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Visitors are invited to leave messages of support on our New
Guest Book.
Contributors.
This page
features contributors to this web site, with links to
featured pages.
Jimmy Sharkey:
Jane Winter:
Linda Porra:
Jim
J. Kane:
Margaret
Urwin:
Jimmy
Sharkey, originally from Thistlecross, Mountpleasant,
and now living in Dromiskin, County Louth, is a
nephew of the late Seamus Ludlow. Jimmy grew up in
the same house as Seamus and he roomed with him.
Together with his uncle Kevin Ludlow he has been
prominent in the Ludlow family's search for truth and
justice for many years. Jimmy was the first Ludlow
family member to be informed of the truth of the
Gardai and RUC cover-up when he was approached by an
investigative journalist some years ago.
The
journalist informed Jimmy that he had heard from an
ex- Garda source that Seamus Ludlow's Loyalist
killers had in fact been identified many years ago
despite Garda claims to the contrary. The Profile written by
Jimmy and published here has already appeared on the
Pat Finucane Centre's website and the
Ludlow family's first site.
Back to Top.
Jane Winter has
been a valued supporter of the Ludlow family's campaign
for truth and justice from the moment she was informed of
this grave injustice in 1998. The BIRW Report on
The
Death of Seamus Ludlow was published in
February 1999. Jane Winter flew to Dublin on the morning
of 18 February for a gruelling day of engagements on
behalf of the Ludlow family. After a press conference at
Buswells Hotel, Dublin, she later attended a very
successful public meeting at Dundalk Town Hall for the
official launch of her Report.
Jane Winter flew
over again later in the year for the Ludlow family's
meeting with the Irish Minister for Justice, Mr. O'Donoghue. She also
accompanied the Ludlow family for a further unsatisfactory meeting with
Mr. O'Donoghue on 23 May 2001. She refers to this second meeting in her Director's
Report for May 2001
Jane
Winter has kindly submitted a special message
which appears on another page. The Ludlow family appreciates her
continued support.
The following
appraisal of Jane Winter and her tireless work in defence
of human rights with British Irish Rights Watch, comes
from a web page compiled by Liberty for the Human
Rights Awards 1999. Jane Winter was a worthy nominee - two years in
succession:
Jane Winter is a founder
member and Director of British Irish Rights Watch.
BIRW's activities include:
Researching alleged human
rights violations resulting from the conflict in
Northern Ireland; Sending independent observers to
inquests, trials and inquiries; Providing consultancy
services for lawyers; Making representations to
governments and international human rights bodies
including the UN; Making third party interventions in
human rights cases and providing expert testimony.
Recent examples of BIRW's
work include:
As a result of a
comprehensive report delivered to the UK Government
in February 1999 concerning the 1989 murder of lawyer
Patrick Finucane and others, a police investigation
into his death has been launched. So far, six arrests
have been made and one person charged with murder.
Following the murder of
lawyer Rosemary Nelson in March 1999, Jane has
followed the investigation with her customary
determination in order to ensure that it is thorough,
impartial and effective.
In February 1999, BIRW
presented the Irish Government with a report about
the case of Seamus Ludlow, which has been
instrumental in persuading them to hold an inquiry
into the case. Seamus Ludlow was apparently murdered
by the Red Hand Commando and two of the four
assassins were allegedly serving members of the UDR
at the time. BIRW raised the serious questions as to
why the killers were able to strike over the Irish
border and why both the RUC and the Garda Siochana
appear to have covered up the truth about the murder.
BIRW continues to campaign to hold the inquiry in
public rather than behind closed doors.
BIRW has monitored and
assisted Billy Gorman's case since 1993. He was
convicted in 1980 of the 1974 murder of an RUC
constable. He was 14 years old at the time of the
murder, and said that his ill treatment in custody
led him to make a false confession. He was the first
ever case to be referred back to the Northern Ireland
Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review
Commission.
"Jane Winter
combines considerable diplomatic skills with a steely
persistence to see the truth told and wrongs righted.
The fact that violations of human rights are now
acknowledged as a key dimension of the causes of the
conflict, and respect for human rights work as an
essential element of any lasting peace is, in no
small part, due to her work."
Mel James, International
Human Rights Committee, The Law Society
Back to Top.
