A cross-border investigation will be carried out into the 1976 murder of the Louth man

An INDEPENDENT cross-border investigation will be conducted into the murder of a man shot to death in Louth in 1976.

Seamus Ludlow, 47, a forest worker, was killed on his way home from a pub in Dundalk, Louth.

Ludlow’s family has led a decades-long campaign to find the truth of the events surrounding his murder.

His family has long maintained that Ludlow was an innocent victim of a loyal death squad that included agents from the Red Hand Command and two members of the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR) who traveled from Northern Ireland to the Republic. from Ireland to commit the murder.

The Gavin Booth family attorney said the investigation will be led by Jon Boutcher, a former chief of police in England.

The Palestinian Authority news agency understands that the investigation will form part of the broader Barnard Review into a notorious loyalist assassin gang operating out of a farm in Glenanne, Co Armagh.

Boutcher’s team will review evidence and information held by the PSNI, families, law enforcement, and any other relevant agency.

Speaking at the Lisdoo Arms, where Ludlow was last seen alive, Booth also revealed that a witness has presented “important information” in the past two weeks.

He added: “Seamus was a quiet man.

“He was a family man and occasionally visited pubs in Dundalk and was known for his charitable work here.

“He was not a politician and he was not interested in the conflict in the north, he worked full time and was a devoted family man.”

Along with members of Ludlow’s family, Booth said the investigation will include cooperation from both the Northern Ireland Police Service and An Garda Síochána.

“This investigation will be led by Jon Boutcher, who will look at the actions of all those who played a role in the murder of Seamus Ludlow,” he added.

“This includes the Gardai, the British Army, the SAS, the RUC and any other unknown, including the suspects who were released.”

The Royal Ulster Police (RUC) told the Gardaí in 1979 the names of four loyalists it suspected were involved in Ludlow’s murder, but the information was not investigated at the time.