31
January 2000 - The Private Secretary at the
office of the Irish Minister for Justice,
Equality and Law Reform, Mr. John O'Donoghue, TD,
wrote to the Ludlow family's solicitor:
"The Minister believes
that including the case of the late Mr.
Ludlow as part of the remit of Mr. Justice
Hamilton would be the most appropriate way to
address the concerns which have been
expressed about this case. Accordingly, he
has asked me to tell you that he is minded to
recommend to his colleagues in Government
that the case be included in the remit of Mr.
Justice Hamilton.
"In the circumstances he
would be grateful if you would ascertain and
let him know what the attitude of Mr.
Ludlow's relatives would be to this approach.
As Mr. Justice Hamilton will be commencing
his work very shortly it would be very much
appreciated if you could respond to the
Minister's proposal within the next
week."
Note: Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton,
outgoing Chief Justice, just recently retired,
was invited by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, in a
statement of 19th December 1999, to
"undertake a thorough examination of all
aspects of the Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk
bombings and their sequel . . ." (See page
on the Hamilton Inquiry.), but significantly
there was no mention of the Seamus Ludlow murder
on that occasion. So, what had changed since
then?
Significantly, the Private
Secretary to the Minister for Justice remained
silent in the above letter on the important issue
of the releasing of the Garda Report. (See
further correspondence of 25 February 2000.)
10 February 2000 - The
English local newspaper The Post, in
Staffordshire, reported the recent conviction and
sentencing of Samuel Black-Carroll to a term of 2
years and eight months of imprisonment. The
defendant, charged with assaulting a man with the
butt end of a snooker cue, was one of four
Loyalists arrested by the RUC in February 1998,
for questioning about the murder of Seamus
Ludlow.
The Post reported
as follows:
Semtex jibe led to violence.
A Rugeley man, once suspected
of being a terrorist was jailed for two years
and eight months by a court on Monday for
attacking a man he claimed called him
"Semtex Sam."
Samuel Black-Carroll
inflicted "wicked" head injuries to
Ivan Shirley when he attacked him with a
weapon thought to be the butt end of a
snooker cue, Wolverhampton Crown Court was
told.
Assistant Recorder, John
Aucott, told 47 year old Black-Carroll he
accepted he had been subjected to verbal
abuse. "But there was no justification
in allowing it to boil over into
violence," he added.
"You exhibited all the
hallmarks of a terrorist - an occupation you
profess to despise."
Black-Carroll who was
arrested in 1998 by the RUC had been
convicted by a jury at Stafford Crown Court
of wounding. The Irishman of Redbrook Lane,
Brereton, Rugeley, had also been convicted at
the end of his trial on two charges of
criminal damage.
Mr. Peter Carr, defending,
said Black-Carroll had been the target of all
sorts of remarks and, on this occasion, it
was "a comment too far."
18 February 2000 - The
Ludlow family was kindly invited to send a
representative as an observer to a conference to
be hosted in a Lisnaskea hotel by Firinne
(formerly VOICE), an organisation representing
the victims of State violence in County
Fermanagh, on 26th February.
Firinne was set up just over a
year previously "after it became apparent
that victims of State violence were not given
equal status with other victims of the
troubles".
Firinne's two main aims are:
"firstly, to gain
recognition from the State that these events
occurred and secondly, to document peoples'
experiences to help with the healing process
and to provide a true account of events
surrounding the conflict for future
generations.
"Firinne represents
families of victims either directly murdered
by State forces, or where collusion is
suspected. Victims of intimidation,
harassment, arrests, death threats and
displaced people are also represented."
25 February 2000 - Further
to the above correspondence (31 January) from the
Department of Justice, Dublin, the Ludlow
family's solicitor in reply brought up once again
the particular issue of receiving a copy of the
Gardai's Investigation Report. The reply noted
the Irish Government's views expressed in
relation to the case of the late Pat Finucane and
pointed out that there were striking similarities
as to issues that arise in that case and in the
case of Seamus Ludlow. On behalf of the Ludlow
family the solicitor emphasised the view that the
case for a public inquiry is both compelling and
unanswerable.
