The Ludlow Family's Questions for the British and Irish Authorities.

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This is Seamus Ludlow (47), Thistlecross, Mountpleasant, Dundalk, County Louth, who was abducted and murdered by UDR/Red Hand Commando gunmen after leaving a Dundalk public house on the night of 1st and 2nd May 1976. Although the Loyalist killers were known to the Gardai and the RUC soon after, none of the four men involved were ever arrested for this crime until February 1999. They were all released without charge and the Northern Ireland DPP has ruled that there will be no prosecutions.

On 15 October 1999, the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ruled that four Loyalist suspects, arrested in February 1998 for questioning about the murder of Seamus Ludlow, in May 1976, will not be charged. The Ludlow family has been given no explanation for this decision.

This memorial plaque marks the spot where Seamus Ludlow's body was discovered on Sunday 2 May 1976. The photograph is a link to an account of a statement made by an alleged witness of the murder of Seamus Ludlow. 

 

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Seamus Ludlow's family demands truth and justice. Here are just some of the questions that must be answered.

Question #1 Why have Seamus Ludlow's UDR and Red Hand Commando murderers never been brought to justice, even though they had been identified by the RUC and the Gardai more than twenty years ago?

Question #2 When were Seamus Ludlow's Loyalist killers first identified by the RUC and the Gardai, and why were there no arrests until February 1998?

Question #3 What were the four Loyalists really doing in Dundalk on the night of 1st and 2nd May 1976, and were the Gardai aware of their presence in the town on that occasion? Were these men on an undercover mission for the British Army?

Question #4 Was one of the four Loyalists an agent for the RUC, the British Army or for MI5?

Question#5 Why was important evidence kept secret from the Ludlow family for more than twenty years?

Question#6 Why was the Ludlow family kept away from Seamus Ludlow's inquest on 19 August 1976? What were the Gardai trying to hide from the Ludlow family?

Question#7 Why have the results of the ballistics reports never been revealed, and what did the report say about the origin of the gun that was used to kill Seamus Ludlow?

Question#8 Were any of the gunmen who killed Seamus Ludlow carrying or using British Army or UDR weapons? Was the RUC requested to check the ballistics results to see if British Army weapons were used?

Question#9 Who ordered the suspension of the original murder investigation after only three weeks and why was the Ludlow family never informed of this development? What was the reason or justification for this suspension?

Question#9 Was the Gardai's indifferent attitude to Seamus Ludlow's murder influenced by interference from the Government in Dublin?

Question#10 Why was the murder of Seamus Ludlow in County Louth in 1976 ever permitted to become a matter for the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions?

Question#11 Why did the Irish authorities not initiate extradition proceedings against the four prime suspects so that they could be prosecuted in the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed?

Question#12 Now that the Northern Ireland DPP has refused to charge any of the four suspects in relation to Seamus Ludlow's murder, will the Irish authorities take steps to commence extradition proceedings so that the murder of Seamus Ludlow is finally resolved in an Irish court?

Question#13 Will any action be taken against those members of the Gardai and their retired colleagues who smeared the good name of the innocent victim and lied to the Ludlow family for more than twenty years?

Question#14 Will the Gardai and the RUC ever permit the Ludlow family access to their investigation files, so that the family can be satisfied that the previous cover-up is not continuing?

Question#15 Will the British and Irish authorities ever accede to the Ludlow family's demands for full and open public inquiries, where the family and its legal representatives will have the right to view files and papers, and to subpoena and question witnesses, regarding the murder of Seamus Ludlow and the cover-up on both sides of the border?

Question#16 Will the British and Irish authorities apologise to the Ludlow family for the deep hurt caused to the family by the murder of Seamus Ludlow, followed by smears, lies and a cover-up which permitted his UDR/Red Hand Commando killers to escape from justice?

Question#17 Will the British and Irish authorities likewise apologise to the families of other innocent victims who were also murdered by members of the Red Hand Commando/UDR death squad in the weeks and months after the murder of Seamus Ludlow, simply because they were allowed to remain at liberty?

Jimmy Sharkey, in this screenshot from TV3, was reared in the same house at Thistlecross as his uncle Seamus. Jimmy, together with his uncle Kevin Ludlow,  has been very prominent in the Ludlow family's recent search for truth. The photograph links to his Profile on the death of his uncle and the family's search for justice.