The Murder of Seamus Ludlow in County Louth, May 1976. Towards a public inquiry?

3 July 2002 - The Irish Attorney General has directed the Coroner for County Louth to hold a fresh inquest into the death of Seamus Ludlow.  . . . . Please return for updates and important developments.    

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The Irish News, 8 November 2003:

Valerie Robinson, Southern Correspondent

The families of three men murdered by loyalists in Co Louth in the 1970s have expressed disappointment that the recently-published Barron report failed to mention the killings.

Former Supreme Court judge Henry Barron last month presented Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with the findings of his investigation into the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings which left 33 people dead.

The judge, who began his independent inquiry three years ago, was also instructed by the government in the Republic to investigate the 1976 murder of forestry worker Seamus Ludlow as well as the 1975 Dundalk bombing.

However, the Barron report, which will be considered by the cabinet before being studied by an Oireachtas committee, did not contain details of the Co Louth deaths.

Mr. Ahern pledged that he would not delay the publication of Justice Barron's report, and said he hoped that a number of other reports being prepared by the judge would be available by the end of the year.

Margaret Watters, whose father Hugh, was one of two men killed in the Dundalk car bomb attack said that she had been saddened and shocked that families had first learned through the media that their loved ones would be excluded from the initial report.

Ms. Watters accused the Irish government of pushing the blast “into the background”.

Speaking to the Dundalk Democrat this week, she said: “No one has contacted us about when a report into the Dundalk bombing may be handed to the government. The anniversary of the bombing is only six weeks away and this adds to the stress and sadness which we always feel at this time of year.”

Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters, were killed when a bomb exploded outside Kay's Tavern in Crowe Street on December 19 1975.

Journalist Joe Tiernan last year claimed in his book Dublin-Monaghan Bombings and the Murder Triangle, that two men responsible for the attack in Dundalk were now deceased and may have been responsible for about 150 Catholic murders during the 1970s and 1980s.

Seamus Ludlow's nephew, Jimmy Sharkey, also revealed that he had no official contact about the contents of the Barron document and only learned from the Justice for the Forgotten support group that his uncle's murder would not be included .

The matter is now set to be raised in the Dail by Sinn Féin TDs Caomhghin O Caolain and Arthur Morgan.

Meanwhile, Louth County Coroner Ronan Maguire has promised to hold the second inquest into Mr. Ludlow's murder as soon as possible.

Mr. Maguire said that he was still attempting to trace the murder victim's clothes and the bullets used in the killing.

It is understood that photographs from the murder scene which had been mislaid, have since been found by gardai and handed to the coroner.

Ballistic reports from the original investigation have also been located.

See Also:

I Homepage I I Top I  I Press Coverage I I Barron Inquiry I I Terms of reference for Barron Inquiry I I Fresh Inquest I I Celtic League Support I I New GuestMap Guest Book. I   

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Revised: November 10, 2003 .