[21][22][31] Travers thought that McCoy, a Protestant from Northern Ireland, was familiar with security checkpoints and had reckoned the regular British Army would be more efficient than the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR), who had a reputation for unprofessional and unpredictable behaviour, especially toward people from the Republic. Died from several gunshot wounds. [13] Dillon suggested that because there were a number of UDR members in the UVF, and were planned to be used for the Miami Showband ambush, Hanna was considered to have been a "security risk", and the UVF decided he had to be killed before he could alert the authorities. Two days before, Jackson and Somerville had carried out a bomb and gun attack at McGleenan's pub in Armagh, killing its owner Jack McGleenan and customers Patrick Hughes and Thomas Morris. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. The band was . 1.6K. 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. [4] Despite the heavy gunfire, Tony Geraghty and Fran O'Toole attempted to carry a severely injured Stephen Travers to safety, but were unable to move him far. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. [22], At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". Aaron Carter's mother releases photos of death scene; calls for 'real [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. The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. Just after the arrival of this mysterious soldier, McCoy nudged Travers, who was standing beside him, and reassured him by saying "Don't worry Stephen, this is British Army". Miami Showband massacre: Survivor appeals to trace couple Miami 1975 - The Massacre In early 1975, bassist Steve Travers replaced Dave Monks. In photographs of the Miami Showband in the 1970s he is a slim and beautiful young man in blue denim , bright-eyed and brimming with fun and music and confidence in himself and in the future.. [89] Hudson, a Unitarian minister, had been a close friend of Fran O'Toole. [50], The stolen Ford Escort belonged to a man from Portadown, who according to Captain Fred Holroyd, had links with one of the UVF bombers and David Alexander Mulholland the driver of the bomb car which had been left to explode in Parnell Street, Dublin, on 17 May 1974. [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. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. Somerville was sent to jail for 35 years and, despite being firmly opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, he was released under its terms after spending just 18 years behind bars. The Miami Showband minibus with five members in all was stopped at a bogus army checkpoint in Northern Ireland and three were killed and two, including Travers, badly injured in July 1975. With Dublin-born singer [Jimmy Harte] as frontman followed by Dickie Rock as frontman, the Miami Showband underwent many personnel changes over the years. The three men were sent to serve their sentence in the Maze Prison, on the outskirts of Lisburn. [40] Three of the musicians were killed: lead singer Fran O'Toole, trumpeter Brian McCoy, and guitarist Tony Geraghty. No one forced me. However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic. 5 languages 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. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. Het ontwerp van Getty Images is een handelsmerk van Getty Images. [55] Both the silencer and pistol which was later established to have been the same one used in the Miami Showband killings were found by the security forces at the home of Edward Sinclair. 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. 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 . They had killed many Catholics together and they trusted each other implicitly," said our source. He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. The incident had an adverse effect on the Irish showband scene, with many of the bands afraid to play in Northern Ireland. Sometimes the showbands played traditional Irish music at their performances. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. (Part of the Independent Newspapers Ireland/NLI Collection) (Photo by Independent News and Media/Getty Images), 3928x2594px (33,26 x 21,96 cm) - 300 dpi - 5 MB. [22] Near the junction with Buskhill Road they were flagged down by armed men dressed in British Army uniforms waving a red torch in a circular motion. They were driving home from a Gaelic football match in Dublin. His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. [4], A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. 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. Laat uw merk op authentieke wijze groeien door uw merkcontent te delen met de makers van het internet. [99], The findings noted in the report confirmed Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson's involvement and identified him as an RUC Special Branch agent. "[54] In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger. 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. The Miami Showband massacre in 1975, had a devastating effect on the showband and live music scene. It confirmed that Jackson was linked to the attack by fingerprints. [36] Dillon opined that another reason the UVF decided to target the Miami Showband was because Irish nationalists held them in high regard; to attack the band was to strike the nationalists indirectly. More than 100 killings have been attributed to him by the Pat Finucane Centre, the Derry-based civil rights group.[15][17]. [62] However, police have blamed the IRA. After meeting a new woman, Somerville settled on the Shankill and for a while he worked in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. 50 True-Crime Documentaries on Netflix | 2023 . [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . O'Toole and McCoy were both married; each had two children. The Story With thanks to Jimmy Harte, Anto Long and Caroline Allen Dickie's Miami (1962-1972) Few bands in Ireland have had as prolific, and tragic, a history as the Miami. Mafia Death Scene Photos - The NCS - National Crime Syndicate Five members of the Dublin-based band were travelling home after a performance at the Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, County Down, on Thursday 31 July 1975. [4], The killings shocked both Northern Ireland and Ireland and put a serious strain on Anglo-Irish relations. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. "John said the cops told him there was no need for him to go to prison. [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. A long battle for justice for three members of a popular Irish music group, Miami Showband, who were murdered during The Troubles in Northern Ireland received a huge boost this week with. [19][25][26] During "The Troubles" it was normal for the British Army to set up checkpoints at any time. He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. The following year, Fran O'Toole became the band's lead vocalist after Mick Roche (Billy Mac's replacement) was sacked. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images By the mid-1980s, the showbands had lost their appeal for the Irish public; although The Miami Showband, albeit with a series of different line-ups, did not disband until 1986. "Special Branch Agent colluded in Miami killings". 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. [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. [79], Another persistent allegation is the direct involvement of Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin Jackson, a native of Donaghmore, County Down, 1.5 miles (2.4km) away from Buskhill. . [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. [101], A Netflix documentary titled ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre was released 22 March 2019, highlighting the efforts of Steve Travers to track down who authorized the attack, for what purposes, and to get an admission of culpability.[102][103]. [56], Within 12 hours of the attack, the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership based on the Shankill Road) issued a statement. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. And despite being married with a family, he immersed himself in loyalist terrorism. The Miami Showband (1962-1996 and 2008-present) Photo Gallery - Band Lineups - Discography - Audio samples - Where Are They Now? But by this time, he was ready to go to jail. [92], Travers also visited the home of Thomas Crozier, hoping to meet with him but the latter did not come to the door. Those responsible for the attack belonged to the Glenanne gang, a secret alliance of loyalist militants, Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police officers and UDR soldiers. ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre (TV Movie 2019) - IMDb The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. 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. There was very little planning. According to former Intelligence Corps agent Captain Fred Holroyd, the killings were organised by British intelligence officer Robert Nairac, together with the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade and its commander Robin "the Jackal" Jackson.
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