Father Brian D'Arcy reveals Dickie Rock lived with guilt for years after Miami Showband massacre

Father Brian D’Arcy has revealed Dickie Rock was consumed with guilt after three members of the Miami Showband were murdered while travelling home from a gig.

On July 31, 1975, three members of the Miami Showband - lead singer, Fran O’Toole, the guitarist Tony Geraghty and the trumpeter Brian McCoy - were killed by loyalists in a bomb and gun attack when their bus was stopped near Newry as they travelled back to Dublin from a gig.

Recalling the “terrible act”, Father D’Arcy Told mourners at Dickie’s funeral on Thursday: “We all remember 31st of July, 1975 and I know there are some of the boys that are in the church today, so I don't want to be adding to here.

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“But Tony and Brian and Fran lost their lives in a terrible, terrible act as they were coming from dance in Banbridge and Dickie for years afterwards, he had a sense of guilt about that, that he had brought fellas into a band, and that he had introduced them to showbusiness, and that that's what happened to them.”

Father D’Arcy added: “He always thought if I hadn't introduced them, perhaps that wouldn't have happened and it was something he genuinely worried about for many years afterwards, no matter how much you were saying, you know, you can't say that you gave them an opportunity, they took it, and some evil person did something else to them.

“It wasn't you, you did the good thing, somebody else did the evil thing. But that's the way life goes, and that's the way it is,” he said.

The Miami Showband were one of Ireland’s most famous showbands at the time, and were targeted after they stopped at a fake army patrol made up of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) members.

Band members were forced to line up at the side of the road while attempts were made to hide a bomb on the tour bus.

The device exploded prematurely, killing some of the would-be bombers.

Their accomplices then opened fire on the band, murdering Fran, Tony and Brian.

Two other band members, Des McAlea and Stephen Travers, were injured but survived.

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