Miami Showband Bomber Wesley Somerville Glorified at Moygashel Commemoration

Hundreds of people in the Co. Tyrone Village of Moygashel attended a large loyalist flute band parade to commemorating a UVF man linked to the Miami Showband massacre.

Wesley Somerville was a notorious Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) operative and a key member of the Mid-Ulster Brigade, one of the most violent loyalist factions during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Before his infamous death in the Miami Showband massacre in 1975, Somerville was heavily involved in sectarian killings targeting Catholic civilians and suspected republicans.

The Miami Showband Massacre

County Down, Northern Ireland – July 31, 1975 – What should have been a routine journey home for one of Ireland’s most beloved bands ended in bloodshed, as three members of the Miami Showband were murdered in a brutal attack carried out by loyalist paramilitaries. The ambush, later known as the Miami Showband massacre, remains one of the darkest events of the Troubles.

The Miami Showband, a popular cross-border musical act, had just finished a performance in Banbridge, County Down, and were traveling back to Dublin when their minibus was flagged down near Buskhill on the A1 road. The men stopping them were wearing British military uniforms, giving the appearance of an official security checkpoint.

However, the gunmen were not soldiers, but members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group responsible for numerous sectarian killings.

The Scene of the Miami Showband Massacre

Among them was Wesley Somerville, a well-known UVF operative, and his associate Harris Boyle, Boyle also being a member of the UDR.

The gunmen ordered the band members out of the vehicle and lined them up at the roadside.

What the musicians did not know was that the UVF had a sinister plan. The attackers were planting a bomb inside the minibus, intending for it to detonate later in the Republic of Ireland. The explosion would have falsely implicated the band in transporting explosives for the IRA, a move that could have justified further loyalist retaliation.

But something went wrong. The bomb exploded prematurely, instantly killing Wesley Somerville and Harris Boyle. The blast ripped through the night, sending shockwaves through the quiet countryside.

In the chaos that followed, the surviving UVF gunmen panicked. Instead of fleeing, they turned their weapons on the unarmed band members, executing them at point-blank range.

• Fran O’Toole (lead singer) was shot over 20 times.

• Tony Geraghty (guitarist) was gunned down.

• Brian McCoy (trumpeter) was shot multiple times in the back and head.

Two other band members, Des Lee and Stephen Travers, miraculously survived. Travers was critically wounded, but played dead until the killers left.

The attack sent shockwaves across Ireland and Britain. The original RUC investigation led to the arrests of UVF members, including members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

Thomas Raymond Crozier was soon implicated in the murders while other suspects admitted to different murders and bombings. Spectacles found at the scene led to the arrest and charging of a second UDR member James Roderick Shane McDowell. Both McDowell and Crozier were serving members of the UDR at the time and had used their military uniforms and expertise to facilitate the attack. In 1980 after being arrested for other matters John James Somerville (Brother of Wesley) also admitted his involvement in the Miami Show band massacre.

Crozier, McDowell and Somerville were all convicted of the murders of Tony, Brian, Fran and other serious offences. They were all sentenced to life in prison.

It is believed that at least 10 attackers were involved, this means that five perpetrators were never brought to justice.

However, allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and elements of the British security forces persist. Some reports suggest that the attack was orchestrated by the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, led by the notorious Robin “The Jackal” Jackson, a man repeatedly linked to sectarian killings.

Survivors and victims’ families have long called for a full investigation into possible British Army involvement.

It is also alleged by a former British Military Intelligence Corps agent that Captain Robert Nairac was involved in the planning of the massacre and was most likely at the scene when it took place.

The Miami Showband massacre remains one of the most harrowing atrocities of the Troubles. It shattered the illusion that musicians, artists, and entertainers could remain untouched by the violence.

Decades later, memorials stand in tribute to the fallen musicians, and survivors like Stephen Travers continue to campaign for the truth behind the killings.

For many, the wounds of that fateful night have never fully healed.