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5 January 2012

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Notorious loyalist killer ‘worked for RUC Special Branch’

MIAMI SHOWBAND MASSACRE, 1975 | FAMILIES HIGHLIGHT NEW REPORT

BY MARK MOLONEY

Survivor Stephen Travers, David O'Toole, nephew of Fran O’Toole, Margaret Urwin of Justice for the Forgotten, Keith McCoy, son of Brian McCoy, and survivor Des McAlea announce the findings of a HET report at a press conference in Dublin’s Buswells Hotel

A REPORT by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) into the Miami Showband Massacre has found strong evidence of RUC collusion in the murders by Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers who were also Ulster Volunteer Force members. Notorious loyalist killer Robin ‘The Jackal’ Jackson, an RUC Special Branch agent as well as leader of the Mid-Ulster UVF, is said to have been involved in the attack.
The HET report concludes: “To the objective and impartial observer, disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour are raised.”
The investigation into the attack by the HET found “disturbing evidence” of collusion between the RUC and the UVF leader in Mid-Ulster.
Three members of the chart-topping group were gunned down at a British Army-style roadblock on 31 July 1975 after a bomb being placed in their tour minibus prematurely exploded. Two of the UDR soldiers taking part in the UVF attack died in the explosion.
The band were returning from a show in Banbridge, County Down, when they were stopped at the checkpoint just north of Newry by men in British Army uniforms. All were members of the UVF and at least four if not five were serving or former members of the British Army’s Ulster Defence Regiment.
The patrol chatted and joked with the band members who were then told to line up at the side of the road with their hands on their heads. Meanwhile, two members of the gang tried to hide a bomb onboard the band’s bus. The plan was that the bomb would explode en route, killing everyone inside. But it detonated prematurely, killing the two UDR/UVF members carrying it.
When the bomb exploded, the remaining loyalists opened fire on the defenceless band members, killing Tony Geraghty, Brian McCoy and Fran O’Toole and seriously wounding Stephen Travers while Des McAlea (also known as ‘Des Lee’) was injured in the explosion. Stephen Travers said lead singer Fran O’Toole was shot 22 times in the face.
Speaking on behalf of the families at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday 14 December attended by An Phoblacht, David O’Toole, nephew of Fran O’Toole, said:
“The Miami Showband were a hugely popular group; young men who lived for their music and their families. They became the victims of a sectarian murder gang whose members included former and serving military personnel.”
Survivor Stephen Travers said:
“The only conclusion possible arising from the HET report is that one of the most prolific loyalist murderers was an RUC Special Branch agent and was involved in the Miami Showband Massacre.”
Stephen later also told RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime that mystery still surrounds the presence at the ambush scene of a man he believes to have been an officer in a “markedly different” British Army uniform who spoke with “a crisp, educated, posh English accent”.

 

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