Linda Porra,
from Southbridge, Massachusetts, is an activist with Irish
Organisations United. Together
with her colleague Jim J. Kane, Scranton, PA, Linda
has commenced a letter writing campaign in the United
States. They have written on the Ludlow family's
behalf to politicians, human rights groups and
to the press.
They
are a valuable asset to the Ludlow family's campaign
for truth and justice, not least because they are not
subject to the mail tampering that the Ludlow family
has experienced. Many letters posted from Ireland
have never reached their destination, evidently
because the British authorities are terrified of the
truth about Seamus Ludlow becoming more widely known.
Linda
Porra's Editorial to the
press in support of the Ludlow family's campaign is
featured on another page in this Ludlow family web
site.
Linda, whose
Irish family name was Davis, with origins in Wales,
has long been interested in Irish affairs, as her web site clearly
suggests. Linda gives the following brief statement
describing her personal life on her site . . .
"To
start, I have been married for 7yrs. as of Nov.
5, 1999. I have 3 children, my oldest son is 11
and my other son is 6 and my daughter is 5. Plus
I do Daycare out of my home full time. We live a
full life in Massachusetts. Both my husband and
myself like to play on the computer. Of course so
do our kids.."
Linda's site
has recently been augmented by the inclusion of two new sections
which will be of considerable interest to anyone interested in Irish
history and the history of abuses of the RUC.
Both sections show an impressive attention to detail and a clear
understanding of the issues involved. They are a must for anyone
interested in Irish history and current events.
Back to Top.
Jim
J. Kane: I Letter to Human Rights Commission
I I Letter to RUC Chief Constable I I Press
Release for Seamus Ludlow's 25th anniversary commemoration I
Jim Kane, From
Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA, is a leading activist with Irish
Organisations United and an associate of Linda Porra. Together they
have been active supporters of the Ludlow family's campaign for truth
and justice. Jim has written numerous letters in support of the Ludlow
family's demands to newspapers, politicians and other people of
influence in the United States, Ireland and Britain. Jim's letter to
Professor Brice Dickson, Chairman of the
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, can be viewed from the link
above.
Featured here also is
Jim's letter sent on behalf of the Ludlow family's campaign to Ronnie
Flanagan, Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
With the 25th
anniversary of Seamus Ludlow's murder imminent, in May 2001, Jim and his IOU
colleague Jeannie have made tremendous efforts to ensure that it was a
success. Jim has drafted a letter for the
press in the United States and Ireland and Jeannie has put it
temporarily online on IOU's new website http://celticj1/IOU/ludlow//ludlow1.html.
Back to
Top.
Margaret
Urwin, Secretary, Justice for the Forgotten, Dublin: I Press
Release: 13 June 2000 I
Margaret
Urwin kindly gave permission for the publication of Justice for the
Forgotten's press release on this Ludlow family web site. Margaret and
the relatives of the dead, injured and survivors of the Dublin and Monaghan
bombings have been very close and kind to the Ludlow family for quite some
time.
Indeed, on the
occasion of the 25th anniversary of the murderous multiple bombing of Dublin and
Monaghan, in May 1999, Justice for the Forgotten issued a special invitation for
the Ludlow family to lay a wreath at the imposing memorial to all the dead of
that terrible day in Talbot Street.
The Ludlow family
circle was honoured to send a representative group spanning several generations to attend on
that occasion to pay tribute to fellow victims of state murder and
collusion in our capitol city.
There are several
links to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings campaign on the Ludlow family's Links
page.
The
following passage is a press release from Justice for the Forgotten and
it comes from a page compiled by the Cain
Project:
Our campaign for truth and justice was established in January 1996 and is
gathering momentum in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the Dublin and
Monaghan bombings.
The 17th May 1974, in Dublin and Monaghan, saw the greatest loss of life in
a single day in the history of 'the Troubles'. Nobody was ever charged, or
even questioned, about these murders.
We are, at present, representative of approximately half of the victims and
many of the injured and are anxious to hear from others who may have lost
loved ones or sustained injuries, either physical or psychological.
Back to Top
SUPPORT THE
SEAMUS LUDLOW APPEAL FUND
Bank
of Ireland
78
Clanbrassil Street
Dundalk
County
Louth
Ireland
Account
No. 70037984
 Thank
You.
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Revised: July 13, 2005 .
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