Mr. Mickey Brady:

I thank Dr. Leahy and Ms Urwin for their presentations. There are two relevant cases in my constituency of Newry and Armagh and both happened in Dundalk. One is the bombing of Kay's Tavern in December 1975, the other, which Ms Urwin mentioned, is the murder of Seamus Ludlow in May 1976. Both cases highlight the failure of successive southern Governments to deal with the issues. Seamus Ludlow was murdered in 1976 and by 1979 the RUC was able to pass the names of four suspects to the Garda but nothing was done. Almost 20 years later those four suspects were arrested and were questioned. Two of them were serving Ulster Defence Regiment, UDR, soldiers. They were never interviewed by the Garda, no action was taken. The day after Mr. Ludlow's funeral a brother-in-law of his, Kevin Donegan, was kidnapped by the British Army and questioned about the Garda findings but nothing was ever done about that.

In Kay's Tavern, where Mr. Rooney and Mr. Watters were killed, it appears that the authorities North and South were aware that there was going to be an incident in Dundalk but nothing was done. Those two incidents highlight failures where steps could have been taken. In respect of the Seamus Ludlow murder what would now be termed "fake news" was put about in the form of a smear campaign saying republicans had been involved in his murder which was not the case. When questioned by the RUC two of the suspects admitted that they were present when Mr. Ludlow was murdered but did not take part. They were never charged. I raise these issues because they happened in Dundalk where I spent much of my youth socialising as it is probably the nearest town in the South.

It is just to highlight the ongoing problems. The Ludlow family have taken a case and it is going to the Court of Appeal, probably next year. It has taken a long time, particularly when one considers that the events we are discussing date back to 1976. Ms Urwin highlighted the lack of respect and the lack of truth for families. The Ludlow family are a particular example of how people have been so badly treated.