His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. 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 child of Northern Ireland's Troubles recalls that fateful night when The Miami Showband was ambushed by the Ulster Volunteer Force on this day in 1975. The Officers and Agents of the Ulster Central Intelligence Agency commend the UVF on their actions and tender their deepest sympathy to the relatives of the two Officers who died while attempting to remove the bomb from the minibus. It allows for commemoration and leaving of flowers at the location itself. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". Robin Jackson died of cancer in May 1998 aged 49. [34] 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. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. The Miami Showband toured throughout 1970s Ireland before the attack The musicians were ordered to line up at the roadside outside Newry while the gang loaded a bomb on to their bus. [4], In May 1974, unionists called a general strike to protest against the Sunningdale Agreement an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland, which would have given the Government of Ireland a voice in running Northern Ireland. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. But he quit when the Troubles erupted on the streets of Belfast and Derry in the autumn of 1969. Asked whether he had anything valuable inside the case, Travers replied no. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. 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. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. Three band members were taken from their tour bus and shot . Almost his entire head was destroyed. Vergrern Sie die Reichweite Ihrer Marke authentisch und teilen Sie Markeninhalte mit Kreativen im Internet. At the precise moment of the explosion, the patrol came under intense automatic fire from the occupants of the other vehicle. Das Getty Images Design ist eine eingetragene Marke von Getty Images. [34], 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. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. The Miami Showband Massacre, the latest in Netflix's ReMastered music documentary series, may feature a band unfamiliar to Americans but the horrendous violence on display puts most American true . [98] In 2011, Journalist Kevin Myers denounced the attack with the following statement: "in its diabolical inventiveness against such a group of harmless and nave young men, it is easily one of the most depraved [of the Troubles]". They were driving home from a Gaelic football match in Dublin. crime scene photos 1,913 Vintage Crime Scene Premium High Res Photos Browse 1,913 vintage crime scene stock photos and images available, or search for crime scene photos to find more great stock photos and pictures. Former serving Secret Intelligence Service agent Captain Fred Holroyd, and others, suggested that Nairac had organised the attack in co-operation with Robin Jackson and the Mid-Ulster UVF. The meeting was arranged by Rev. Crime Scene Photos The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office released graphics images this week, taken in the aftermath of 27-year-old Christian Obumseli's death. The explosion ripped through the building, killing 21-year-old married woman Marion Bowen, who was eight months pregnant at the time. Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were given UVF paramilitary funerals conducted by Free Presbyterian minister William McCrea, a Democratic Unionist Party politician. Her brothers Seamus and Michael also died in the attack, which was later claimed by the Protestant Action Force, a cover name for the Mid-Ulster UVF. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. [21][36] 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. [35] Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:[75]. [100] According to the report, Jackson had claimed during police interrogations that after the shootings, a senior RUC officer had advised him to "lie low". Fortnight Magazine reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status. It would appear that the UVF patrol surprised members of a terrorist organisation transferring weapons to the Miami Showband minibus and that an explosive device of some description was being carried by the Showband for an unlawful purpose. Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. [18] More uniformed men appeared from out of the darkness, their guns pointed at the minibus. Somerville walked over to McCaughey saying: "Get back on the bus. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. However, the officers suspected that the checkpoint was fake. [34][81][82] 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. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart . O'Toole and McCoy were both married; each had two children. While the Miami is synonymous, for many, with the atrocity, the musical tells the whole story of the band, Lynch says, from when it re-formed in 1967, and Fran O'Toole and Des Lee first joined . There was very little planning. In December 1972, Rock left the band to be briefly replaced by two brothers, Frankie and Johnny Simon. "ReMastered: The Miami Showband . In 1974, while on the way home from a gig, the apolitical rock group, The Miami Showband, fell into the crosshairs of a Protestant unionist paramilitary group that planted explosives on their bus when it was stopped at a fake checkpoint. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. The submachine guns, which had been stolen years earlier from a former member of the B Specials,[52] were linked to prior and later sectarian killings, whereas the Luger had been used to kill leading IRA member John Francis Green the previous January. [30][32], McCoy, son of the Orange Order's Grand Master for County Tyrone,[33] had close relatives in the security forces; his brother-in-law was a former member of the B Specials which had been disbanded in 1970. [56], Within 12 hours of the attack, the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership based on the Shankill Road) issued a statement. Halfway to Newry, their minibus was stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered them to line up by the roadside. The attack was carried out by loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and took place while the group, a popular cabaret band, were travelling home to Dublin after a performance. Sometimes the showbands played traditional Irish music at their performances. [4] He spoke with an educated English accent and immediately took charge, ordering a man who appeared to have been the leader of the patrol to tell Crozier to obtain their names and dates of birth instead of addresses. [37][38] This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations. [22] 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. 