miami showband crime scene photos

It was one of a series of four stamps issued by An Post, celebrating the "golden age of the Irish showband era from the 1950s to the 1970s".[24]. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack. The massacre dealt a blow to Northern Ireland's live music scene, which had brought young Catholics and Protestants together. It confirmed that Jackson was linked to the attack by fingerprints. [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". It was found 100 yards (91m) from the site with a "UVF Portadown" tattoo on it. [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". "Des Lee"), 24, Catholic, from Belfast; bassist Stephen Travers, 24, Catholic, from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary; and drummer Ray Millar, Protestant, from Antrim. The night after the Miami Showband massacre, gunmen shot a minibus near Gilford. 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. 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. The RUC were led to him through his glasses which had been found at the murder scene. 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. They were driving home from a Gaelic football match in Dublin. Touts aren't welcome here.". [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. By 1975, they had gained a large following, playing to crowds of people in dance halls and ballrooms across the island. He was unimpressed by the UVF men he met in the loyalist stronghold. UVF serial killer John Somerville told how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become Special Branch tout and avoid jail, No remorse: Miami Showband killer John Somerville. [84], The families held a press conference in Dublin after the report was released. It was my own personal feelings and convictions at the time these things happened. [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. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. 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. 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. Abe Reles, 1941 Place: Half Moon Hotel, Coney Island Date: 25th October 1957 Means: Pushed out of the window Angelo Bruno, 1980 Place: Intersection of 10th Street and Snyder Avenue, South Philadelphia Date: 21st March 1980 Means: Shotgun blast to the back of the head The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. When asked to comment about the report, Des McAlea replied: "It's been a long time but we've got justice at last". Two of the gunmen were attempting to plant a time bomb on the vehicle, when it prematurely exploded and killed them. Aaron Carter's mom releases shocking pictures of his 'death scene' bathroom in desperate bid to get cops to probe his death as a crime despite coroner saying it was an accidental drugs overdose [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. However, the officers suspected that the checkpoint was fake. Miljoenen beelden, videos en muzikale opties van hoge kwaliteit wachten op u. Maak gebruik van de wereldwijde schaalgrootte, data-gedreven inzichten en het netwerk van meer dan 340.000 makers van Getty Images om voor uw merk exclusieve content te creren. [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. [22][44], One of the first RUC men who arrived at Buskhill in the wake of the killings was scenes of crime officer James O'Neill. [9] According to authors Paul Larkin and Martin Dillon, Jackson was accompanied by Harris Boyle when he killed Hanna. 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. Both men had pleaded for their lives before they were shot; one had cried out, "Please don't shoot me don't kill me". [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. Somerville walked over to McCaughey saying: "Get back on the bus. But as the death toll mounted, so did Somerville's drinking. [36], Des McAlea and Stephen Travers heard two of the gunmen rummaging in the back of the minibus, where they both kept their respective instruments. 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. Gaelic footballer brothers John Martin Reavey (24) and Brian (22) died at the scene, while 17-year-old Anthony died three weeks later. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. He lay hidden in thick undergrowth, face down, undetected by the gunmen. [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. [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 Historical Enquiries Team investigated the killings and released their report to the victims' families in December 2011. [70] Crozier, McDowell, and Somerville were released after 1998 under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. They were prepared to travel anywhere in Ireland to perform for their fans. Travers was not able to positively identify Nairac, from his photograph, as having been the man at Buskhill. [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 patrol sergeant immediately ordered the patrol to shoot back. [65] Earlier that night, three RUC officers in an unmarked car had been stopped at a checkpoint but allowed through. 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. When McCoy refused, Jackson then hatched his plan to murder McCoy and his bandmates in retaliation for what he viewed as having betrayed the loyalist cause, even macabrely choosing Buskhill as the ambush site due to its similarity to Bus-kill. Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen. [2] On 4 April 1974, the proscription against the UVF had been lifted by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. What little that remained intact of their bodies was burnt beyond recognition; one of the limbless torsos was completely charred.[20]. In December 1972, Rock left the band to be briefly replaced by two brothers, Frankie and Johnny Simon. 