[35], On 22 January 1976, a second UDR soldier, Sergeant James Roderick Shane McDowell (aged 29, an optical worker, also from Lurgan) was arrested and charged with the Miami killings. [4], A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. Agent Elvis. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island. 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. At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and all were members of the UVF. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. [90] The encounter took place inside Hudson's church, All Souls Belfast. Weir's affidavit implicating Robin Jackson in a number of attacks including the 1974 Dublin bombings was published in the 2003 Barron Report; the findings of an official investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Judge Henry Barron. Martin Dillon suggested in The Dirty War that at least five serving UDR soldiers were present at the checkpoint. He was also one of the prime suspects in the sectarian killing of Dorothy Traynor on 1 April 1975 in Portadown. "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.". In his flat - which few people visited - Somerville kept a large photograph of Robin Jackson on the wall of his living room. [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. Video: Netflix. It was his brother Wesley's arm," said the source. 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. He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold. The government held the view that the British Government had not done enough to stop sectarian assassinations in Northern Ireland. [8] The brigade was described by author Don Mullan as one of the most ruthless units operating in the 1970s. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. [14], Jackson was an alleged RUC Special Branch agent who was said by Yorkshire Television's The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre programme to have had links to both the Intelligence Corps and Captain Robert Nairac. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. He also provides other alibis for Nairac precluding his presence at the scenes of both the John Francis Green killing and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. [58] He was later shot dead in Portadown on 25 January 1976, allegedly by Jackson for having informed the RUC about Thomas Crozier's participation in the attack. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. He then drove to a lay-by on the Newry-Banbridge dual carriageway and met up with another five men, who were all wearing British Army uniforms. Jackson was convinced Hanna was a Special Branch informer and he feared he may spill details of the imminent Miami attack to his RUC handler. He added that had the death penalty not been abolished, it would have been imposed in this case. [30][39], When the device was tilted on its side,[30] clumsy soldering on the clock used as a timer caused the bomb to explode prematurely, blowing the minibus apart and killing UVF men Harris Boyle (aged 22, a telephone wireman from Portadown) and Wesley Somerville (aged 34, a textile worker from Moygashel) instantly. [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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. It has been suggested that the bomb was meant to explode en route, so that the victim band members would appear to be Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb-smugglers and stricter security measures would be established at the border. But along with his friend Jackson, he helped build the UVF in mid-Ulster. [88], Travers travelled to Belfast in 2006 for a secret meeting with the second-in-command of the UVF's Brigade Staff, in an attempt to come to terms with the killing of his former colleagues and friends. [81] Martin Dillon maintained in The Dirty War that the Miami Showband attack was planned weeks before at a house in Portadown, and the person in charge of the overall operation was a former UDR man, whom Dillon referred to for legal reasons as "Mr. The Historical Enquiries Team investigated the killings and released their report to the victims' families in December 2011. The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband Massacre) was an attack by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, on 31 July 1975. The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. Updated / Monday, 13 Dec 2021 22:28. The scene of the Miami Showband killings in County Down, Northern Ireland, on 31 July 1975. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which was set up to investigate the more controversial Troubles-related deaths, released its report on the Miami Showband killings to the victims' families in December 2011. [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. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. . [28][45] The RUC's investigative unit, the Assassination or "A" Squad of detectives, was set up to investigate the crime and to discover the identities of the UVF gunmen who perpetrated the killings. The six-strong group were one of the biggest acts on the Irish music scene throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. 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. The year 1975 was marked by an escalation in sectarian attacks and a vicious feud between the two main loyalist paramilitary groups, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. [35] Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:[75]. [43], Ballistic evidence indicates that the 10-member gang took at least six guns with them on the attack. 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. It was found 100 yards (91m) from the site with a "UVF Portadown" tattoo on it. 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. [53] The judge, by sentencing McDowell and Crozier to 35 years imprisonment each, had handed down the longest life sentences in the history of Northern Ireland; he commented that "killings like the Miami Showband must be stopped". [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. Major Boyle ordered his patrol to apprehend the occupants for questioning. Tests done on the glasses, which were eventually traced back to McDowell, revealed that the lenses were of a prescription worn by just 1 in 500,000 of the population. Hurled in opposite directions, they were both decapitated and their bodies dismembered. Miami showband massacre Stock Photos and Images (9) See miami showband massacre stock video clips RF TTNAG4 - A plaque in Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland to those who died in what became known as the Miami Showband Massacre in 1975 at Buskhill, Newry. 