8 in the Irish charts. 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. [62][64], 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). 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. [15][16] A report in the Irish Times implicated Jackson in the Dublin bombings. Then They Were Coldly Murdered", "An Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 1975", "Sub-Committee on the Barron Report 26September 2006 Public Hearings on the Barron Report". The other gunmen then started shooting the dazed band members, killing three and wounding two. The attack was carried out by loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and took place while the group, a popular cabaret band, were travelling home to Dublin after a performance. Hier knnen Sie Inhalte sammeln, auswhlen und Anmerkungen zu Ihren Dateien hinterlegen. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. The patrol sergeant immediately ordered the patrol to shoot back. "Billy Mac") took over as the group's frontman when the Simon brothers quit the band. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. Although not a member of any loyalist paramilitary group,[26] he was a close friend of Harris Boyle and the two were often seen together. 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. [80] The same panel revealed that about six weeks before the attack, Thomas Crozier, Jackson and the latter's brother-in-law Samuel Fulton Neill, were arrested for the possession of four shotguns. [4][18][28][29] As Crozier took down the information, a car pulled up and another uniformed man appeared on the scene. Two of the gunmen were attempting to plant a time bomb on the vehicle, when it prematurely exploded and killed them. This is one of the last photographs taken of the band before the massacre on 31st July 1975. [47][71] In his first parliamentary speech on 7 July 1987, Ken Livingstone MP told the House of Commons, "it was likely" that Nairac had organised the attack. RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. Please check your inbox to verify your details, Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. How are things? . And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. [5] Their fears were slightly grounded in fact, as the MI6 officer Michael Oatley was involved in negotiations with a member of the IRA Army Council, during which "structures of disengagement" from Ireland were discussed. [83] Journalists Kevin Dowling and Liam Collins in the Irish Independent however, suggested in their respective articles that Jackson had been the leader of the unit. However, later forensics established that Boyle and Somerville were putting the bomb under the driver's seat and as it tilted on its side it detonated. [21][84], Former British soldier and writer Ken Wharton 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. Geraghty was engaged to be married. [4], A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. In prison John Somerville lived a reclusive life. On April 17, 1975, Somerville and Jackson blew up a Catholic-owned cottage which was being renovated at Killyliss between Dungannon and Ballygawley. He lay hidden in thick undergrowth, face down, undetected by the gunmen. It had been set up in Lurgan in 1972 by part-time Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) sergeant and permanent staff instructor Billy Hanna, who made himself commander of the brigade. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. And two years later when he was scooped in an RUC raid in Dungannon on September 26, 1980, he made a detailed confession outlining his involvement in numerous UVF murders. The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. [77] However, Ministry of Defence documents released in 2020 contain suggestions that Nairac acquired equipment and uniforms for the Miami Showband killers, and that he was responsible for the planning and execution of the attack itself. That same year, keyboardist Francis (Fran) O'Toole (from Bray, County Wicklow) had won the Gold Star Award on RT's Reach For the Stars television programme. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. They were prepared to travel anywhere in Ireland to perform for their fans. The two men were found shot dead nearby. [19][25][26] During "The Troubles" it was normal for the British Army to set up checkpoints at any time. Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. No one coerced me. The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre)[1] was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. 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. And nearer home, they carried out five operations in one day in the Moy and Stewartstown. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [96], In a report on Nairac's alleged involvement in the massacre, published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper on 16 May 1999, Colin Wills called the ambush "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". 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. