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Chronology - Page 4.
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15 October 1999 - The office of the Northern Ireland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) informed the Ludlow family that no charges will be brought against any of the four loyalist suspects who had been arrested in February 1998. No explanation for this decision was given, beyond the following bland statement:
"I now write to advise you that following careful consideration of the evidence contained in the police investigation file it has been concluded that there is no reasonable prospect of a conviction of any person reported therein in respect of the murder of your uncle."
The Ludlow family was not particularly surprised at this decision, but there was puzzlement caused by failure to charge at least two of the men. This was due to the common knowledge that two of the suspects had made admissions to the RUC and one, Paul Hosking, had told his story to Ed Moloney of the Sunday Tribune on 8 March 1998. There were many instances over a thirty year period of suspects facing prosecution simply on the basis of alleged statements given to the RUC. In this case there was clearly no will to bring any of the four Loyalists before the courts.
Cynics would argue that this failure to prosecute was caused by a great fear that the authorities could not control the flow of top secret information to a legal defence team that would want to expose the guilt of those not brought before the court and of those who protected them afterwards. Was the DPP only concerned about keeping the lid on a can of festering worms that has been sealed shut since the night of Seamus Ludlow's murder in May 1976?
16 October 1999 - Members of the Ludlow family attended the Relatives for Justice Relatives Conference on the theme of State Violence - State the Truth, at a Dungannon hotel, where they met with many other families who had lost loved ones at the hands of British and Loyalist killers.
Among the speakers were: Tony Doherty
of the Bloody Sunday Trust; Eilish McCabe, a founder of Relatives for
Justice; Don Mullan, the TV3 broadcaster and author of eyewitness Bloody
Sunday, who was currently writing a book about the Dublin and Monaghan bombings;
Jane Winter, Director of British Irish Rights Watch, London; Peter Madden,
the Belfast Human Rights lawyer; Professor Brice Dickson, chairperson of the new
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; Monsignor Raymond Murray, chairperson
of Relatives for Justice; and Imran Khan, solicitor for the family of the
murdered black schoolboy Stephen Lawrence. Don Mullan interviewed Kevin
Ludlow and Michael Donegan on film for TV3's 20-20 programme. Professor Brice
Dickson was handed documentation concerning Seamus Ludlow and he was asked to
bring the case to the attention of the Northern Ireland Human Rights
Commission.
25 October 1999 - Ulster Television (UTV) broadcast "State Silence", an investigation for UTV Live Insight, allowing the Ludlow family to tell their story. Former Victims Commissioner John Wilson was also interviewed. He softened the tone of his Report by implying that he always intended that the Ludlow family would have full access to the private inquiry.
2 November 1999 - An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, in an answer to Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, stated falsely that he had met with the Ludlow family. In fact he has only met with Jimmy Sharkey, a nephew of Seamus Ludlow, who was part of a Relatives for Justice delegation which met the Taoiseach on 6 March 1999. The Taoiseach has not responded to several requests made by the Ludlow family for a meeting with him.
Mr. Ó Caoláin's question was as follows: "I wish to address the Taoiseach on an issue which arose recently and is relevant to these questions. Will the Taoiseach raise with the British Prime Minister and Mr. Mandelson the disgraceful decision of the Director of Public prosecutions in the six Counties not to prosecute in the case of the four men implicated in the murder of Seamus Ludlow? In light of the failure to prosecute. will the Taoiseach revisit the decision to hold a private inquiry into the Ludlow case and will he acknowledge that, in line with the recommendations of the former Táiniste, Mr. Wilson, the report of such an inquiry must be published in the absence of prosecutions? The argument for a public inquiry is now, due to the decision of the Director of Public prosecutions, greatly strengthened."
Mr. Ahern said:
"When the former Táiniste, Mr. Wilson, acting as commissioner issued his report he said he believed the review should be in private at that stage. It is probably a fair assessment that he also believed the Director of Public Prosecutions was proceeding with the case. I am not certain of that but that is how I would have interpreted his remarks at the time. I have seen the statement by the Director of Public Prosecutions and we are examining the matter. I will raise it with the British Government again. As the Deputy knows, I have met the family and the people who have campaigned about this case over the last 20 years. We will reassess what to do next."