26 February 2000 - Kevin
Ludlow represented the Ludlow family at the
Firinne conference at Lisnaskea. The Ludlow
family was delighted to receive an invitation and
it wishes Firinne well in all its endeavours in
the months ahead.
29 February 2000 - This
new site went online for the first time, though
it was still under construction.
6 March 2000 - The Ludlow
family's solicitor reported back on a recent
meeting he attended at the Department of Justice
about another matter entirely, when he raised the
issue of a Seamus Ludlow inquiry. He reported
that the Department of justice "obviously
felt that we would be agreeing to the matter
going into a Hamilton type pre-public enquiry
Commission of Enquiry.
"I indicated that the view
of the family was strongly to the effect that the
public enquiry and nothing less was called for. I
said that the first step towards advancing the
matter would of course be to make available to us
the internal Garda investigation file."
7 March 2000 - Here is the
Doras Review of Sites' review for the Ludlow
family's first site. Although Doras, using its
own criteria, awards only two shamrocks out of a
possible five it does have kind things to say
about the site which was constructed
without professional help. The Ludlow
family appreciates the trouble that the people at
Doras have taken in reviewing
our site:
The
Seamus Ludlow Truth and Justice
Campaign
|
|
This
website covers the murder of Seamus
Ludlow, a 47 year old man who was
murdered near Dundalk in 1976. The
homepage contains an in-depth
analysis of Ludlow's murder and its
consequences. There are links to
press reports from 1976 to 1999. The
site includes new information about
the murder as well as an independent
report produced in 1998 by the human
rights body, British Irish Rights
Watch.
This is a well laid out and thought
provoking website.
|
8 March 2000 - Messages
promoting the Ludlow family's first website were
posted on the following bulletin boards in the
United States: The
Toledo Irish-American Club; and Irish
American Net. Messages have been posted to
several other Irish groups and newspapers in the
United States, Britain, and Australia.
8 March 2000 - A message
of support was received from Cathleen O'Brien of
the Friends of Irish Freedom organisation, New
York. The kind message included the following
important remark:
"I do not recall
reading about Seamus in the papers over here.
But that does not surprise me. There is often
a "blackout" on news from Ireland,
especially if there has been some sort of
cover-up!"
Cathleen has remained in contact
with the Ludlow family. Her support is
appreciated.
13 March 2000 - In a
letter to the Ludlow family, Mr. Adam Ingram JP
MP, Minister of State, at the Northern Ireland
Office, London, replied to previous
correspondence 24 October 1999 with Mr. Tony Benn
MP.
The Minister wrote:
"I am advised that
information relating to the murder of your
uncle was passed by the RUC to the Garda in
1979. The Garda requested the assistance of
the RUC in 1997 which resulted in the four
arrests. All four were released without
charge.
"As you know the DPP
after careful consideration of the police
investigation file concluded there was
insufficient evidence to obtain a conviction
against anyone named in the file and they
therefore directed no prosecution on the
case. If any new evidence comes to light or
you have further information about the murder
the police would be keen to pursue it.
"With regard to your
suggestions of a cover-up there is no
evidence to suggest that this occurred or
continues to take place.
"Let me assure you that
the police will do all they can to bring to
justice those responsible for this terrible
crime."
This was probably the first
written confirmation from the British authorities
that information on the killing of Seamus Ludlow
was passed from the RUC to the Gardai in 1979.
Given that the RUC and the Gardai had important
information back in 1979 it seems strange to say
the least that the Ludlow family would be invited
to do the RUC's job for them.
As for the suggestion that there
has been no cover-up, and that none continues,
there is nothing here to support that view.
Indeed, by the Minister's own admission the RUC
and the Gardai had "information relating to
the murder" in 1979.