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. He was released in 1998. But along with his friend Jackson, he helped build the UVF in mid-Ulster. Assuming it was a legitimate checkpoint, McCoy informed the others inside the minibus of a military checkpoint up ahead and pulled in at the lay-by as directed by the armed men. They sprung terror attacks in south Armagh, south Down, east Tyrone and even as far away as south Derry. He served in C Company, 11th Battalion UDR. In late 1974, the Miami Showband's song "Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet" (featuring O'Toole on lead vocals) reached no. It was released under the heading Ulster Central Intelligence Agency Miami Showband Incident Report:[20][48][42]. 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. Geraghty was engaged to be married. [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. [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. And nearer home, they carried out five operations in one day in the Moy and Stewartstown. [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. He refused to name his accomplices, as he felt that to do so would put the lives of his family in danger. [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. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. About 10 gunmen were at the checkpoint, according to author and journalist Martin Dillon. [21][84], Former British soldier and writer Ken Wharton published in his book Wasted Years, Wasted Lives, Volume 1, an alternative theory that was suggested to him by loyalist paramilitarism researcher Jeanne Griffin; this was that the ambush was planned by Robin Jackson as an elaborate means of eliminating trumpet player Brian McCoy. [15][16] A report in the Irish Times implicated Jackson in the Dublin bombings. I got them with dum-dums". 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]. Despite his conversion to Christianity, Somerville remained virulently anti-Catholic and he strongly opposed the Good Friday Agreement. Unlike Jackson, Somerville was arrested in the wake of the Miami atrocity, but he refused to make a statement and was released without charge. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DISC 2 REPLACEMENT ONLY CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Miami 7th Season DVD 2008 at the best online prices at eBay! Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. [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". The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. In 2005, Somerville attended a ceremony in Portadown honouring his dead brother Wesley. He was also one of the prime suspects in the sectarian killing of Dorothy Traynor on 1 April 1975 in Portadown. They had killed many Catholics together and they trusted each other implicitly," said our source. The three men were sent to serve their sentence in the Maze Prison, on the outskirts of Lisburn. The monument, entitled Let's Dance is made of limestone, bronze and granite, by County Donegal sculptor Redmond Herrity, and is at the site of the old National Ballroom, where the band often played. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. As Maguire continued ahead, up the by-pass toward Newry, he noticed a blue Triumph 2000 pulling-out from where it had been parked in a lay-by. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. The mother of the late singer-rapper Aaron Carter released photos of the scene of his death Wednesday, calling for a "real . However, Martin Dillon alleged that the bomb was meant to go off in the Irish Republic. It was a forgiveness that few of the relatives of his victims were willing to give. He also survived by remaining silent, pretending he was dead. Died from several gunshot wounds. RM G4PYFC - Miami Showband massacre RM EC8F8C - London, UK. And he wanted Frazer to ensure the Miami killer received any assistance he needed in adjusting to life on the outside. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Viewing autopsy photographs of her battered body in court on Tuesday, she became teary and asked to take a break. "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.". [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. Sometimes the showbands played traditional Irish music at their performances. In 1978, he became a born-again Christian. 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. Fortnight Magazine reported that on 1 June 1982, John James Somerville began a hunger strike at the Maze to obtain special category status. Near the anniversary of the killings, a temporary plaque is placed at the location of the killings. "Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, Sub-Committee on the Barron Report", "The Miami Showband Massacre, 1975: A Survivor's Search for the Truth", "Miami Showband Massacre: Involvement of UVF Man Robin Jackson". 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. [33], A stamp was issued in Ireland on 22 September 2010 commemorating the Miami Showband. Bei kommerzieller Verwendung sowie fr verkaufsfrdernde Zwecke kontaktieren Sie bitte Ihr. "IRA 'responsible' for killings blamed on loyalists", "Decision as to the admissibility of Application no. 14 December 2011. At no time did this new soldier speak to any of the band members nor did he directly address Crozier. 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. 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 . [58], Following the post-mortems, funerals were held for the three slain musicians; they received televised news coverage by RT, Ireland's public service broadcaster. Mit unserem einfachen Abonnement erhalten Sie Zugriff auf die besten Inhalte von Getty Images. [46] Some time after the attack, RUC officers questioned Stephen Travers at Dublin Castle. [30] Travers, the band's new bass player, assumed he was a British Army officer, an opinion shared by McCoy. Over the following month, there were two similar attacks in the area. They asked him if he recognised it or could he identify it. 