The Argus (Dundalk weekly newspaper), 13 August 2004:

Family of murdered Seamus Ludlow have 'no faith' in present process

By Olivia Ryan

The family of murdered north Louth man Seamus Ludlow say they have  "no faith" in the inquiry being conducted by Mr Justice Henry Barron.

Jimmy Sharkey, a nephew of Seamus Ludlow, told The Argus "I didn't really have any faith in it from the start. I think it is just a stumbling block."

A group of family members met with Justice Barron in Dundalk last week for a "progress meeting" which Mr Sharkey said "didn't really tell; us anything new."

"I felt that he was more cagey with us this time. But we do realise that he is not going to say a whole lot until his investigation is completed."

It was frustrating, he admitted, that Justice Barron did not have the authority to compel individuals connected with the case, or those who could shed further light on the murder, to co-operate.

The family, he further added, had not been told that the Garda report, completed by Superintendent Ted Murphy in the late 1990s, was going to be released to the Louth Coroner, Ronan Maguire.

"We've been calling for this report to be released for some time, as we had never actually seen what it contains."

However, Mr Sharkey said the family did welcome a new inquest being conducted into his uncle's death.

The original inquest was held in august 1976 without any members of Mr Ludlow's family being present.

Forestry worker, Seamus Ludlow was shot three times and his body dumped in a ditch down a laneway close to his Mountpleasant home, where it was discovered on May 2nd 1976, the day after his disappearance.

At the time, it was claimed that Mr Ludlow had been murdered by the IRA because he was an informer.

However, the Ludlow family claim that he was abducted and murdered by four loyalists, including Red Hand Commando/UDR members from North County Down, and for many years called for a public investigation into his death.

Indeed, an alleged eyewitness to the murder stated in the late 1990s in an interview with a Northern Ireland newspaper that Seamus Ludlow had been shot by members of the UDR with links to the loyalist paramilitary group, the Red Hand Commandos.

The Ludlow family are now awaiting the publication of the inquiry conducted by Justice Barron, which they have been told should be released in the Autumn.

The inquest is also expected to get underway in September.