That admission coupled with the
authorities' failure to bring such information to
the attention of the Ludlow family and the fact
that neither force did anything to pursue it for
nearly twenty years, provides compelling evidence
of a past cover-up. The continuing failure of
both the RUC and the Gardai to give the Ludlow
family access to their investigation files and
the authorities' refusal to grant a public
inquiry can only support strong suspicions of the
cover-up continuing.
28 March 2000
- The Pat
Finucane Centre (pfc) in Derry kindly published
the following review for this new Ludlow family
website in their mailing list newsletter:
The family of murdered Dundalk forestry
worker, Seamus Ludlow, have created an
excellent website which we would urge all
subscribers to visit and bookmark. Seamus was
kidnapped and murdered in 1976 by a gang of
men from the loyalist Red Hand Commandoes. At
least one gang member was also a member of
the locally recruited Ulster Defence
Regiment, a regiment of the British Army.
There are well founded suspicions that the
names and activities of this death squad were
known to authorities on both sides of the
border who chose not to take action because
of the security force connections of the
gang. One suspected member of the group was
recently convicted and sentenced to two years
and eight months in prison in Rugeley,
Staffordshire, England, for assaulting a man
who called him 'semtex sam'. The Ludlow
family are pressing for an inquiry into the
murder. Extensive information on the case
also available at pfc website www.serve.com/pfc
This new website was also published in the Pat
Finucane Centre's own website and almost
immediately its guestbook began attracting
messages of support from people in Ireland, the
United States and Britain.
The Ludlow family appreciates all
of the excellent support that their good friends
at the Pat Finucane Centre have given to their
campaign for truth and justice. The Pat Finucane
Centre also gives excellent support to a large
number of families engaged in the same fight for
justice against state-sponsored murder and
injustice - and at this time they are
particularly active in supporting the families of
the innocent Bloody Sunday victims, for
whom the British Saville Inquiry began public
sessions at Derry's Guildhall on Monday 27th.
March.
2 April 2000 - The
northern edition of the Sunday World newspaper
(on page 21) published an article headlined:
"Semtex Sam"
Snookered He's sentenced to two years jail
after battering Englishman with a cue.
The half-page report featured a
photograph of the English resident defendent who
was one of the suspects arrested by the RUC in
February 1998 for questioning about his alleged
role in the 1976 murder of Seamus Ludlow.
3 April 2000 - Issue
65 of Louth
Online, the excellent website featuring many
items of particular interest to the people of
County Louth added a link to the Ludlow family's
first site in its Community
Links directory page. The site's homepage
featured the following brief article and an
accompanying photograph of the late Seamus
Ludlow:
Irishman
Seamus Ludlow
was a Catholic bachelor. Aged 47 and a
forestry worker from Thistlecross,
Mountpleasant, Dundalk, County Louth, just
south of the border, he was abducted and
murdered on his way home from a Dundalk pub,
in County Louth, by pro-British Loyalist
UDR/Red Hand Commando gunmen on 2 May 1976.
He was abducted after he left a Dundalk
public house on the Saturday night. It is
believed that Seamus had unwittingly accepted
a lift offered by his killers, who did not
know him. He may have been murdered simply
because he was a Catholic, or because he was
mistaken for another intended victim.
Twenty-five years after his death his killers
have not yet been brought to justice. Many
fear a joint North-South coverup is in
effect. Pressure is increasing, however, for
the government to review the murder
investigation. For more information visit the Seamus Ludlow Truth and Justice
Website
3 April 2000 - Linda
Porra, of Irish
Organisations United, in Massachusetts,
in the United States, a new supporter of the
Ludlow family's struggle for truth and justice,
reports that she has written some eighteen
letters on behalf of the Ludlow family's
campaign. Linda has kindly placed a message on
this site's guest book and she has placed a link
to the Ludlow family's first site on her own
website.
