Miami Showband massacre
| Miami Showband killings | |
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| Part of the Troubles | |
Site of the massacre; the band's minibus was parked in the lay-by behind the roadsign
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| Location | A1 road at Buskhill, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°15′38.43″N 6°18′58.53″W / 54.2606750°N 6.3162583°WCoordinates: 54°15′38.43″N 6°18′58.53″W / 54.2606750°N 6.3162583°W |
| Date | 31 July 1975 2.30 a.m. (BST) |
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Attack type
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Bombing, shooting |
| Deaths | 3 band members 2 UVF/UDR members |
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Non-fatal injuries
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2 band members |
| Perpetrators | Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Regiment members |
The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband Massacre) was an attack by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, on 31 July 1975. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. Five people were killed, including three members of The Miami Showband, who were then one of Ireland's most popular cabaret bands.
The band was travelling home to Dublin late at night after a performance in Banbridge. Halfway to Newry, their minibus was stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint, where gunmen in British Army uniforms ordered them to line up by the roadside. At least four of the gunmen were serving soldiers from the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) but, unbeknownst to the band, all were members of the UVF. While two of the gunmen (both soldiers) were hiding a time bomb on the minibus, it exploded prematurely and killed them. The other gunmen then opened fire on the dazed band members, killing three and wounding two. It is believed the bomb was meant to explode en route, killing the band and framing them as IRA bomb-smugglers, and possibly leading to stricter security measures at the border.
Two serving British soldiers and one former British soldier were found guilty of the murders and received life sentences; they were released in 1998. Those responsible for the attack belonged to the Glenanne gang; a secret alliance of loyalist militants, rogue police officers and British soldiers. There are also allegations that British military intelligence agents were involved. According to former Intelligence Corps agent Captain Fred Holroyd, the killings were organised by British intelligence officer Robert Nairac, together with the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade and its commander Robin "The Jackal" Jackson. The Historical Enquiries Team, which investigated the killings, released their report to the victims' families in December 2011. It confirmed that Jackson was linked to the attack by fingerprints.
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Wikipedia