The Ludlow family has
campaigned consistently for public inquiries in both jurisdictions
in Ireland into the sectarian murder in County Louth of their dear
relative Seamus Ludlow.
Seamus was murdered by members of the
outlawed Loyalist murder gang, the Red Hand Commando and the British
Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) on the night of 1st and 2nd
May, 1976. The four suspects, whose names are all known to the
Ludlow family, were arrested by the then Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
in February 1998, but once again they have evaded the justice that
they were protected from since 1976.
The Ludlow family demands a full
accounting of the failure by both the Gardai and the RUC (now the
Police Service for Northern Ireland or PSNI) to bring
the killers to justice. They demand explanations and apologies for
the smearing of the innocent victim and the covering-up of his
murder to protect his killers who were identified very soon after
the crime was committed.
The Irish government hoped that the
Ludlow family would accept the private Hamilton Inquiry (and, following his
sudden death, the Barron), into the
Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk bombings, something less than the
public inquiry that had been demanded, but this private option was
immediately rejected.
The only obstacle to the
holding of a public inquiry, as stated in his official report by the
Irish Victims Commissioner John Wilson - a report commissioned and
accepted by the Dublin government - was the possibility of a pending
prosecution of the four Loyalist suspects in the North. This
possibility has been removed by the failure of the Northern Ireland
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to bring charges against any
of the suspects. Accordingly the Ludlow family affirmed its demand
for a public inquiry to be convened at the earliest possible
opportunity.
To date, neither the RUC nor
the Gardai have issued an apology for their role in protecting
Seamus Ludlow's killers and the British authorities in Belfast and
their Irish counterparts in Dublin have not responded to the Ludlow
family's just demands for a full and independent public inquiry.
While the British remain utterly silent on this issue, in Dublin
there remains a fierce reluctance to go beyond a private inquiry,
like the Hamilton (or Barron) Inquiry, for any of the Loyalist atrocities that
were committed south of the border.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD announced on Sunday, 19th.
December, 1999, that the outgoing Chief Justice, Mr. Liam Hamilton
was being invited to "undertake a thorough examination, involving
fact finding and assessment of all aspects of the Dublin, Monaghan
and Dundalk bombings and their sequel, including
- the facts,
causes and perpetrators of the bombings;
- the nature,
adequacy and extent of Garda investigations, including the
adequacy of co-operation with and from the relevant authorities in
Northern Ireland and the adequacy of the handling of scientific
analyses of forensic evidence; and
- the reasons
why no prosecution took place, including whether and if so, by
whom and to what extent the investigations were impeded. .
.".
This was the closest that the
Dublin authorities had come to acceding to the various family's'
demands for a public inquiry in those cases, but it remained to be
seen if the formula laid out in Mr. Ahern's statement was acceptable
to all concerned.
Still, the Ludlow family was
mindful that their demand was for a genuine public inquiry, and that
now that the Northern Ireland DPP was no longer standing in the way,
there was no justification for Dublin's failure to convene such an
inquiry, perhaps on lines similar to those of the present
British Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday in Derry.
One thing is clear though -
the Seamus Ludlow case was, at this stage at least, not even being
considered by the Dublin government for the Hamilton Inquiry. Chief
Justice Liam Hamilton was not being asked to look into the murder of
Seamus Ludlow and the subsequent cover-up and smear campaign that
has been the focus of the Ludlow family's campaign for truth and
justice.
Therefore, the Ludlow family circle's attitude to the
proposed Hamilton inquiry was largely irrelevant. The Ludlow family
was given no choice to consider at the outset of the Hamilton
Inquiry, though it was becoming increasingly clear that Hamilton
could not produce the truth that was demanded by the Ludlow family,
and was perhaps designed to ensure that the full truth of what was
done would never be revealed.
The Ludlow family had every
reason to believe that the murder of Seamus Ludlow should at least
have been included in Mr. Ahern's inadequate proposals, however
deficient they were when held up to close scrutiny. After all, four
Loyalists were arrested by the RUC for questioning about that foul
crime in February 1998; the Northern Ireland Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) had decided on 15 October 1999 that none of the
four prime suspects would be prosecuted; and the Ludlow family
had received firm information from within the Gardai that confirmed
their worst suspicions of an official cover-up. Not least among
their concerns was the revelation of the existence of a long
suppressed Garda file that contained the names of several suspects.
The file had been received from the RUC, in the North, in
1979.
The proposed Hamilton inquiry
did not satisfy the Ludlow family's demands, but at least it should
initially have been an option for the family to consider: to accept
or to reject. By the summer of 2000 it was all too clear that
Hamilton was indeed falling far short of the Ludlow family's clear
demands. The family, through their solicitor, continued to demand
the holding of a full independent inquiry, where all necessary
papers and witness would be examined in public. Meanwhile, the
private Hamilton Inquiry was going nowhere, with expected dates for
the conclusion of a first report not met - effectively stringing out
the whole inquiry into the bombings of Dublin and Monaghan.