4 April 2000 - Linda Porra
further reports that she has written an editorial
on the Seamus
Ludlow case. This editorial will be submitted to
many newspapers around Massachusetts, New York,
Pennsylvania and Connecticut. A link to Linda's
site can be found on this site's Links page.
7 April 2000 - Jim J.
Kane, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, also an activist
from Irish
Organisations United, reports that he
and Linda Porra have sent letters to President
Bill Clinton; United States Attorney General
Janet Reno; Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights; United States Secretary of
State Madeline Albright; and to Senator Ted
Kennedy in support of the Ludlow family's demands
for truth and justice. Jim has also placed a
message on this site's guest book. His efforts
are deeply appreciated.
19 April 2000 -
This new version of the Ludlow family's
second site goes
online for the first time. Web specialist Karl
Winn and thirtytwo.net
kindly registered the new domain name
"seamusludlow.com" and donated web
space on their server for the Ludlow family free
of charge. Karl has continued to provide
expert advice and encouragement on a regular
basis. His assistance is deeply appreciated. The
Pat Finucane Centre in Derry has agreed to be
named as the address for correspondence.
24 April 2000 - The Belfast daily
newspaper The Irish News, reported that
the Dublin government:
"last
night signalled its intention to push
(British premier) Tony Blair for an
independent public inquiry into the murder of
Catholic man Robert Hamill.
"Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern is now expected to demand a new
investigation in the run-up to the third
anniversary of Mr. Hamill's death on May 8.
"The
father-of-three was attacked by a loyalist
mob in Portadown as he walked home after a
night out with friends on April 27 1997. He
lost his battle against severe injuries 11
days later.
"Mr.
Hamill's family last night welcomed the
significant development in their quest to
find the truth behind allegations that RUC
officers on the scene failed to intervene to
protect the 25-year-old."
According to the Irish
News, a spokesman for the Irish Department of
Foreign Affairs commented: "The government
is giving the most serious consideration to
calling for a public inquiry."
If this report
proves to be well founded, then it is to be
applauded that Dublin should call for a public
inquiry into the sectarian mob murder of Robert
Hamill under the very noses of the RUC in
Portadown. Many questions remain regarding the
murder of Robert Hamill and many many other
Catholics in the Six Counties, and these
questions certainly justify demands for public
inquiries in the Six County jurisdiction.
Equally justified
also, are calls made repeatedly by the Ludlow
family in County Louth for public inquiries into
the murder of Seamus Ludlow in May 1976. Given
the Dublin authorities' failure to respond to
this family's demands regarding a sectarian
murder and cover-up in their own jurisdiction, it
is to be feared that the British authorities will
be less inclined to take Dublin's concerns
seriously.
25 April 2000 - It
is reported that Mr. John Bruton, TD,
leader of Fine Gael, the main opposition party in
Dublin has added his support to calls for a
public inquiry into the sectarian murder of
Robert Hamill in Portadown. Again, this
stance is highly commendable, but it should
be stated that Mr. Bruton wrote the following
brief, and rather blunt, letter to a member of
the Ludlow family on 2 September 1998:
"Thank
you for your recent letter which I have read
carefully.
"In view
of your statement that the Garda
investigation into this case is still
continuing, I do not believe it would be
appropriate for me to comment on this
matter."
The leader of Fine
Gael sent no expression of regret to the Ludlow
family regarding their sad loss, nor did he
acknowledge that the innocent victim was a
dedicated member of his own party. The late
Seamus Ludlow was a faithful member of the Fine
Gael party in County Louth.
Mr. Bruton today
leads the political party which led the coalition
government that was in power in 1976. Fine Gael
held power on occasions since then, throughout
the period of the Garda cover-up, as also has
Fianna Fail, the present party in government.
Mr. Bruton
has added nothing at all to that brief statement
of 2 September 1998. Thus the present day leader
of Seamus Ludlow's party has nothing at all to
say about this murder. The Ludlow family has yet
to hear his call for a public inquiry into the
murder of his own fellow Fine Gael member.