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. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". ", And he insisted: "The Lord has forgiven me.". Verzamel, beheer en geef commentaar bij uw bestanden. 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. [19], The 1975 line-up comprised four Catholics and two Protestants. 50 True-Crime Documentaries on Netflix | 2023 . 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. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern From left: Steve Travers, Tony Geraghty, Ray Millar, Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole, Des Lee. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. 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". Photograph: Independent News and Media/Getty Images The Miami Showband's surviving members Des Lee, Ray Miller and Stephen Travers Credit . The Gruesome Death Scene Launch Gallery. Originally called the Downbeats Quartet, the Miami Showband was reformed in 1962 by rock promoter Tom Doherty, who gave them their new name. . I did what I did. [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". 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. No one forced me. [4], The killings shocked both Northern Ireland and Ireland and put a serious strain on Anglo-Irish relations. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. Griffin suggests that McCoy, who originally came from Caledon, County Tyrone, and had strong UDR and Orange Order family connections, was possibly approached at some stage by Jackson with a view of securing his help in carrying out UVF attacks in the Irish Republic. A report by the police's Historical Enquiries Team (HET) also suggests this. On April 17, 1975, Somerville and Jackson blew up a Catholic-owned cottage which was being renovated at Killyliss between Dungannon and Ballygawley. "Robin Jackson and John Somerville had been very close friends since joining the Mid-Ulster UVF. They subsequently set up a roadblock with "all the trappings of a regular military checkpoint". [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. Hurled in opposite directions, they were both decapitated and their bodies dismembered. The Glenanne gang was a loose alliance of loyalist extremists allegedly operating under the command of British Military Intelligence and/or RUC Special Branch. He described the scene as having "just the smell of utterly death about the place burning blood, burning tyres". Pat Finucane Centre. Miami 1975 - The Massacre In early 1975, bassist Steve Travers replaced Dave Monks. 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. The latest from Netflix's ReMastered series focusses on the Miami Showband massacre, which took place at Banbridge, Co. Down on July 31, 1975. 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. [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. In 1974, while on the way home from a gig, the apolitical rock group, The Miami Showband, fell into the crosshairs of a Protestant unionist paramilitary group that planted explosives on their bus when it was stopped at a fake checkpoint. [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. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. Chris Hudson, a former intermediary between the government of Ireland and the UVF, whose role was crucial to the Northern Ireland peace process. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. [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. The scene of The Miami Showband Massacre [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. Notorious loyalist serial killer Robin Jackson. [35] Regarding the soldier with the English accent, Dillon wrote:[75]. [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. 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. 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. Pinnwnde sind ideal zum Speichern von Bildern und Videoclips. The plaque describes them as having been "killed in action". [34][81][82] The panel stated that it was unclear why Crozier, Jackson and Neill were not in police custody at the time the Miami Showband killings took place. U 4. 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. "[54] In May 1976, Robin Jackson's fingerprints were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger. The attack was carried out by. 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. Multiple jurors also cried, covered their mouths and turned away as the graphic. 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. [clarification needed] James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast. [62][64], On 24 August 1975, Catholic civilians Colm McCartney and Sean Farmer were stopped in their car at what is believed to have been another fake checkpoint at Altnamackin (near Newtownhamilton). [53] It was believed he had been betrayed to the RUC by a member of the gang. 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. [62] However, police have blamed the IRA. 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. 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. UVF serial killer John Somerville shot Miami Showband singer Fran O'Toole 22 times in the face. [30] The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. [20], Bassist Stephen Travers was seriously wounded by a dum-dum bullet which had struck him when the gunmen had first begun shooting. The incident had an adverse effect on the Irish showband scene, with many of the bands afraid to play in Northern Ireland. Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". [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. [4][21], The jocular mood of the gunmen abruptly ceased. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion.

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