UDR 'Courageous' Says Donaldson

This week's Historical Enquiries Team (HET) report on the tragic Miami Showband Massacre has prompted an MLA and former UDR soldier to defend his ex-regiment's good name.

Despite the PSNI's HET revisiting the fact that serving Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers took part in the UVF terrorist operation in which three innocent bandsmen were killed, last night, the DUP Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson (pictured) said: "I will not stand by and permit some republicans to rewrite the past."

Speaking on UTV he said: "As someone who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment, I served alongside men and women who were committed to maintaining law and order in a society which was being mercilessly bombarded by terrorism.

"These people served with courage and distinction. No amount of republican propaganda will be allowed to tarnish the bravery of those who served in the UDR.

"The Ulster Defence Regiment was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross which is the second highest military decoration within our Armed Forces.

"Such a distinguished honour would never have been bestowed had the commanding officers in our Armed Forces not believed that the UDR was worthy," he added.

"These recent comments regarding the UDR call into question our piecemeal approach in dealing with the past.

"No one has a simple answer on how to take the matter forward," he said.

"As a Party, we hold to the view that the best closure for innocent victims is justice.

"We will always support the administration of justice regardless of where the perpetrator hails from. No one is above the law and everyone should be equally subject to the law," he concluded.

However, the Historical Enquiries Team's report into the murders also appeared to indicate that an RUC Special Branch agent was involved when three members of the band were shot dead in July 1975 after their minibus was stopped by a fake army patrol.

The HET report found that UVF man Robin Jackson had been linked to one of the murder weapons by fingerprints.

The now deceased terrorist was a leading mid-Ulster UVF member also known as "the Jackal", and had claimed that he was tipped off that his fingerprints had been found on a silencer attached to a Luger pistol used in the murders.

The HET said the murders raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour".

It said the review "has found no means to assuage or rebut these concerns and that is a deeply troubling matter".

What happened 36 years ago was that a fake army patrol - which was actually made up of rogue soldiers from the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) - as well as gunmen from the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) stopped the then famous Miami Showband as they were travelling home to Dublin after a gig in Banbridge.

The UVF gang opened fire on the band, killing lead singer Fran O'Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty, and trumpeter Brian McCoy.

The bass player Stephen Travers was also seriously hurt but survived and three members of the UDR were eventually convicted for their part in the attack.

Courage Under Fire

In contrast, over the summer, the vast majority of courageous Ulster Defence Regiment members were represented as veterans paraded in Lisburn to mark the unveiling of a bronze memorial to the 50,000 men and women who served in the regiment.

The sculpture, which was created by John Sherlock, depicts a UDR solider and a Greenfinch operating a normal vehicle checkpoint - one of the everyday duties of UDR soldiers during the Troubles.

It was formed on April 1 1970 in Lisburn and more than 50,000 men and women served in the regiment, which was amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers to form the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.

During the Troubles, 260 serving and former members were killed and over 400 were wounded - many of them off-duty and at their homes or workplaces.

The UDR Memorial Trust said that the memorial was "a fitting tribute to their courage and dedication to duty, as well as a recognition of the sacrifice and stress which their service brought to their families".

See: 'Collusive Behaviour' In Miami Massacre: HET

See: UDR Memorial Marked By Veterans Parade

(BMcC)