THE FAMILY OF a man shot dead in Dundalk, Co Louth in 1976 will this morning meet with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

Seamus Ludlow (47), a forestry worker, was killed on his way home from a local pub. 

His family have long maintained Ludlow was an innocent victim of a loyalist death squad comprising a Red Hand Commando and two members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) who travelled from the north into the Republic of Ireland to commit the murder.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) told the gardaí in 1979 the names of four loyalists it suspected of being involved in Ludlow’s killing but the information was not pursued at the time.

In 1998, four named suspects were arrested and questioned by the RUC. They were released without charge.

To date, no one has been charged in relation to his death. 

Today, the family of Ludlow will ask the Commissioner that he agrees to put in place a wholly fresh investigation team into the murder of Ludlow. 

The family will also ask that Harris agrees immediately to disclose all material relating to the Ludlow murder and investigation by An Garda Síochána. They say all such material should be provided to a fresh investigation team. 

It will also be asked that Harris agrees to immediately correspond with the PSNI in order to seek disclosure of all material relating to the murder of Seamus Ludlow, including both RUC and military materials. Again, they say all such material such be provided to a fresh investigation team. 

An Oireachtas committee in Dublin recommended more than 10 years ago that two commissions of investigation be held into the murder and subsequent events.

Neither of the recommendations have been implemented by the government.

With reporting by Press Association