
See The Dundalk Democrat, Call
for Taoiseach to look at 60 Irish murders
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May 2006: The Assistant Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan met with
members of the Ludlow family in Dundalk today. The meeting took place in
the offices of the Ludlow family's solicitor James McGuill.
The
meeting follows from the Final Report of the Joint Oireachtas
Sub-Committee examining the Barron Report which recommended a reopening of
the investigation into the murder of Seamus Ludlow just over thirty years
ago on 2 May 1976.
See
report in The Argus, 10 May 2065: Ludlows
met Asst. Cmmr.
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May
2006: Members of the Ludlow family travelled to Belfast today to support
fellow campaigners An Fhírinne launch a new website designed to help
highlight and compile accounts of state collusion in murders in Ireland
over the past 35 years.
Members
of An Fhirinne kindly supported the Ludlow family by coming to
Dundalk for Seamus Ludlow's fresh inquest in September 2005. Their
presence at Dundalk Courthouse was deeply appreciated on that occasion.
An
Fhírinne unveiled details of their new site at the Rodaí Mac Corlaí Club
in west Belfast. The
group, which was set up four years ago, hopes that the initiative will
prompt more relatives to come forward with information about the deaths of
their loved ones where there has been evidence of collusion. An
Fhírinne believes that state-sponsored murder was a formal, politically
sanctioned tactic by the British government and that the security
apparatus established to facilitate this still exists today. Sinn
Féin president Gerry Adams and other relatives of collusion victims
addressed today’s gathering. See
report in Daily Ireland, 3 May 2006.
The report focuses on the case of Seamus Ludlow, and Mrs Eileen Fox, a
sister of Seamus, is pictured with Mr Gerry Adams. An
Fhirinne's website can be found at: http://www.anfhirinne.org/ I
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May 2006: Today marks the 30th anniversary of Seamus
Ludlow's murder. Thirty years without justice for the innocent victim of
UDR and loyalist killers who have been protected all that time by the RUC
and the Garda! Thirty years of questions with so few answers. But still,
thirty years in which the determination of the Ludlow family has not
dimmed! No
major events were organised for this sad landmark in the Ludlow family's
struggle for truth and justice. It has been a day for sad reflection and
remembrance of a loved one who was taken by cruelly heartless killers all
those years ago. The
anniversary was marked by Sky News Ireland which sent a reporter and camera
man to Dundalk to interview members of the wider Ludlow family circle as
they remembered Seamus. The anniversary was featured on Sky News Ireland's news
programme later in the evening. See:
The Newry Democrat, 2 April 2006: A
30-year search for the truth
The
Argus (Dundalk), 3 May 2006: Looking
back on yesteryear 30 years ago I
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Download the Barron Report from the Oireachtas website (pdf file)
SUPPORT THE SEAMUS LUDLOW APPEAL FUND
Bank of Ireland 78 Clanbrassil Street Dundalk County Louth IrelandAccount No. 70037984
Thank You.
Copyright © 2010 the Ludlow family. All rights reserved.
Revised: April 22, 2010