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Extra.ie
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
50 years ago today: Remembering The Miami Showband Massacre
Historically, music had been an arena in which people moved freely, most of the time, beyond the dysfunctional, tired, old sectarian fault-lines. Gary Moore may have come from a so-called Protestant or Loyalist background in East Belfast, but that didn't matter a damn when he arrived in Dublin to join Skid Row, plugged in his Gibson Les Paul and made a glorious noise. Nor was religious affiliation of the slightest concern when Rory Gallagher moved to Belfast and based himself there, when his band Taste was starting to make real waves. Rory never lost that particular, non-sectarian rock 'n' roll faith. Throughout the 1970s – long after the Troubles had erupted, and violence on the part of the British State and paramilitary groups alike, saw people being butchered, maimed and brutalised on an appallingly regular basis – fans of Rory left any allegiances they might have been assumed to feel behind, as they travelled to the Ulster Hall to see the G-man in action. Music could be above all forms of sectarianism. Most of the time it was. It never occurred to me to see Van Morrison and his marvellous lyricism as anything other than Irish. In almost every respect, we felt closer to him; to the Portstewart guitar genius Henry McCullough; and to The Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers, when their time came, than to the country, showband and cabaret crews who still dominated music in much of rural Ireland. Not that everything had been entirely rosy, far from it. In 'Down At The Border', the original Eyeless, a three-piece involving me, my brother Dermot, and Garry O Briain, had written a song about it. 'Down at the border,' it opened, 'We met a gunman on the loose/ Followed down by an English convict/ Just out of the calaboose/ Two rustlers, pig smugglers/ And a tourist or two/ And then there was me… and you.' Later in the song, the gunman shoots the convict 'over something that he said'. There really was a surreal aspect to it all, like a magic mushroom trip gone horribly, murderously wrong. And then, for musicians, it got far worse entirely. Illustration: David Rooney The brutal massacre of members of the Miami Showband, on July 31st, 1975, involved breaking a kind of sacred taboo, which had guaranteed musicians the freedom to travel across the border without fear of being ambushed. It poisoned the atmosphere and put an almost complete stop to local musicians from South of the border travelling North to play. I had a more visceral sense than most of what had happened. Eyeless, now featuring my brother Dermot, Neil Jordan, Pat Courtney and Bryan McCann, in a five-piece line-up, had travelled North in May that year, to support John Martyn in Queen's University, Belfast. My partner Mairin, pregnant with our first child at the time, was in the van too when we set out for home. A wrong turn took us into the vicinity of Keshfield at 1 am, and we experienced a scarifying brush with what can only have been loyalist paramilitaries. We were lucky to get to the benighted town of Portadown, where we stopped in the most open, visible location we could find, scrambling to find our bearings and chart a path back across to Newry. We made it, but it might have been a prelude to what happened to the Miami, who had been one of the most popular bands on the showband scene for the previous decade and more, a couple of months later. The van in which they were travelling was stopped on the way back to Dublin from a gig in Banbridge, close to the route we had travelled. Posing as British Army personnel, members of the illegal UVF, some of whom were also in the legal but irredeemably corrupt Ulster Defence Regiment, instructed the musicians to stand in line at the side of the road. The plan had been to carry out a fake inspection, covertly plant a bomb and send the musicians on their way. Some accounts say that the bomb would have detonated in Newry. Others think the plotters wanted the van to cross the border before it exploded. Fate – and the incompetence of the UVF – triggered events in an entirely different direction that night. While it was being installed under the driver's seat, the bomb went off, instantly killing two of the UVF members, Harris Boyle (22) and Wesley Somerville (34), whose bodies were blown to kingdom come, landing in blackened stumps across a wide area. Somerville's arm was found some 100 yards away from the scene, pathetically emblazoned with a tattoo that said 'UVF Portadown'. The members of the Miami were also blown away into the adjacent field, but they were still alive, one and all. The UVF thugs panicked, gave chase and shot dead three members of the Miami – lead singer Fran O'Toole, trumpeter Brian McCoy, and guitarist Tony Geraghty. They thought the others were dead too. The Miami – like most Irish professional bands at the time – were naturally and unselfconsciously anti-sectarian. There were two nominally Protestant musicians in the band, Ray Millar and Brian McCoy, both of whom were from Northern Ireland. Brian McCoy, in particular, was like a beacon of how music could potentially reach across every divide. From the small village and townland of Caledon in the south-east of County Tyrone, he was the son of the Grand Master of the Orange Lodge in the county. You couldn't get more traditionally Norn Iron Protestant. Brian had close relatives in the RUC. His brother-in-law had been a member of the discredited and ultimately disbanded B-Specials, an organisation of supremacist Protestant army reservists. In a different universe, he might have been on the other side of the encounter that