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. [53] It was believed he had been betrayed to the RUC by a member of the gang. [22][91] It was revealed in Peter Taylor's book Loyalists that "the Craftsman" had been instrumental in bringing about the 1994 Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) ceasefire. [78], The band's road manager, Brian Maguire stated that when he drove away from Banbridge in the lead, a few minutes ahead of the band's minibus, he passed through security barriers manned by the RUC. U 4. From left: Steve Travers, Tony Geraghty, Ray Millar, Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole, Des Lee. [69], 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 on 26 September 1980. Survivors and relatives of those murdered in the Miami Showband massacre are to receive nearly 1.5m (1.75m) in total damages to settle claims over . The Luger was destroyed by the RUC on 28 August 1978. Using self-loading rifles and sub-machine guns, the patrol shot back, killing three of their attackers and wounding another. At 2.30am, their Volkswagen minibus was stopped at a bogus military checkpoint, where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered the band members to line up by the roadside. In January 2015, he was found dead in his Shankill Road flat. [72][73] 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. I was told by a source close to "Mr. A" and another loyalist hitman that Nairac was not present at either murder [Miami Showband and John Francis Green]. [100] He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. Others had already been convicted for the Miami attack and they wanted John to stay in the UVF, but to work for them," said a former loyalist prisoner who served time in prison with Somerville. Laat uw merk op authentieke wijze groeien door uw merkcontent te delen met de makers van het internet. He also added that "that bomb was definitely placed there with a view to killing all in that band".[22]. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. [4][22] McAlea made his way up the embankment to the main road where he hitched a lift to alert the RUC at their barracks in Newry. [62] One report says it was stopped at a fake British Army checkpoint. [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. These were held on 1 May 1975 and the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC), which had won 11 out of 12 Northern Irish seats in the February 1974 general election, won a majority again. [53] In a letter to the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Kay's Tavern dated 22 February 2004, the Northern Ireland Office stated that: "The PSNI have confirmed that a 9mm Luger pistol was ballistically traced both to the murder of John Francis Green and to the Miami Showband murders. In the ensuing confusion the UVF men opened fire on the band, killing three and wounding two. Crozier had pleaded not guilty. 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. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. Aaron Carter 's mother believes he was the victim of a crime, not an overdose -- so, she's made the tough decision to let the . [92], Travers also visited the home of Thomas Crozier, hoping to meet with him but the latter did not come to the door. [22], According to Peter Taylor, the Provisional IRA's gun and bomb attack on the loyalist Bayardo Bar in Belfast's Shankill Road on 13 August was in retaliation for the Miami Showband ambush. 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. [4] 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. 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. The dead bombers were named by the UVF, in a statement issued within 12 hours of the attack. They were both present when the Miami Showband bomb exploded, but the shootings which followed seconds later - including the slaughter of Fran O'Toole - were mainly the work of John Somerville. But it went nowhere when a senior RUC officer advised the UVF leader to lie low for a while. He was charged with the Miami Showband murders and the attempted murder of bass player Stephen Travers, as well as the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Crozier told police, and later a court, that he had not played a large part in the attack. He was charged with the Miami Showband murders, the attempted murder of Stephen Travers, and the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. He . Optimieren Sie Ihren Workflow mit unserem erstklassigen Digitalen Asset Management System. The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. [30] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. 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. They had killed many Catholics together and they trusted each other implicitly," said our source. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. With Dublin-born singer [Jimmy Harte] as frontman followed by Dickie Rock as frontman, the Miami Showband underwent many personnel changes over the years. "They also hoped he would one day take over the leadership of the organisation in mid-Ulster when Robin 'The Jackal' Jackson either stood down or was executed.". [19] The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. 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. [33], A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. The UVF maintains regular border patrols due to the continued activity of the Provisional IRA. Two of the gunmen, both soldiers, died when a time bomb they were hiding on the minibus exploded prematurely. [53] The three convicted UVF men, although admitting to having been at the scene, denied having shot anyone. No one forced me. There are also allegations that British military intelligence agents were involved. ;UVF killer Harris Boyle who died in the attack. Notorious loyalist serial killer Robin Jackson. UVF serial killer John Somerville told how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become Special Branch tout and avoid jail, No remorse: Miami Showband killer John Somerville. The music ranged from rock and country and western to Dixieland jazz. It was one of a series of four stamps issued by An Post, celebrating the "golden age of the Irish showband era from the 1950s to the 1970s".[24]. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. [6] The existence of these talks led unionists to believe that they were about to be abandoned by the British government and forced into a united Ireland; as a result, the loyalist paramilitary groups reacted with a violence that, combined with the tit-for-tat retaliations from the IRA (despite their ceasefire), made 1975 one of the "bloodiest years of the conflict". 14 December 2011. [5], UK Home Secretary Roy Jenkins introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which gave the government unprecedented powers against the liberty of individuals in the United Kingdom in peacetime. 1.6K. [85], The Pat Finucane Centre has named the Miami Showband killings as one of the 87 violent attacks perpetrated by the Glenanne gang against the Irish nationalist community in the 1970s. And he wanted Frazer to ensure the Miami killer received any assistance he needed in adjusting to life on the outside.
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