There were indications by the
end of January 2000 that the Department of Justice in Dublin was
looking at adding the Seamus Ludlow case to Mr. Justice Liam
Hamilton's remit. The following statement from the Private Secretary
at the Minister's office comes from a letter, dated 31 January,
2000, 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."
The Department of Justice
called upon the Ludlow family's solicitor to inquire and inform the
Minister of the Ludlow family's attitude to this approach. As Mr.
Justice Liam Hamilton was due to commence his work very shortly, the
Private Secretary said "it would be very much appreciated if you
could respond to the Minister's proposal within the next
week".
Notably absent from the
Private Secretary's letter was a response to the Ludlow family's
repeated request for the releasing of the recent Garda investigation
report from the 1998 inquiry headed by Chief Superintendent Ted
Murphy, and other relevant files from 1976 and 1979.
If the Minister for Justice
was expecting immediate acceptance from the Ludlow family for a
proposal that had neither been made public nor explained in great
detail at that time, he was to be disappointed. The Ludlow family
had not given up on its firm demands for a public inquiry and for
access to Garda and RUC reports on the sectarian murder of Seamus
Ludlow. There were still many questions to be examined before the
Ludlow family could consider giving assent to the Minister's still
private proposal for what was a private inquiry.
The Hamilton Inquiry was not
initially rejected outright, but the Ludlow family would require
much more persuasion before they would accept something less than
their basic demands of truth and justice through a public inquiry.
Would the private Hamilton Inquiry satisfy all their demands? Would
it uncover the whole truth about Seamus Ludlow's sectarian murder?
Would it get to the bottom of the RUC and Garda cover-up which has
kept Seamus Ludlow's UDR and Red Hand Commando killers immune from
justice since 1976?
Was the private Hamilton
Inquiry any more than a last-ditch Dublin government attempt to
control the release of relevant information, to limit damaging
revelations and to protect the image and reputations of the Garda
and others who may have serious questions to answer? Was it a
genuine attempt to uncover the whole truth regardless of the
consequence? Was it aimed only at bringing out the full unvarnished
truth behind the shameful failure to bring to justice those
responsible for heinous crimes in the Irish state? Would the various
families be granted effective legal representation, with the
absolute right to demand the release of files and to subpoena vital
witnesses, who could be questioned under oath?
If the answers to these
questions is "No", then clearly the Hamilton Inquiry could surely
not meet with the stated requirements of the Ludlow family. If the
answers to these questions is "Yes", as Government statements seemed
to say, then the Ludlow family could ask, why not go the full
distance and establish a public inquiry? If there is truly nothing
to hide, then there should be a public inquiry.
On 25 February, 2000, the
Ludlow family's solicitor sent his response to the Minister for
Justice, "reflecting the view of the family in relation to the
similarities between this case and that of Pat Finucane". The
solicitor referred to previous correspondence, saying that he was
looking "forward to hearing from you in relation to this matter and
in particular to receiving a copy of the Investigation Report." The
solicitor concluded: "Again on behalf of the family we must
emphasise the view that the case for a public inquiry is compelling
and unanswerable. We look forward to hearing from you." The
solicitor was still waiting more than four months later.
The Dublin government says
that it intends that the Hamilton inquiry will "have full access to
all files and papers of Government Departments and the Garda
Siochana. The Government will also direct that all members of the
Public Service and the Garda Siochana extend their full co-operation
to him. Furthermore, the Taoiseach intends that the Government will
seek the co-operation of the British authorities with the Chief
Justice's examination.
"The results of the Chief
Justice's inquiry will be presented to the Government, and there
will follow "an examination of the report in public session by the
"Joint Oireachhtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's
Rights or a sub-committee of that
Committee".
The following excerpt from the
Statement by the Taoiseach on the Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk
Bombings (19th December, 1999) gives further details of the private
process that the Minister for Justice would recommend to the Ludlow
family, who remain opposed to this private alternative to a public
inquiry:
(Because of the separation
of powers between the Executive and the Legislature, it is not
possible for the Government to direct the Oireachtas or a
Committee of it to take a particular action. However, the
Government would do everything in its power to ensure that the
Committee took this action and, as there is cross-party support
for this approach, the Government are confident that matters would
unfold along the lines envisaged.)
"It is also envisaged by the
Government by the Government that the Joint Oireachtas Committee
on Justice, Equality and Women's rights would direct that the
report prepared by the Chief Justice be submitted to the
Committee, in order for it to advise the Oireachtas as to what
further action, if any, would be necessary to establish the truth
of what happened.
