The Murder of Seamus Ludlow in County Louth, May 1976. Towards a public inquiry?
The Murder of Seamus Ludlow in County Louth, May 1976. Towards a public inquiry?
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Introduction to the murder of Seamus Ludlow and the official cover-up. Michael Cunningham investigation - 1978 The recent Campaign for Truth and Justice. Irish Victims Commission Report. Ludlow family's questions for the RUC (now the PSNI). Jim J. Kane's letter to the N I Human Rights Commission. Jim J. Kane's letter to the RUC Ludlow Family Letter to Bertie Ahern Other Ludlow Family Sites. |
The Sunday World, 16 May 1976:
From John Keane in Dundalk Seamus Ludlow, the Dundalk "Santa Claus" whose bullet-riddled body was found near the border, two weeks ago, may have been murdered as a result of mistaken identity. For I learned from inquiries that the popular sawmill worker, who had no involvement in politics, was the "double" of a top Provisional IRA man who is on the wanted list of both the S.A.S. and the outlawed Ulster Volunteer Force. The Provisional to whom the dead man bore such a remarkable resemblance served for nine years in the British Army before joining the I.R.A. He is reckoned to be the Provos' top marksman. The killer or killers are believed to have spotted Mr. Ludlow hitching a lift homewards from Dundalk while they themselves were driving towards the Border a few miles away. Local people to whom I have spoken say that the sleeves of the murdered man's coat were ripped out. This could be relevant to the mistaken identity theory, for the Provo marksman they may have thought they had "lifted" is tattooed on both arms. When I asked a Garda Spokesman if this could be confirmed, he replied: "After checking, this appears to have direct relevance to the State Pathologist's findings and we think it inappropriate at this stage to give details of the victim's clothing." Both Official and Provisional Sinn Fein members living along the Border in County Louth say they are extremely worried about cross-Border incursions by both the U.V.F. and the S.A.S. The U.V.F. are known to have highly accurate intelligence files on republicans in the Dundalk area. It is believed that the Gardai are in possession of a British Army map of the North Louth area with the houses of republicans clearly marked out on them, and the Provos believe that the S.A.S. have a "death list" naming 30 of their members living in the Omeath, Flagstaff and Edentubber area. Official I.R.A. sources say that members of their intelligence unit in Dundalk are aware of three "dummy runs" by would-be bombers from north of the Border over the past four weeks On each occasion the selected target has been a bar in Dundalk's Clanbrassil St. which is known to be a republican meeting place. The Officials say their men spotted a couple behaving suspiciously after entering the bar together and leaving by separate exits. They believe that the woman was in fact a man dressed up.
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