On July 30, 1972, the final details. 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. But our investigations this week revealed that shortly before he died, Jackson sent for self-confessed loyalist gunrunner Willie Frazer, also now deceased. 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. In this adult animated comedy, Elvis trades his jumpsuit for a jetpack when he joins a secret spy program to stop villains from destroying the world. There was very little planning. The latest from Netflix's ReMastered series focusses on the Miami Showband massacre, which took place at Banbridge, Co. Down on July 31, 1975. [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. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images The 55-cent stamp, designed with a 1967 publicity photograph of the band, included two of the slain members, Fran O'Toole and Brian McCoy, as part of the line-up when Dickie Rock was the frontman. [19] The Irish Times reported that on the night following the attack, the British ambassador Sir Arthur Galsworthy was summoned to hear the Government of Ireland's strong feelings regarding the murder of the three band members. "John said the cops told him there was no need for him to go to prison. Three photos, which have been cropped slightly and published below, show the extent of the injuries to Rainey's chest, back, arms and legs. December 29, 2022 by Corinne Sullivan. On 15 October 1976, Crozier and McDowell both received life sentences for the Miami Showband murders. They sprung terror attacks in south Armagh, south Down, east Tyrone and even as far away as south Derry. [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. At about 2:30am, when the band was seven miles (11km) north of Newry on the main A1 road, their Volkswagen minibus (driven by trumpeter Brian McCoy with bassist Stephen Travers in the front seat beside him) reached the townland of Buskhill. Near the anniversary of the killings, a temporary plaque is placed at the location of the killings. [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. 3/2/2023 1:00 AM PT. Over the following month, there were two similar attacks in the area. [51] An independent panel of inquiry commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre has established that among the weapons actually used in the killings were two Sterling submachine guns and a 9mm Luger pistol serial no. 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The Miami Showband's surviving members Des Lee, Ray Miller and Stephen Travers Credit . 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. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. The Historical Enquiries Team investigated the killings and released their report to the victims' families in December 2011. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. The Miami Showband was a popular Dublin-based Irish showband, enjoying fame and, according to journalist Peter Taylor, "Beatle-like devotion" from fans on both sides of the Irish border. [31] Travers described McCoy as a "sophisticated, father-type figure. This meant that both it and the UDA were legal organisations. The meeting was arranged by Rev. 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. 10th December, 2014. He . The RUC were led to him through his glasses which had been found at the murder scene. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. [17] Five Catholic civilians were shot; passenger Joseph Toland was killed outright and driver James Marks died of his wounds in January 1976. [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. "Special Branch Agent colluded in Miami killings". He wore a uniform and beret noticeably different from the others. Jane Carter says late son received many threats prior to his death. He was released in 1998. He also added that "that bomb was definitely placed there with a view to killing all in that band".[22]. Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the Northern Ireland peace process. It confirmed that Jackson was linked to the attack by fingerprints. The government held the view that the British Government had not done enough to stop sectarian assassinations in Northern Ireland. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. 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. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. 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. [53] It was believed he had been betrayed to the RUC by a member of the gang. The conflict in Northern Ireland, known as "the Troubles", began in the late 1960s. 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. Organiseer, beheer, distribueer en meet al uw digitale content. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. Almost his entire head was destroyed. How are things? 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. Date: 12th November 1941 Means: Assassinated. [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. [9] According to authors Paul Larkin and Martin Dillon, Jackson was accompanied by Harris Boyle when he killed Hanna. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. 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. 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 . [81] Neill's car was one of those allegedly used in the Buskhill attack. [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. A". [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". Optimieren Sie Ihren Workflow mit unserem erstklassigen Digitalen Asset Management System. The plaque describes them as having been "killed in action". [66] RUC officer John Weir claims that UDR corporal and alleged UVF member Robert McConnell was involved in the attack. 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. Travers later recalled hearing one of the departing gunmen tell his comrade who had kicked McCoy's body to make sure he was not alive: "Come on, those bastards are dead. The IRA said it killed him because of an alleged association with British Army officer and member of 14th Intelligence Company, Captain Robert Nairac, and claimed it was in possession of his diary, which had been stolen in Portadown.[61]. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [19], In 1994, Eric Smyth, a former UDR member and the husband of Brian McCoy's sister, Sheila, was killed by the IRA. This is one of the first real crime scene photos ever taken. [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. ", And he insisted: "The Lord has forgiven me.". 2023 Getty Images. Multiple jurors also cried, covered their mouths and turned away as the graphic. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. [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. 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. The band is remembered in the song "The Miami" by English folk singer-songwriter Jez Lowe on his album Jack Commons Anthem. But by this time, he was ready to go to jail. Site of the massacre; a commemorative plaque shows where the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island. [47] The UVF gunmen had worn green UDR berets, whereas the other man's had been lighter in colour. . Findings in a report carried out by the PSNI's Historic Enquiries Team into the Miami atrocity stated that there was fingerprint evidence linking Robin Jackson to the attack. [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". She furthermore opined that Jackson was the man Travers saw kicking McCoy's body to make sure he was dead. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no.
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