"The Committees of the
Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunity
of Witnesses) Act, 1997 enables the Oireachtas to confer power on
an Oireachtas Committee to send for persons, papers and records
and it is envisaged that these powers would be invoked, including
at the stage where the Committee, in public session, considered
the follow-up to be given to the report of the Chief
Justice.
"The Government envisage
that that this consideration will involve hearings at which
- the Justice for the
Forgotten Group, representing the injured and bereaved, would have
the right to appear before, and be heard before, the
Committee;
- the Committee would
exercise powers to direct the material relevant to the findings of
the report to be placed before it; and
- it would also exercise
powers to call persons to appear before it to respond publicly to
the report.
"As the Government see the
matter, there would be three approaches open to the
Committee:
(i) advise that the report
achieved as far as possible the objective of finding out the truth
and that no further action would be required or fruitful;
(ii) advise that the report
did not achieve the objective which could only be done through a
public inquiry; or
(iii) advise that the report
did not achieve the objective and the Committee or a sub-committee
of the Committee should examine the matter further (as outlined
previously, the options available to such committees or
sub-committees include public hearings and powers to send for
persons, papers and records). . .".
It is for the Justice for the
Forgotten group and the people bereaved and injured by the Dublin,
Monaghan and Dundalk bombings to decide whether or not the private
Hamilton Inquiry process, as outlined above, is appropriate to their
demands. The Ludlow family accepts their right to make their own
decisions in their own cases. The Ludlow family has considered
Mr. Ahern's proposals for the Hamilton Inquiry and they are rejected
as having no merit in meeting the family's stated demands.
The Dublin Government's ideas
for extending the remit of the Hamilton Inquiry so that it
would look also at the murder of Seamus Ludlow were outlined in
further detail during Taoiseach's questions in Leinster House,
Dublin, on 23 May 2000. Mr. Ahern stated that this was his
government's advice to the Ludlow family, who he accepts have
"strong views and they are not yet satisfied that this is the best
way to proceed".
Mr. Ahern repeated his
previous claim that he has met with the Ludlow family. Well, this is
strange news to the late Seamus Ludlow's surviving brother, three
sisters and many nephews and nieces and their families, for no
Ludlow family group has ever met with Mr. Ahern. Requests for a
meeting with Mr. Ahern have never been acknowledged.
Mr. Ahern went on to introduce
various arguments which could later be used as an excuse for
any failure of such an inquiry. For instance, Mr. Ahern said:
"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 former Chief Justice is the best way to
proceed."
Such arguments promote little
confidence that the proposed Hamilton process could produce the
desired results, or that it was ever intended to. Certainly nothing
said by Mr. Ahern helped persuade the Ludlow family that the Hamilton
process was
the best way forward or any alternative to a public
inquiry.
Some useful points which that doubt helped guide the Ludlow family towards a final decision were
made by the broadcaster and writer Don Mullan - noted author of the
momentous Eyewitness Bloody Sunday and a soon to be published book
about the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings - in a recent communication
with a member of the family. Mr. Mullan, a valued supporter of the
Ludlow family's campaign for justice, has advised:
"There will, no doubt, be
linkages, especially regarding the perpetrators of the crimes and
the collusion of British State forces. However, I think it
is important that we don't allow the government to submerge all
incidents in a pot of political stew. Each crime deserves to
be examined on its own merits. The dead and the bereaved are
entitled to no less.
"It is certainly worth considering
whether or not you should cooperate with a Hamilton Assessment of
all the available evidence concerning Shamus's murder and your
subsequent experience with the Garda 'Investigation'.
Whatever you decide, however, I think it is important you insist
on allowing the Seamus Ludlow case to stand on its own, just as
Dublin and Monaghan should stand on its own, along with the
Dundalk bombing and the 1972 Dublin bombing.
"Having said
that, I think it is very important that each individual campaign
should be united in a collective effort to support and encourage
one another."
Mr. Mullan has raised
important points here. Can an inquiry process dealing with more than
one atrocity - the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974, the Dundalk
bombing of 1975, and perhaps also the Castleblaney bombing and other
Dublin bombings as well as Seamus Ludlow's murder, treat each
case on its own merits or will it seek out simple common
denominators and thereby avoid close examination of the specifics of
each case?
It is also important to the
Ludlow family that all others presently demanding truth and
justice for other Loyalist/British forces crimes in the Irish state,
and their many other victims north of the border, should
collectively support each other. They are all victims of state
violence and their plight has been ignored by the very state which
has brought them grief and suffering. They all fully deserve the
truth and justice that the British authorities have long denied them
and the Ludlow family will support them in their just
demands.
For more see: The Barron Inquiry
and its Draft
Terms
of Reference
(See links to the Dublin
and Monaghan bombings campaign on the Ludlow family's Links
page.)
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