Report critical of handling of Ludlow case
A report into the 1976 killing, issued by the Oireachtas Justice Committee last night, named the four men suspected of carrying out the abduction and shooting and pointed to garda failures in handling the investigation.
The probe by Justice Henry Barron names Deputy Commissioner Laurence Wren as the one who "most probably" made the decision to stop officers acting on information received from the RUC in 1979 and travelling to the North to interview the four men.
The report states it was likely he did this after discussing it with other senior gardaí and possibly the Justice Department.
The probe which was handed to the Government 13 months ago quotes former Garda Commissioner Patrick Byrne saying senior garda management was at fault for not investigating the four suspects due to pressure of work.
Justice Barron revealed his job was made more difficult because of the number of "lost, destroyed and misplaced" documents relating to the case.
The decision not to allow officers to travel to the North was taken at a time of heightened tension between London and Dublin, the inquiry noted.
The report states the most credible reason for the failure to act was: "It was done in order to avoid a situation where gardaí might feel obliged to reciprocate by allowing RUC officers to attend interviews of suspects in the State."
Fear that gardaí might be targeted by Republicans if they were seen to "cooperate" with the RUC was also put forward as a reason.
The report states that Dundalk forestry worker Mr Ludlow was picked up in a car in May 1976 by James Fitzsimmons, Richard Long, Samuel Carroll and Paul Hosking.
"Information obtained by the RUC from Hosking suggested that it was Carroll who shot Seamus Ludlow. The inquiry has not been in a position to test the veracity of this allegation," it said.
The report makes no clear findings about allegations by the Ludlow family of collusion by police forces on both sides of the Border.
Mr Ludlow's nephew, Jimmy Sharkey, reiterated his family's call for an independent public inquiry with powers to compel key witnesses.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell said he hoped the report "would go some way towards alleviating" the family's distress.
An Oireachtas justice sub-committee is to hold public hearings in mid-January on the report and deliver its findings in March.
The Garda press office said last night: "An Garda Síochána acknowledges that there were issues in the original investigation carried out some 30 years ago.
"In recent years, gardaí have taken whatever actions were available to right the situation and, in this regard, cooperated fully with the Barron and other enquiries and will continue to do so."
