[27], After McCoy told them they were the Miami Showband, Thomas Crozier (who had a notebook) asked the band members for their names and addresses, while the others bantered with them about the success of their performance that night and playfully asking which one was Dickie Rock. [20] He survived by pretending he was dead, as he lay beside the body of McCoy. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. 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. [15][16] A report in the Irish Times implicated Jackson in the Dublin bombings. [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. Journalist Emily O'Reilly noted in the Sunday Tribune that none of the three men convicted of the massacre ever implicated Nairac in the attack or accused him of causing Boyle's death. [63] The IRA has denied responsibility. [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. 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. [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". 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 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. Other photographs in the set show similar injuries to all four limbs, his buttocks and face. According to loyalists who knew him, Somerville turned down countless RUC Special Branch offers to work as a police agent. [12] Journalist Joe Tiernan suggested that Hanna was shot for refusing to participate in the Miami Showband attack and that he had become an informer for the Garda in exchange for immunity from prosecution for the Dublin bombings. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. More than 100 killings have been attributed to him by the Pat Finucane Centre, the Derry-based civil rights group.[15][17]. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. [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". 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. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. As they began to enter the vehicle, a bomb was detonated and both men were killed outright. The only identifiable body part from the bombers to survive the blast (which had been heard up to 4 miles (6.4km) away) was a severed arm belonging to Wesley Somerville. [19], In 1994, Eric Smyth, a former UDR member and the husband of Brian McCoy's sister, Sheila, was killed by the IRA. Miami Showband: Massacre devastated Northern Ireland live music scene Miami Showband massacre survivor 'privileged' the band's tragic story The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. [59] Two days later, Portadown disc jockey Norman "Mooch" Kerr, aged 28,[60] was shot dead by the IRA as he packed up his equipment after a show at the Camrick Bar in Armagh. She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. [4][22][74] In his book The Dirty War, Martin Dillon adamantly dismissed the allegation that Nairac had been present. [18][27] The unsuspecting band members got out and were politely told to line up facing the ditch at the rear of the minibus with their hands on their heads. 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. The RUC were led to him through his glasses which had been found at the murder scene. 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 . RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. [86] Weir alleged the bomb used in the Miami Showband attack came from Mitchell's farm. Das Getty Images Design ist eine eingetragene Marke von Getty Images. ;UVF killer Harris Boyle who died in the attack. Stroomlijn uw workflow met ons toonaangevende beheersysteem voor digitale bestanden. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney. [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. 1.5m damages settlement over Miami Showband massacre - RTE.ie Jackson was charged with possession of the silencer but not convicted, the trial judge having reportedly said: "At the end of the day I find that the accused somehow touched the silencer, but the Crown evidence has left me completely in the dark as to whether he did that wittingly or unwittingly, willingly or unwillingly". 2023 Getty Images. December 29, 2022 by Corinne Sullivan. He was given a total of four life sentences (three for the murders of the Miami Showband members and one for the Falls murder) on 9 November 1981; he had pleaded not guilty. 1,453 Vintage Crime Scene Photos Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images [44] The independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre concluded that there was "credible evidence that the principal perpetrator [of the Miami Showband attack] was a man who was not prosecuted alleged RUC Special Branch agent Robin Jackson". 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. 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. [55] Robin Jackson died of cancer on 30 May 1998, aged 49. 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. [97] Irish Times diarist, Frank McNally, summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". Asked whether he had anything valuable inside the case, Travers replied no. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. Viewing autopsy photographs of her battered body in court on Tuesday, she became teary and asked to take a break. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. Griffin goes on to add that the bogus checkpoint was set up not only to plant the bomb on board the van but to ensure the presence of McCoy which would have been confirmed when he handed over his driving licence to the gunmen. 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. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images [47] The RT programme Today Tonight aired a documentary in 1987 in which it claimed that former UVF associates of Harris Boyle revealed to the programme's researchers that Nairac had deliberately detonated the bomb to eliminate Boyle, with whom he had carried out the Green killing. In a rare interview with the BBC Spotlight programme before his death of kidney cancer in 2015, Somerville spoke only once and very briefly about the Miami Showband Massacre. ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre (TV Movie 2019) - IMDb 2023 Getty Images. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. 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. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. Almost his entire head was destroyed. [30] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. Griffin based her theory on the nine bullets that were fired from a Luger into McCoy's body and that Jackson's fingerprints were found on the silencer used for a Luger. Miami Showband killings - Wikipedia [22], At least four of the gunmen were soldiers from the UDR. 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 Gruesome Death Scene Launch Gallery. 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. 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. Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. [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. Our source also claimed John Somerville told him that in an attempt to break him, a police officer entered the interrogation room carrying a severed human arm in a plastic bag. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart . Netflix fails to make sense of the Miami Showband Massacre [34] All the gunmen were members of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade and had been lying in wait to ambush the band, having set up the checkpoint just minutes before. [clarification needed] James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast. [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. But two other UVF men, Thomas Crozier and James McDowell - both soldiers in the UDR - were jailed for life. No one forced me. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. [100] He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder. Their name comes from a farm in Glenanne, County Armagh, which was owned by RUC reservist James Mitchell; according to ex-RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir, it was used as a UVF arms dump and bomb-making site. The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. Organiseer, beheer, distribueer en meet al uw digitale content. With Dublin-born singer [Jimmy Harte] as frontman followed by Dickie Rock as frontman, the Miami Showband underwent many personnel changes over the years. View On One Page Photo 22 of 51 ADVERTISEMENT () Start Slideshow . In 2005, Somerville attended a ceremony in Portadown honouring his dead brother Wesley. 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. 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. [76] Retired diplomat Alistair Kerr wrote a biography of Nairac entitled "Betrayal: the Murder of Robert Nairac" published in 2015, which offers documentary evidence that clears Nairac of having been at Buskhill overseeing the attack. [94][95], A mural and memorial plaque to Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville is in the Killycomain Estate in Portadown, where Boyle had lived. The Historical Enquiries Team investigated the killings and released their report to the victims' families in December 2011. Aaron Carter's Mom Reveals Death Scene Photos, Demands Cops Keep . There are also allegations that British military intelligence agents were involved. They were: lead vocalist and keyboard player Fran O'Toole, 28, Catholic; guitarist Anthony (Tony) Geraghty, 24, Catholic, from Dublin; trumpeter Brian McCoy, 32, Protestant, from Caledon, County Tyrone; saxophonist Des McAlea (a.k.a. Died from several gunshot wounds. Hurled in opposite directions, they were both decapitated and their bodies dismembered. UVF serial killer John Somerville shot Miami Showband singer Fran O'Toole 22 times in the face. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". Among the large crowd he spotted Billy McCaughey, a former police sergeant and convicted killer who had named his UVF accomplices to investigating detectives. The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. 1,913 Vintage Crime Scene Premium High Res Photos Crozier told police, and later a court, that he had not played a large part in the attack. The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. According to Martin Dillon, the order to shoot was given by the patrol's apparent leader, James McDowell,[36] to eliminate witnesses to the bogus checkpoint and subsequent bombing. However, the officers suspected that the checkpoint was fake. (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. He was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. 14 December 2011. [20], Bassist Stephen Travers was seriously wounded by a dum-dum bullet which had struck him when the gunmen had first begun shooting. [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.
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