Miami Showband

[Frizby]

For anyone on Netflix, there is a documentary on on the 22nd March about the killings of three members of the Miami Showband which I am sure that many of you will have never heard of. It happened in July 1975 in Northern Ireland and one surviving member has tirelessly campaigned for this to be properly investigated. It has taken till now to get the story out.

The following is a direct quote from that surviving member, Stephen Travers, "As he walked around the field, kicking and firing his pistol into the bodies of the murdered musicians, another soldier called from the road "Come on, I got those bas**rds with dum dums, they're dead". But I wasn't dead... I lived to tell you this."

This is a link to the Wikipedia page which will give you some information about the case. Miami Showband killings - Wikipedia

Let's hope he gets justice, it is going to be hard as many of the files have been destroyed but finally the story will now be shown to the world. Documents on soldiers ‘destroyed’

ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre | Netflix Official Site

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

Thanks for posting this. My late mother was a huge fan of the Miami Showband, she often spoke of that terrible night

 

[Frizby]

Thanks for posting this. My late mother was a huge fan of the Miami Showband, she often spoke of that terrible night

As many were, they were very popular. Often said to be the Irish Beatles. It was awful what happened to them. Stephen has never given up hope for an investigation even though he came up against brick walls all the time. At least now the story will be heard against the will of those who have tried to bury it all these years.

 

[astheworldfallsdown]

As many were, they were very popular. Often said to be the Irish Beatles. It was awful what happened to them. Stephen has never given up hope for an investigation even though he came up against brick walls all the time. At least now the story will be heard against the will of those who have tried to bury it all these years.

I hope he gets the resolution he needs. Poor man having to live with something like that all his life.

 

[Ellmau]

A horrible attack and a particularly sad example of the Troubles.

Those in the UK (and probably Ireland) will also find it mentioned in the recent BBC4 programme on the Irish showband phenomenon - should still be on iplayer.

 

[Frizby]

I have just watched the documentary on Netflix. It is shocking. British collusion all the way to the top. What Stephen Travers has been through for the past 44 years is insurmountable. I would highly recommend anyone to watch this. It is an eye-opener.

 

[Cappuccino]

Shocking case, I'm glad Netflix are showing a documentary on it which tells the truth. Looking at the outcry about "our boys" in response to the news that one of the murderers from Bloody Sunday is to be charged, I doubt these people will ever receive justice.

 

[Frizby]

Unfortunately it will be a tough road ahead if they ever receive justice, it has been covered up for so long as have many other crimes but yes thankfully it is not out there for all to see. The outrage about the one paratrooper being charged about Bloody Sunday only goes to show how much was hidden from the public on mainland Britain. Any bad soldier gives a good soldier a bad name. All people on mainland Britain ever heard was the IRA this and the IRA that, but that is only one side of the story. It is arguable that if Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy had not happened, all involving the same Paratroop regiment, the troubles would not have been what they become. And then you have to think about the dismissal of a hard border in Ireland with all this Brexit stuff, they unfortunately haven't got a clue what has gone before and what could come back. I don't really blame the people, I blame the education system and the media for both airbrushing history and current affairs.

 

[Cappuccino]

We could fill this subforum with 'unsolved' cases from the Troubles that will never be solved because they were either committed by, or in collusion with, the state security services. Bloody Sunday, Ballymurphy, Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson, Loughinisland, Greysteel, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the list goes on.

And I'm afraid I kind of do blame the people too, or at least the ones who seemed to think terrorism and violence didn't matter until it reached England. No democratic government would get away with murdering their own citizens with such frequency if the public made any attempt to hold them to account. The British public have mostly not cared about their government's dirty deeds in Northern Ireland, even when they did know about them.