2 May 2000 - In a letter to a
member of the Ludlow family, Seamus Kirk, TD for County Louth,
reported:
"Further to ongoing
contact regarding the Seamus Ludlow enquiry I have been in
contact with the Office of the Minister for Justice,
Equality and Law Reform, about the matter. They expect a
date for commencement shortly."
10
May 2000 - In a letter to Mr. John O'Donoghue, TD, Minister
for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dublin, the Ludlow
family's solicitor referred to previous correspondence from
the solicitor of 11th April, 7th March, 25th February, 3rd
February, and 1st February, "none of which have
received a substantive reply." The solicitor continued:
"Our
clients were surprised to learn through a letter from
Seamus Kirk TD, their constituency representative that in
the view of the Department the commencement date for an
Inquiry into the Seamus Ludlow case is imminent. We were
not aware of any such development and would be obliged if
you would indicate the nature of the Inquiry that is to be
announced. You will recall that it was suggested in your
letter of the 31st January that this Inquiry might be
suitable for the form of private Inquiry presently being
conducted by the former Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Liam
Hamilton. Our clients do not share that view but were
prepared to reconsider the position in the light of a
disclosure of the relevant Garda investigation file in the
matter. That has not been disclosed and our clients
position remains that a full public Inquiry is required in
this case. You might note accordingly that our clients
will not be participating in a private Inquiry as same is
clearly inappropriate and that the one obstacle to a
public Inquiry identified in the Victims Commissioner
Report no longer applies.
"We
would be grateful if you would let us have a reply to this
letter, in comprehensive terms, as soon as possible."
23
May 2000 - The following parliamentary question
was asked about Seamus Ludlow by Mr. Quinn TD in Leinster
House, Dublin. It is followed by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's
reply:
Mr
Quinn: . . . I understand representations have been made
to the Government to have the terms of reference of Mr.
Justice Hamilton's inquiry altered to include the killing
of Mr. Seamus Ludlow. Is the Government giving
consideration to that request? Will the matter be included
in the terms of reference?
The
Taoiseach: Mr. Justice Hamilton is putting in enormous
work and time on the inquiry. My view is that the strategy
jointly adopted on this matter will prove to be extremely
useful, although it may not solve everything.
I
met the relatives of Mr. Seamus Ludlow some time ago.
Deputies will be aware I previously stated that the
Government had accepted the Victims Commission's
recommendation in the Seamus Ludlow case, but that
consultations were to take place. The relatives have
strong views and they are not yet satisfied that this is
the best way to proceed. However, I remain strongly of the
view that an examination of the case by the former Chief
Justice is the best way forward and I continue to try to
urge them in that regard.
As
Deputy Quinn is aware, there are difficulties in the
Seamus Ludlow case, including cross-jurisdictional issues.
An added complication is that identifiable individuals
were accused publicly in the case and the DPP in Northern
Ireland, having considered evidence available there,
decided not to prefer charges. This will make a public
examination of the case difficult here. However, my view
remains that an examination by the Chief Justice is the
best way to proceed.
In
this answer Mr. Ahern once again states that he has met the
Ludlow family - when in fact no meeting has ever been
granted with the family.
Rather
ominously, Mr. Ahern appears to be setting the scene for
some future disappointment for the Ludlow family. He seems
quite unable to present a hopeful opinion about the outcome
of any inquiry into Seamus Ludlow's murder. Instead, he
appears to present several possible arguments for no further
progress. Further information about the Dundalk families'
campaign can be accessed from the Ludlow family's Links
page.