2 November 1999 - Mr. Stuart Ross, of the Pat Finucane Centre, Derry, wrote to Mr. W.A.R. McCarey, at the Office of the Northern Ireland DPP on the Ludlow family's behalf, seeking answers to the following: What were the reasons why there would be no prosecutions? Would the DPP meet with the Ludlow family to explain why this is so? Would the DPP state whether or not the Seamus Ludlow case has been closed? These were questions that were very important to the Ludlow family.
Mr. Ross concluded:
"As you are aware, this case is a matter of serious concern for many in the nationalist community. The decision not to prosecute anyone in relation to Mr. Ludlow's murder suggests that the DPP is less than willing to pursue cases when former members of the security forces are alleged to be involved."
3 November 1999 - The Ludlow family announced publicly the opening of a special Seamus Ludlow Appeal Fund account (No. 70037984), just opened at the Bank of Ireland, 78 Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk, County Louth. The account has been publicised by the Pat Finucane Centre in its website.
5 November 1999 - In a further letter to Mr. Stuart Ross at the Pat Finucane Centre, in Derry, the DPP added little to the above. Indeed, the letter, also from A.T.G. White, was almost an exact copy of the above, apart from the following specific reference to Mr. Ross' questions:
"I note your request for Mr. McCarey to meet with the family to explain why there will be no prosecution. My present view is that Mr. McCarey would be unable to provide the family with any information over and above that contained in this letter."
This dismissive response to very simple and reasonable questions would convince any observer that the Northern Ireland DPP is responsible to nobody but himself or to whomever he accepts as his master. He does not have to explain or justify his decisions and his word is final.
8 November 1999 - Elaine Keogh, in The Irish Independent newspaper, reported that John Wilson, formerly the Irish Victims Commissioner, supports the extradition of the four loyalist suspects allegedly involved in the murder of Seamus Ludlow.
9 November 1999 - In a written answer to questions put by three TDs: Mr. Howlin, Mr. Gregory, and Mr. Sargent, An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appeared to deny the existence of the British Irish Rights Watch report on the murder of Seamus Ludlow. A member of the Ludlow family had personally handed a copy of the independent BIRW report to Mr. Ahern on 6 March 1999.
The family wrote at once to the three TDs, informing them of the true facts and asking them to challenge Mr. Ahern on this issue.
The question (No. *103) placed by Mr. Trevor Sargent T.D. (Green Party) was:
"To ask the Taoiseach his views on whether the Government decision to have a private inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan bombing and the Ludlow case is consistent with the demand for a public inquiry in the Bloody Sunday case and in the murder of solicitor, Mr. Pat Finucane; and the steps, if any, he will take to ensure a consistent policy in relation to having a public inquiry in each case."
Mr. Ahern had said: "The Irish Government called for a public inquiry into Bloody Sunday after the publication of a very detailed assessment of the new material in relation to Bloody Sunday and the Widgery Tribunal. In the Pat Finucane case, British Irish Rights Watch had prepared a very detailed submission on that case. In the cases of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and Seamus Ludlow, no such detailed assessments have been made."
23 November 1999 - In a further answer to Mr. Tony Gregory TD, Mr. Ahern goes further to diminish the BIRW report. Mr. Gregory (Independent) had placed the following: "To ask the Taoiseach if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 94 of 9 November 1999, he will confirm that he received an assessment of a case (details supplied) from the British Irish Rights Watch."
Mr. Ahern replied: "I received a report prepared by British Irish Rights Watch on the Seamus Ludlow case at a meeting I had with the Relatives for Justice Group in March.
"In my reply to P.Q. No. 94 on 9 November, I referred to the Irish Government's very detailed assessment of the material relating to Bloody Sunday and the very detailed submission prepared by British Irish Rights Watch into the murder of Pat Finucane.
