Deepest Red
11-04-2005, 02:12 PM
Seamus Ludlow - 29 years of waiting for justice
Relatives for Justice
Click to view - Seamus Ludlow
Seamus Ludlow was abducted and murdered by armed Loyalists and British
soldiers outside the town of Dundalk on the night of 1st. and 2nd May
1976. He was last seen thumbing a lift home from the pub at around
midnight before he disappeared.
Despite false claims that were encouraged by the Irish Gardai that
Seamus Ludlow had been murdered by the IRA because he was an informer, it
is now known that both the Gardai and the RUC in the North of Ireland
were aware at least in 1979, if not even earlier, that the killers were
in fact Loyalists. They knew that they included at least two locally
recruited members of the British Army.
The killers all came from the Comber and Newtownbards areas of north
Down. Information which would have identified these killers was
suppressed for more than 20 years, allowing these men to remain free and at
liberty to kill again.
Four Loyalists were arrested by the RUC in February 1998. They were all
released without charge, pending an investigation report being sent to
the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). On 15
October 1999, the DPP ruled that none of the suspects would be charged with
any offence, even though two of them have signed incriminating
statements while in RUC custody. The others are described as two former members
of the illegal Red Hand Commando death squad as well as members of the
British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), one of whom was a captain
in that discredited force, which is now known as the Royal Irish
Regiment (RIR). The third man, known as Mambo, is also described as a Red
Hand Commando figure who may also have been an agent for some branch of
the British forces.
The Ludlow family has demanded public inquiries on both sides of the
border to uncover exactly why Seamus Ludlow's murder was never properly
investigated. They want to know why Seamus Ludlow's name was smeared by
the authorities and why his killers were never brought to justice by
the Gardai or by the RUC, who had identified them many years ago. They
demand full truth and justice for an innocent victim who never received
either from the authorities in the past.
The Ludlow family wants to know who gave the orders for the cover-up of
the evidence and the smearing of the victim. Who was being protected,
and why? Why was the Ludlow family excluded from their loved-one's
inquest on 19th August 1976. Will those individuals responsible for the
abuses of authority in this case ever be brought to account for their
actions?
The Ludlow family is supported in their demands by several
distinguished human rights groups: British Irish Rights Watch (BIRW), the Irish
Council for Civil Liberties and by the Pat Finucane Centre and a large
number of local and national politicians on both sides of the border and
in Britain. BIRW have compiled an independent Report on the murder of
Seamus Ludlow, in which they support the Ludlow family's demands for
truth and justice. The BIRW report has been circulated to the Irish and
British authorities. Jane Winter, Director, BIRW, launched her independent
report at the Ludlow family's press conference on 18 February 1999.
Michael Donegan - Nephew of Seamus Ludlow
Relatives for Justice
Click to view - Seamus Ludlow
Seamus Ludlow was abducted and murdered by armed Loyalists and British
soldiers outside the town of Dundalk on the night of 1st. and 2nd May
1976. He was last seen thumbing a lift home from the pub at around
midnight before he disappeared.
Despite false claims that were encouraged by the Irish Gardai that
Seamus Ludlow had been murdered by the IRA because he was an informer, it
is now known that both the Gardai and the RUC in the North of Ireland
were aware at least in 1979, if not even earlier, that the killers were
in fact Loyalists. They knew that they included at least two locally
recruited members of the British Army.
The killers all came from the Comber and Newtownbards areas of north
Down. Information which would have identified these killers was
suppressed for more than 20 years, allowing these men to remain free and at
liberty to kill again.
Four Loyalists were arrested by the RUC in February 1998. They were all
released without charge, pending an investigation report being sent to
the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). On 15
October 1999, the DPP ruled that none of the suspects would be charged with
any offence, even though two of them have signed incriminating
statements while in RUC custody. The others are described as two former members
of the illegal Red Hand Commando death squad as well as members of the
British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), one of whom was a captain
in that discredited force, which is now known as the Royal Irish
Regiment (RIR). The third man, known as Mambo, is also described as a Red
Hand Commando figure who may also have been an agent for some branch of
the British forces.
The Ludlow family has demanded public inquiries on both sides of the
border to uncover exactly why Seamus Ludlow's murder was never properly
investigated. They want to know why Seamus Ludlow's name was smeared by
the authorities and why his killers were never brought to justice by
the Gardai or by the RUC, who had identified them many years ago. They
demand full truth and justice for an innocent victim who never received
either from the authorities in the past.
The Ludlow family wants to know who gave the orders for the cover-up of
the evidence and the smearing of the victim. Who was being protected,
and why? Why was the Ludlow family excluded from their loved-one's
inquest on 19th August 1976. Will those individuals responsible for the
abuses of authority in this case ever be brought to account for their
actions?
The Ludlow family is supported in their demands by several
distinguished human rights groups: British Irish Rights Watch (BIRW), the Irish
Council for Civil Liberties and by the Pat Finucane Centre and a large
number of local and national politicians on both sides of the border and
in Britain. BIRW have compiled an independent Report on the murder of
Seamus Ludlow, in which they support the Ludlow family's demands for
truth and justice. The BIRW report has been circulated to the Irish and
British authorities. Jane Winter, Director, BIRW, launched her independent
report at the Ludlow family's press conference on 18 February 1999.
Michael Donegan - Nephew of Seamus Ludlow