10
June 2000 - The local Dundalk Democrat newspaper
reported that the victims of the 19 December 1975 bombing at
Kay's Tavern public house, in Dundalk, have adopted a
"wait and see" approach to the private Hamilton
Inquiry. James McGuill, the solicitor for Maura McKeever and
the Watters family, who both lost their fathers in that
no-warning Loyalist bomb attack, spoke to the Democrat's
Anne Campbell about the current enquiry:
"At
the minute we have adopted a wait and see approach to the
enquiry which was announced by the department of Justice
at the end of last year", said Mr. McGuill. "We
would like to see a full, open, public enquiry into the
murder of these two men", stated Maura.
"At
present there is a private enquiry into the
Dublin/Monaghan Bombings, but it is not clear how deep the
report, which is due for publication around November of
this year, will go into the facts and the responsibility
for the bombing.
"We
are definitely not ruling out going into this enquiry, but
would like to see what happens with this one first",
said Mr. McGuill.
Maura
McKeever is determined as ever to bring the perpetrators
of her father's murder to justice. "We have waited a
very long time just to get this far", she said.
"It's not over yet. We just keep going until there is
justice".
But
James McGuill, Maura McKeever and the Watters family are
not sitting back and waiting for things to happen. They
are pushing the progress themselves. At present, they are
speaking to people who were at the scene and near the town
when the bomb went off on 19 December. They want to speak
to anyone who was injured in the explosion, or saw
anything, no matter how small, in the days and hours
running up to the bombing. . .
The
Ludlow family wishes Maura McKeever and the Watters family
full success in their search for truth and justice for the
murder of their loved ones just six months before the murder
of Seamus Ludlow. Both cases point to serious questions
arising from the ease at which the Loyalist murder gangs
could move freely through Dundalk at a time of intense
Loyalist violence in the North and equally intense Gardai
activity along the southern side of border. The inability,
or unwillingness, of the Gardai to apprehend any of these
Loyalist/British Army murderers, either at that time or
during the quarter century that has now passed since then,
must be examined at any public inquiry into the murder of
Seamus Ludlow and the Dundalk bombing just six months
before.
14
June 2000 - Reported by the Belfast
Irish News was a
statement released the previous day by Justice for the
Forgotten, the group representing most of the relatives
of victims, deceased and survivors of the Dublin and
Monaghan bombings of 1974. The statement, backed by the
Ludlow family's Jimmy Sharkey and Kevin Ludlow, and
representatives of other families affected by the murderous
bombing of Dundalk in 1975, was in response to recent
statements from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in which he supported
pleas for public inquiries in the North, while he remained
set against equally deserving demands in his own
jurisdiction. The Irish News quoted the following from the
statement:
"As
victims of unsolved murders in this state related to the
Northern Ireland conflict, we welcomed the taoiseach's
recent call for an independent inquiry into the murder of
Portadown man, Robert Hamill.
"We
also welcome his support for the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and
his call for inquiries into the murders of human rights
lawyers, Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson," the
statement read.
"However,
their calls for public inquiries into atrocities committed
outside this jurisdiction ring rather hollow when compared
with their continued reluctance to hold public inquiries in
this jurisdiction into the murder of our loved ones who died
in equally tragic and controversial circumstances."
(For
further information on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of
1974, please go to the Ludlow family's Links
page. See also links to information on the Dundalk
bombing of 1975.)
14 June 2000 - Publication of
the widely respected human rights organisation Amnesty
International's (AI) Annual Report 2000. The full
report
can be accessed online.
This very detailed AI Report
of global human rights issues refers briefly to Irish and UK
issues including several cases of collusion between the
British authorities and Loyalist murder gangs. The Ludlow
family is delighted to see that Amnesty International has
kept a close watch on developments in the Seamus Ludlow case
and that AI's representatives have expressed strong support
for the family's demands for a public inquiry.
Many issues were
discussed at a meeting in June between the Irish
Minister for Justice, Mr. John O'Donoghue, TD, and Amnesty
International (AI) representatives. According to AI's Annual
Report 2000, the issues raised at this meeting included:
asylum
legislation; emergency legislation; procedures to examine
complaints against the police; inquests; and inquiries
into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the case of
Seamus Ludlow. . .