While the Report of British-Irish Rights Watch on the Seamus Ludlow case is a very useful document in putting forward the case for further investigation, it is qualitatively different from the Bloody Sunday and Pat Finucane assessments which were very detailed, painstakingly researched and based on a considerable body of information, both in the public domain and provided by confidential sources. It was on the basis of these very detailed reports that the Irish Government called for Public Inquiries in these cases."
8 December 1999 - Members of the Ludlow family: Kevin Ludlow and his wife Agnes, Jimmy Sharkey and Brendan Larkin, accompanied by family solicitor James McGuill, Dundalk, and Jane Winter, Director, British Irish Rights Watch, London, had a meeting with Mr. John O'Donoghue, Irish Minister for Justice. The meeting, lasting only forty minutes, was a stormy affair, with the family viewing the Minister's attitude as very hostile.
19 December 1999 - There was an official announcement by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern of an inquiry headed by, the soon to be retired, Chief Justice Liam Hamilton, who will look into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 and the Dundalk bombing of 1975. It remains unclear whether Mr. Justice Hamilton will also investigate the Seamus Ludlow murder, or if, as members of the Ludlow family believe, the Ludlow case remains solely in the domain of the Minister for Justice. Mr. Justice Hamilton will submit a report to be examined by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights. The committee will have powers to send for papers and records and compel witnesses to attend, and relatives of the bombings' victims and survivors will be entitled to appear at public hearings of the committee, which would then make recommendations. It remains to be seen whether this process adequately meets the demands of the various families in theory and in practice. The Ludlow family have yet to be assured that they will have any role in this process.
22 December 1999 - Members of the Ludlow family, led by Jimmy Sharkey and Kevin Ludlow, addressed a meeting of Louth County Council and won the Council's support for a public inquiry into the murder of Seamus Ludlow and the failure to bring his killers to justice. The family was greatly encouraged by the support for their demands that was demonstrated by the Council, and particularly by Councillors O'Donnell, Reilly, Godfrey and Morgan, whose remarks were reported in the Dundalk Democrat, 25 December 1999.
January 2000 - The Ludlow family's website went on line for the first time. The site will be revised when there are further developments.
29 January 2000 - The Ludlow family was invited to attend the Bloody Sunday Weekend conference in Derry, that was organised by Relatives for Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre. Unfortunately, the family's representatives were unable to attend. The theme of this year's conference was Truth, Justice and Healing.
31 January 2000 - In a letter to the Ludlow family, the Department of the Taoiseach replied to a letter sent to Mr. Ahern in November 1999:
"The Taoiseach understands your concerns about your uncle's case and he is aware of the recent contacts between Mr. Ludlow's relatives and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. John O'Donoghue, T.D. The Taoiseach is also aware of the contacts between the Minister and the legal representatives of Mr. Ludlow which he hopes will resolve the question of how the matter can be examined into."
1 February 2000 - In an email to the Ludlow family, an official responsible for Ireland, at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, confirmed that the Commissioner had not received either of two letters sent by a member of the Ludlow family.
It had long been suspected that these letters to Commissioner Robinson, as well as one to the UN Secretary General, and others to several human rights groups in the United States, had been interfered with and had not reached their intended destinations. This may well explain why a number of the family's requests for support have received no response.
The UN official wrote:
"Your message was forwarded to me, as the person responsible for Ireland in the High Commissioner's office (I'm also responsible for many other countries, including Russia and lots of others). I have been responsible for Ireland the entire time you have said that you sent your two letters. So I would appreciate it if you would send copies of your letters to my attention. I will ensure that the appropriate human rights procedures examine them, to determine whether the UN can address your case." Copies of the letters were mailed to Geneva on 2 February.
8 February 2000 - The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights informed the Ludlow family that it had received a package containing photocopies of letters originally sent to Mrs. Mary Robinson and to Dr. Kofi Annan.
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Launch of Joe Tiernan's book The Dublin and Monaghan Bombings and the Murder Triangle
Copyright © 2003 the Ludlow
family. All rights reserved.
Revised: June 13, 2003 .
