[29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. [clarification needed] James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast. The Miami Showband massacre in 1975, had a devastating effect on the showband and live music scene. 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. [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. This had meant the possible withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland. In his flat - which few people visited - Somerville kept a large photograph of Robin Jackson on the wall of his living room. The conflict in Northern Ireland, known as "the Troubles", began in the late 1960s. ;UVF killer Harris Boyle who died in the attack. 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. [70] Crozier, McDowell, and Somerville were released after 1998 under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. 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. "Robin Jackson and John Somerville had been very close friends since joining the Mid-Ulster UVF. On July 30, 1972, the final details. 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. [42], When the RUC arrived at the site they found five dead bodies, a seriously injured Stephen Travers, body parts, the smoldering remains of the destroyed minibus, debris from the bomb blast, bullets, spent cartridges and the band members' personal possessions, including clothing, shoes and a photograph of the group, strewn across the area. [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. Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. O'Toole was noted for his good looks and popularity with female fans,[20] and was described by the Miami Showband's former bass guitarist, Paul Ashford, as having been the "greatest soul singer" in Ireland. [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. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack. . [62] The attack was blamed on loyalists; Lost Lives an account of every death in the conflict states that reliable loyalist sources have confirmed the UVF was responsible. 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. A UVF patrol led by Major Boyle was suspicious of two vehicles, a minibus and a car parked near the border. 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. Despite severe burns sustained in the Miami attack, a month later Jackson was soon back on a murder mission with his trusted fellow killer John Somerville. 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 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. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern Das Getty Images Design ist eine eingetragene Marke von Getty Images. Boards zijn de beste plekken om beelden en videoclips op te slaan. But the Sunday World has also learned that on January 4 1976, Jackson was accompanied by John Somerville when he burst into the home of the O'Dowd family at Ballyduggan, near Gilford, shooting three of them dead. 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. [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. Despite his conversion to Christianity, Somerville remained virulently anti-Catholic and he strongly opposed the Good Friday Agreement. 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. 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 two men were found shot dead nearby. One of the first famous crime scene photos was taken on May 5, 1903, in the home of a Parisian woman named Madame Debeinche who had been murdered. 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. 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. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. According to loyalists who knew him, Somerville turned down countless RUC Special Branch offers to work as a police agent. 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. Two of the gunmen were attempting to plant a time bomb on the vehicle, when it prematurely exploded and killed them. [37][38] This might have resulted in the Irish authorities enforcing tighter controls over the border, thus restricting IRA operations. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. [41] Fran O'Toole attempted to run away, but was quickly chased down by the gunmen who had immediately jumped down into the field in pursuit. I got them with dum-dums". Miami Showband massacre survivors and relatives to get 1.5m in damages 'I wake up to these murders every day of my life,' band member Des McAlea tells court Expand The Miami Showband (from. 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. Miami 1975 - The Massacre In early 1975, bassist Steve Travers replaced Dave Monks. No one coerced me. McCoy's words, therefore, were taken seriously by the other band members, and anything he said was considered to be accurate. 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. [55] Although ballistic testing had linked the Luger (for which the silencer had been specifically made) to the Miami Showband attack, Jackson was never questioned about the killings after his fingerprints had been discovered on the silencer, and the Miami inquiry team were never informed about these developments. And he wanted Frazer to ensure the Miami killer received any assistance he needed in adjusting to life on the outside. [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. Died from several gunshot wounds. [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. Pat Finucane Centre. Jackson informed Frazer that John Somerville was due for release. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. Two serving UDR soldiers and one former UDR soldier were found guilty of the murders and received life sentences; they were released in 1998. 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. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's leader Gusty Spence. "John said the cops told him there was no need for him to go to prison. Site of the massacre; a commemorative plaque shows where the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by. [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. He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. He refused to name his accomplices, as he felt that to do so would put the lives of his family in danger. [3] The UVF would be once more banned by the British government on 3 October 1975. Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters, nothing was done about it. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". In December 1972, Rock left the band to be briefly replaced by two brothers, Frankie and Johnny Simon. 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. "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. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. Robin Jackson died of cancer in May 1998 aged 49. Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images [23], According to the Irish Times, at the height of Irish showbands' popularity (from the 1950s to the 1970s), up to as many as 700 bands travelled to venues all over Ireland on a nightly basis.[24]. Free shipping for many products! [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. (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. Jackson was never charged with the Miami atrocity. 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. However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic. ", And he insisted: "The Lord has forgiven me.". He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. 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 . He was released in 1998. 1,453 Vintage Crime Scene Photos Premium High Res Photos Browse 1,453 vintage crime scene photos stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The Miami Showband reformed in 2008, with Stephen Travers, Des McAlea, and Ray Millar, plus new members. The plaque describes them as having been "killed in action". [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. 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. [21] He was replaced by Johnny Brown, who in turn was replaced by Dave Monks until Stephen Travers eventually became the band's permanent bass player. [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. 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. 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. [17] Five Catholic civilians were shot; passenger Joseph Toland was killed outright and driver James Marks died of his wounds in January 1976. [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. But it went nowhere when a senior RUC officer advised the UVF leader to lie low for a while. I was given a sub-machine gun but I had never fired 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". Agent Elvis. On April 17, 1975, Somerville and Jackson blew up a Catholic-owned cottage which was being renovated at Killyliss between Dungannon and Ballygawley. The scene of the Miami Showband massacre Somerville would never. 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. 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. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island. There was very little planning. Somerville would never have gone to prison if he'd agreed to work for the RUC. Vergrern Sie die Reichweite Ihrer Marke authentisch und teilen Sie Markeninhalte mit Kreativen im Internet. It also devastated the burgeoning live music scene in Northern Ireland.. [93], A monument dedicated to the dead Miami Showband members was unveiled at a ceremony at Parnell Square North, Dublin, on 10 December 2007. 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.