The Amnesty International Annual
Report 2000 continues:
Inquiries
into alleged collusion
The government appointed the retiring
Chief Justice, Liam Hamilton, to carry out a private, but
independent, judicial inquiry into the bombings in Dublin
and Monaghan in 1974, which killed 33 people and injured
hundreds. Members of the Northern Ireland security forces'
intelligence units allegedly colluded with the Ulster
Volunteer Force, a Loyalist armed group, in the bombings.
The inquiry would also examine the police investigation of
the bombings, and the bombing of a pub in Dundalk in 1975.
By the end of 1999, it was still not decided whether the
inquiry would also examine the killing of Seamus Ludlow in
1976, and the alleged subsequent cover-up by both British
and Irish authorities. Seamus Ludlow was killed in
Ireland, reportedly by a Northern Irish Loyalist group,
which included two soldiers.
The government stated that the
inquiry's results would be published, and that a
subsequent public inquiry remained possible. AI had called
for public inquiries into these incidents.
Amnesty
International also highlighted the murders of human rights
lawyers Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson.
20
June 2000 - Mr. John Bruton TD, Leader of Fine Gael,
replied to an e-mail message sent to him by Jim J. Kane,
Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Dear Jim,
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the Seamus
Ludlow case - you will note from the Oireachtas website (www.irlgov.ie/oireachtas/frame.htm)
that I have had exchanges with the Taoiseach
regarding this case on 8th December 1999 and on 29th
September 1999.
Fine Gael supports independent private investigation into
the Seamus Ludlow case as recommended by Mr. John Wilson
to the Government.
John Bruton T.D.,
Leader of Fine Gael.
Nothing here is encouraging
to the Ludlow family. Mr. Bruton fails once again to support
the Ludlow family's call for a public inquiry. To make such
a call would at least be consistent with his recent
demand for a public inquiry north of the border in the
Robert Hamill case.
24
June 2000 - Interviewed by Anne-Marie Eaton for the
Dundalk Democrat, Jimmy Sharkey said that the Ludlow family
welcomed the Taoiseach taking a stance and calling for a
public inquiry into the death of Robert Hamill during a RTE
Morning Ireland radio broadcast earlier this month.
However, he said,
"We have never met with the Taoiseach to discuss Seamus'
murder". It was pointed out briefly that Jimmy had a very
short meeting with the Taoiseach "but as yet family
representatives have only met with Minister for Justice,
Equality and Law Reform, John O'Donoghue, which Jimmy states
was not satisfactory".
"The Ludlow
family, through their solicitor, have once again requested a
meeting with the Taoiseach and are awaiting a
reply."
The Dundalk
Democrat also reported on the soon to-be-published Unfinished
Business, a book written by University of Ulster academic Bill
Rolston.
"Author
Bill Rolston has written a full chapter on the killing
including interviews with Michael Donegan and Jimmy Sharkey,
in his forthcoming book "Unfinished Business: State
Killings and the Quest for Truth".
"The book
focuses on family member telling their stories of how they
dealt with loved ones death and their experiences over the
years in demanding justice. It also demonstrates how,
because of necessity, ordinary people have become champions
of human rights."
I Top
I
26 June 2000 -
The Belfast daily Irish News newspaper featured across two
pages an excerpt of the soon-to-be-published book Unfinished
Business: State Killings and the Quest for Truth, by leading
academic Bill Rolston.
This new book
focuses on 23 cases of state killings associated with the
conflict in the North of Ireland. The stories, including that
of Seamus Ludlow, are told mostly by relatives who have
campaigned over the killings.
In this Irish News
feature Diane Hamill tells the moving story of the sectarian
mob murder of her brother Robert, in Portadown, three years
ago, in plain sight of the RUC, and of her family's campaign
for justice which continues to this day.
(See links to the
Robert Hamill campaign on the Ludlow family's
Links page.)
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