Inquest revelations are deeply disturbing

THE revelations from the second inquest into the killing of Seamus Ludlow in Dundalk in 1976 are deeply disturbing. Retired Det Insp John Courtney confirmed what the Ludlow family had long suspected:

That the gardaí were told the identities of his killers (loyalists with British Intelligence links), but failed to act. No convictions, no charges, no arrests, no extradition of the suspects or even interviews with them.

Even worse, the Ludlow family was told that Seamus was killed by the IRA for being an informer, thus greatly adding to their grief and dividing the family for many years. To cap it all, none of the family was even informed of the first inquest.

When this is added to the failures of the investigations into the Dublin and Monaghan, Dundalk, Clones and Belturbet bombings, which relatives of the victims believe were also perpetrated by loyalists with British links, it is clear that deficiencies in the gardaí extend well beyond Donegal and did not start in the 1990s. If effective action had been taken by politicians earlier, maybe the Donegal fiasco would not have occurred. But then, maybe the politicians didn’t want to take effective action; maybe they still don’t?

Dr Sean Marlow

90 Willow Park Road

Dublin 11