night. Except that his devotion to music had liberated him… However you looked at it, Brian McCoy seemed like an unlikely target. And yet he was the first to die, hit in the back and neck by nine rounds from a Luger automatic pistol as he tried to make his escape. That was the mid-1970s. Two serving UDR 'soldiers', Thomas Crozier and James Roderick Shane McDowell, were found guilty of the murders and received life sentences. A third man, John James Somerville, a former UDA 'soldier', was later also found guilty of the murders. However, none of the three gave details of who else was involved or who had planned the attack. It has long been believed that there were elements of collusion involving the RUC and the British Army. A series of tit-for-tat killings was carried out by the IRA in response, possibly even including the murder of Eric Smyth, a brother-in-law of Brian McCoy, in 1994. That was the kind of country we had been living in: a nightmare, a twilight zone, in which no level of brutality was deemed impermissible and families could have their own gunned down ruthlessly by either side or both. The eruption of punk had lifted everyone, at least partially, out of the slough of despond into which the Miami massacre – a gruesome act of sickening butchery – had plunged us. As The Sex Pistols stormed the top of the UK charts in 1977, and The Clash became overtly political, all forms of authority were being questioned. For Belfast band Stiff Little Fingers, the Troubles became part of the subject matter – the band making it clear that they had no time whatsoever for the bores (their word) that were in charge. It is no harm to remember the incendiary force of what the song, 'Alternative Ulster', released as a single in October 1978, had to say. 'You got the Army on your street,' lead singer Jake Burns sang, 'And the RUC dog of repression/ Is barking at your feet/ Is this the kind of place you wanna live?/ Is this where you wanna be?/ Is this the only life we're gonna have?/ What we need is/ An alternative Ulster/ Alternative Ulster…'
Sky News
18-07-2025
- General
- Sky News
Supply teachers costing schools £1.4bn - as students say they are 'falling behind'
Chronic teacher shortages and increased sickness absences have pushed schools to rely heavily on supply agencies, costing the education system nearly £1.4bn in the last year alone. The majority of the £1.4bn was made up by academy schools which spent £847m on agency supply staff in the 2023-24 academic year, new analysis by Sky News using Department for Education data shows. That's nearly double the amount (in real terms) compared to 2014-15. One headteacher told Sky News it can cost schools upwards of £200 a day for a "decent supply teacher". "In some subjects like physics, supply agencies can charge £300-£400 per day, and schools are being held over a barrel," said Gary Moore, the headteacher at Regent High School in north London. But it's students like Zainab Badran who are feeling the impact. "Every lesson we would have a different supply teacher," the GCSE student said. "I didn't feel like I was learning anything. We were falling behind." Mineche Kyezu-Mafuta, a Year 10 student, remembered her science class being taught by five different teachers in a week. "We had subs, and we have science five times a week, so we had a sub for every single one of those lessons - the sub changed for every lesson," she said. "Students (were) out of their seats, throwing stuff, talking, just anything you could really think of would be happening in that class. "It was very loud, students weren't behaving, no one was really doing their work." The vacancy rate among classroom teachers is still three times higher than it was a decade ago. Last year, the number of classroom teachers leaving was twice the number of newly qualified teachers joining the workforce. At the same time, teacher pay has failed to keep up with the rising cost of living. Since 2015, the median teacher salary has increased by nearly 30%, while inflation has risen by about 50%. Agency commission rates Agency commission rates are another source of frustration for school leaders. A teacher earning £30,000 may cost a school approximately £36,900 through an agency, an effective 23% markup. This rate of fees continues to rise further with higher salaries. Andy De Angelis, headteacher of a secondary school in west London, said: "UK agencies provide a CV and possibly help with references. I arrange the interviews." Sky News contacted several leading supply agencies for comment, but none responded. A Department for Education spokesperson said work is "well under way to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers so schools are less reliant on agency staff in the future". "We are already seeing early progress with over 2,300 more secondary and special school teachers in classrooms this year, and over a thousand more people than last year have accepted places on teacher training courses starting this September," they added. "To support schools to get better value for money when hiring supply teachers and other temporary school staff, we have established the agency supply deal." 'Significant failings' But the teachers' union NASUWT has said recent government-commissioned research shows less than 0.5% of school leaders reported obtaining supply teachers through the Crown Commercial Service framework. "Currently, the approach of government ignores the significant failings that exist in the provision of supply teachers," it said. "This creates unnecessary cost and adversely affects supply teachers, schools and pupils. "The best way forward for both schools and supply teachers would be for schools and local authorities to be supported by the government to maintain their own supply pools."
