The Irish News, 26 April 2005:

A long-awaited second inquest into the 1976 murder of Seamus Ludlow near the Co Louth border looks set to begin this summer.

Louth County coroner Ronan Maguire said yesterday that he plans to hold a preliminary hearing next month.

It is expected that the hearing, during which he will receive submissions from interested parties, will take place in around three weeks’ time.

Seamus Ludlow, a 47-year-old forestry worker, was abducted and killed by loyalist paramilitaries as he made his way home from a Dundalk pub in May 1976.

There is evidence that the gang responsible was linked to the Red Hand Commando and also included two UDR men.

The coroner said the scope and date for the beginning of the actual inquest would depend on the progress made at the May hearing.

He added that he had received all the material he had requested from gardai.

The coroner was first instructed to conduct the inquest by the Republic’s attorney general Rory Brady in July 2002.

The Irish News reported last week that it was expected that a report on the 1976 murder by retired Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Henry Barron would be published by the Irish government within weeks.

Senior government officials said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was keen to publish the Barron report in full. However, the government was said to be seeking advice on the risks posed by publicly naming a number of individuals featured in the document.

The victim’s brother, Kevin, last night said it was a “disgrace” that six months after the taoiseach had received the Barron report it had still not been published.

In 1999, the Republic’s commissioner on victims and former tanaiste John Wilson recommended a judicial inquiry into the controversial death. Judge Barron’s investigation was based on Mr Wilson’s recommendations.

It is believed that an unpublished internal report carried out by Garda chief superintendent Ted Murphy on the original garda investigation confirmed that detectives learned within days the identity of Mr Ludlow’s killers but failed to act to secure their arrest.

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The Belfast Telegraph, 27 April 2005: Second inquest into 1976 Dundalk killing