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. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. [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. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. On July 30, 1972, the final details. During that strike on 17 May, the UVF carried out the Dublin and Monaghan car bombings, which killed 33 civilians. 2023 Getty Images. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. [37][38] This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations. [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". But our investigations this week revealed that shortly before he died, Jackson sent for self-confessed loyalist gunrunner Willie Frazer, also now deceased. Following the explosion pandemonium broke out among the remaining gunmen; shouting obscenities, they started shooting the dazed band members, who had all been blown down into the field below the level of the road from the force of the blast. [92], Travers also visited the home of Thomas Crozier, hoping to meet with him but the latter did not come to the door. The band was . And six years later - seconds before he was handed four life sentences - his voice boomed across the courtroom: "I'm being sent to prison because I wouldn't become an informer like the rest of them," he yelled at the trial judge. 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. Two of the gunmen were attempting to plant a time bomb on the vehicle, when it prematurely exploded and killed them. 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. Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. [5] This move made loyalists apprehensive and suspicious that a secret accord was being conducted between the British government and the IRA, and that Northern Ireland's Protestants would be "sold out". [100] He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder. I did what I did. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. [47] The UVF gunmen had worn green UDR berets, whereas the other man's had been lighter in colour. A Sunday World investigation into the Miami Showband atrocity has revealed the now deceased killer's assertion was true. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". 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. He also added that "that bomb was definitely placed there with a view to killing all in that band".[22]. 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 . "John said the cops told him there was no need for him to go to prison. [10][11] Hanna was named by former British Intelligence Corps operative Colin Wallace as having organised and led the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, along with Jackson. [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. Days before the Miami attack, Robin Jackson murdered William Hanna, the UVF commander in mid-Ulster. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. [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. [15][16] A report in the Irish Times implicated Jackson in the Dublin bombings. Twenty minutes before - in what was clearly a co-ordinated operation - another loyalist killer gang made up of police officers and UDR soldiers launched a murder attack on the Reavey family home in Whitecross. [37] They had hoped to embarrass the Government of Ireland, as well as to draw attention to its level of control of the border. As a teenager with strongly held anti-Catholic views, Somerville joined the B Specials, but he later went to sea as a member of the Merchant Navy. [30] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. They also discovered a stolen white Ford Escort registration number 4933 LZ,[43] which had been left behind by the gunmen, along with two guns, ammunition, green UDR berets and a pair of glasses later traced to James McDowell, the gunman who had allegedly ordered the shootings. This is one of the last photographs taken of the band before the massacre on 31st July 1975. [67][clarification needed], A number of suspects were arrested by the RUC in early August 1975. His cell was kept immaculately clean and visitors were required to remove their shoes before entering. I got them with dum-dums". Can you step out of the van for a few minutes and we'll just do a check". [81] Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack. [35] Dillon also opined in God and the Gun: The Church and Irish Terrorism that the dead bombers, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, had actually led the UVF gang at Buskhill. The band's road manager, Brian Maguire, had already gone ahead a few minutes earlier in the equipment van. [66] RUC officer John Weir claims that UDR corporal and alleged UVF member Robert McConnell was involved in the attack. [33], A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. 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. Driven by a personal tragedy, a pianist-turned-lawyer navigates the complex world of divorce fighting for his clients to win by any means necessary. [25] As McCoy rolled down the window and produced his driving licence, gunmen came up to the minibus and one of them said in a Northern Irish accent, "Goodnight, fellas. 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. The two men were found shot dead nearby. However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic. [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. Robin Jackson died of cancer in May 1998 aged 49. [4] The band had no overt interest in politics nor in the religious beliefs of the people who made up their audience. [69] Stephen Travers decried: "We believe the only conclusion possible arising from the HET report is that one of the most prolific loyalist murderers of the conflict was an RUC Special Branch agent and was involved in the Miami Showband attack". [44] None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught.