Maguire recalled that the car first slowed down, then it accelerated, flashing its lights. [70] Crozier, McDowell, and Somerville were released after 1998 under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. And after stopping GAA fans 22-year-old Colm McCartney and 32-year-old John Farmer, they shot them dead. 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. At the precise moment of the explosion, the patrol came under intense automatic fire from the occupants of the other vehicle. "The arm belonged to John's brother Wesley, who was killed in the Miami explosion. 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. The band is remembered in the song "The Miami" by English folk singer-songwriter Jez Lowe on his album Jack Commons Anthem. Its basic repertoire included cover versions of pop songs that were currently in the charts, and standard dance numbers. [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. 10th December, 2014. I only came into it because of my UDR connection and the fact that I had a uniform. It comprised elements of the British security forces who, together with the UVF, carried out sectarian killings in the Mid-Ulster/County Armagh area. But it went nowhere when a senior RUC officer advised the UVF leader to lie low for a while. They had killed many Catholics together and they trusted each other implicitly," said our source. [4] The UVF had cut all ties with Somerville after he had opposed the 1994 ceasefire. The Provisional IRA carried out the bombing of two pubs in the English city of Birmingham the following November, resulting in 21 deaths. OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, who's accused of killing her boyfriend, Obumseli, remains behind bars on second-degree murder charges. 1,913 Vintage Crime Scene Premium High Res Photos [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. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. [clarification needed] James McDowell lives in Lurgan, and John James Somerville became an evangelical minister in Belfast. Miami Showband killings | Military Wiki | Fandom He refused to name his accomplices, as he felt that to do so would put the lives of his family in danger. Aged 70, he died of cancer of the kidney. A murdered showman. A lost childhood - The Irish Times Ashford had been asked to leave the band in 1973, for complaining that performing in Northern Ireland put their lives at risk. [53] The three convicted UVF men, although admitting to having been at the scene, denied having shot anyone. [4], The killings shocked both Northern Ireland and Ireland and put a serious strain on Anglo-Irish relations. Miami Showband massacre: UK government accused of 'lies' after 1.5m 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. Crozier had pleaded not guilty. In January 2015, he was found dead in his Shankill Road flat. On July 30, 1972, the final details. 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. A". The Miami Showband's surviving members Des Lee, Ray Miller and Stephen Travers Credit . [5] At Christmas 1974 the IRA declared a ceasefire, which theoretically lasted throughout most of 1975. 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. Millionen hochwertiger Bilder, Videos und Musiktracks warten auf Sie. 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. [2], The UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade operated mainly around the Portadown and Lurgan areas. [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. O'Toole and McCoy were both married; each had two children. . 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. Het ontwerp van Getty Images is een handelsmerk van Getty Images. The explosion ripped through the building, killing 21-year-old married woman Marion Bowen, who was eight months pregnant at the time. [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. This is one of the first real crime scene photos ever taken. Four Protestant civilians (two men and two women) and UVF member Hugh Harris were killed in the attack. [79] and that none of the perpetrators ever offered him an apology. ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre - Netflix [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]. Somerville said: "I'm not going to make excuses for my past. As they were being questioned, Major Boyle and Lieutenant Somerville began to search the minibus. 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. "After the explosion, the red mist came down and I went mad with a machine-gun," he once told a fellow loyalist prisoner. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. It was released under the heading Ulster Central Intelligence Agency Miami Showband Incident Report:[20][48][42]. 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 was then machine-gunned 22 times, mostly in the face, as he lay supine on the ground. But two other UVF men, Thomas Crozier and James McDowell - both soldiers in the UDR - were jailed for life. "ReMastered: The Miami Showband . As the UUUC would not abide any form of power-sharing with the Dublin government, no agreement could be reached and the convention failed, again marginalising Northern Ireland's politicians and the communities they represented. What little that remained intact of their bodies was burnt beyond recognition; one of the limbless torsos was completely charred.[20]. 1.6K. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. The Miami Showband - Wikipedia DISC 2 REPLACEMENT ONLY CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Miami 7th Season [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. 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. Survivor of Miami Showband massacre in North warns Troubles set to 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. [98] In 2011, Journalist Kevin Myers denounced the attack with the following statement: "in its diabolical inventiveness against such a group of harmless and nave young men, it is easily one of the most depraved [of the Troubles]". [100] He did, however, express his concern over the fact that nobody was ever charged with his attempted murder. [18] More uniformed men appeared from out of the darkness, their guns pointed at the minibus. [48] Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville were UDR soldiers as well as holding the rank of major and lieutenant, respectively, in the UVF. 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. Truth of Miami Showband and Captain Robert Nairac revealed 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. They received the blessing of jailed UVF leader Gusty Spence, who was serving life for the Malvern Street murder and shootings in 1966. [29] Travers also stepped up to the gunmen and told them to be careful with his guitar. The three men were sent to serve their sentence in the Maze Prison, on the outskirts of Lisburn. The band was . He was charged with the Miami Showband murders, the attempted murder of Stephen Travers, and the murder of Patrick Falls in 1974. [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. The conflict in Northern Ireland, known as "the Troubles", began in the late 1960s. 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. [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. [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. Somerville would never have gone to prison if he'd agreed to work for the RUC. On April 17, 1975, Somerville and Jackson blew up a Catholic-owned cottage which was being renovated at Killyliss between Dungannon and Ballygawley. 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. The Gruesome Death Scene Launch Gallery. Somerville walked over to McCaughey saying: "Get back on the bus. 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. [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. It allows for commemoration and leaving of flowers at the location itself. [21][22], Their music was described as "contemporary and trans-Atlantic", with no reference to the Northern Ireland conflict. "IRA 'responsible' for killings blamed on loyalists", "Decision as to the admissibility of Application no. 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. According to RT, "Their families were in deep mourning and Ireland mourned with them". Former serving Secret Intelligence Service agent Captain Fred Holroyd, and others, suggested that Nairac had organised the attack in co-operation with Robin Jackson and the Mid-Ulster UVF. It is obvious, therefore, that the UVF patrol was justified in taking the action it did and that the killing of the three Showband members should be regarded as justifiable homicide. Agent Elvis. [4], A continued allegation in the case has been the presence of Captain Robert Nairac at the scene. [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. "Robin Jackson and John Somerville had been very close friends since joining the Mid-Ulster UVF. Jackson was never charged with the Miami atrocity. Miami showband massacre Stock Photos and Images Krijg toegang tot het beste van Getty Images met ons eenvoudige abonnement. Days before the Miami attack, Robin Jackson murdered William Hanna, the UVF commander in mid-Ulster. [19] In early 1973, Billy MacDonald (a.k.a. The dead bombers were named by the UVF, in a statement issued within 12 hours of the attack. 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! [93], A monument dedicated to the dead Miami Showband members was unveiled at a ceremony at Parnell Square North, Dublin, on 10 December 2007. 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. When they agreed he placed it on the ground, opened its case and then went back into line; however this time he stood first in the line-up closest to the minibus when previously he had been third. John Somerville was born in 1940 into a respectable small farming family from outside Moygashel, Co Tyrone. Lightly built and standing less than 5ft 7in, he wasn't a stereotypical loyalist killer. The massacre dealt a blow to Northern Ireland's live music scene, which had brought young Catholics and Protestants together. 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. 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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. 'Remastered: The Miami Showband Massacre' On Netflix Unmasks a Somerville told other paramilitary prisoners how detectives repeatedly tried to persuade him to become a Special Branch tout operating inside the UVF. The Mid-Ulster Battalion has been assisting the South Down-South Armagh units since the IRA Forkhill boobytrap which killed four British soldiers. [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. Director Stuart Sender Writers Jeff Zimbalist Michael Zimbalist Stars Stephen Travers Bertie Ahern 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. [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. Touts aren't welcome here.". Video: Netflix. In 1978, he became a born-again Christian. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour". [96], In a report on Nairac's alleged involvement in the massacre, published in the Sunday Mirror newspaper on 16 May 1999, Colin Wills called the ambush "one of the worst atrocities in the 30-year history of the Troubles". Irish Times diarist Frank McNally summed up the massacre as "an incident that encapsulated all the madness of the time". Two serving UDR soldiers and one former UDR soldier were found guilty of the murders and received life sentences; they were released in 1998. 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. (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. Three band members were taken from their tour bus and shot . The patrol later recovered two Armalite rifles and a pistol. "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.". Psychopath mass killer who shot Miami Showband singer 22 times in the Forensic photography, or the practice of taking photos at the scene of a crime, has been around for over a century. [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. [44] None of the men ever named their accomplices, and the other UVF gunmen were never caught. 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. Died from several gunshot wounds. [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. I passed out when the explosion happened and that was when I lost the gun, the glasses, and a UDR beret. Laat uw merk op authentieke wijze groeien door uw merkcontent te delen met de makers van het internet. [30] The UVF's plan was that the bomb would explode once the minibus had reached Newry, killing all on board. Three UVF members are being treated for gunshot wounds after last night but not in hospital. The gunman turned him round, punched him hard in the back and pushed him on the shoulder back into the line-up. He relayed all his instructions to the gunman in command. He was released in 1998. The scene of the Miami Showband Killings on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland, 31st July 1975. One of these men, Lance-Corporal Thomas Raymond Crozier (aged 25, a painting contractor from Lurgan) of C Company, 11th Battalion UDR was charged with the Miami killings. A musician who survived the Miami showband massacre has, 40 years on, made an appeal to trace a young couple who helped him at the time. 2023 Getty Images. Travers had described the English-accented man as having been of normal height and thought he had fair hair, but was not certain. The murder of singer Fran O'Toole . Three band members were shot dead by loyalist gunmen.
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