Belfast Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
I owe my career as a music mogul to Gary Moore, reveals Sharon Osbourne
Belfast guitar legend was first act she managed when he 'put trust in her' after leaving Thin Lizzy Music mogul Sharon Osbourne has revealed her management career took off thanks to late Belfast-born guitar hero Gary Moore. She spoke out as she masterminded the monster farewell performance from heavy metal legends Black Sabbath at Birmingham's Villa Park yesterday. It enabled her husband Ozzy to treat fans one last time with the original line-up.
Sunday World
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Join us backstage with Metallica as our man Eddie Rowley gets a taste of what's coming to Dublin's Aviva
Our showbiz reporter meets metal icons as Irish fans clamour for tickets to double date It once belonged to former Skid Row and Thin Lizzy guitarist, the late Gary Moore, who was forced to sell it when he was down on his luck financially. Gary had bought it from its first famous owner, British musician Peter Green, who used it during his time in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Fleetwood Mac. 'Greeny', a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard named after Green, is now one of the most recognisable guitars on the face of the earth. The band will play two different sets over two nights with different support acts too . . When I joined Metallica's M72 World Tour in Philadelphia last weekend, guitar god Hammett told us at a sideline event: 'It's funny, I had nothing to do with the fanbase this guitar has and it's a huge fanbase. 'When I acquired this guitar the fanbase even swelled exponentially because people learned about the other players who owned this guitar, so I feel like I'm furthering a legacy. 'A lot of the time people come up to me who are not Metallica fans but who love Greeny and they want to take a picture with her. It's the first time I owned a guitar that already had a fan club before I had it.' I watched Kirk in action with 'Greeny' over two nights at 'The Linc' stadium, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, where Metallica thrilled their own fans with incendiary performances in spectacular shows that will play Dublin's Aviva Stadium next June. Eddie with Metallica tour chief Jon-Michael Marino Tickets cover two concerts, with the world's greatest heavy metal band playing a completely different set list each night and with two new support acts on the second bill. As Metallica tour chief Jon-Michael Marino took the Sunday World inside the world of the legendary band hours before the show, I got the thrill of stepping up on to the stage where they'd perform to 67,000 fans that night. The sprawling, breath-taking stage is 'in the round' with eight gigantic towers hosting video screens and a colossal sound system that ensures even fans sitting in the gods have the best possible experience. Earlier, on my way in, I had strolled past 87 monster trucks that ferry in the stage and production. 'We have a crew of 350 people, so it's a travelling village. The production is incredible, but the live energy in the Metallica concert is really second to none,' Jon pointed out. 'It doesn't matter if you're seeing the band for the first time or if you are some of the die-hard fans I know personally who have seen 250 shows, it's the energy and the sense of community you have when you have 40,000 to 80,000 Metallica fans gathered in one space that's pretty special… the goosebumps that you get don't really go away. Eddie Rowley with one of the Metallica guitars 'The shows have only got better somehow over 44 years. They're not getting slower, they're not getting softer, it's not a greatest hits lap around the world. They are still creating new music and I expect that they'll continue to do so.' Over the two nights in Philadelphia, Metallica unleashed a barrage of their most celebrated and revered songs from their impressive arsenal with manic drumming from skinsman Lars driving the full-on, power-packed performance. James Hetfield's voice is a force of nature and he looks like he's in the best shape of his life these days — having struggled with alcohol abuse in the past — as he prowls the stage mesmerising us with his guitar work and vocal delivery. 'Music saves my life every day, I hope you feel the same,' Hetfield told us at the first show. On the second night he addressed the issue of suicide, urging people to seek help. 'I know darkness, I know everyone here knows darkness, and we don't know how hard it needs to get to go there [suicide],' James says. 'But that permanent solution to a temporary problem is not worth it. I say talk, talk that sh*t out, get that sh*t out… that's not why you're here. You are here to be loved and cherished, so talk to your friends.' Eddie Rowley with the Metallica drum kit Superfan Brian Thomas from Raleigh, North Carolina, has been to 46 Metallica shows. 'It's going to hit 50 in Tampa in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking hard at coming to Dublin,' he tells me. 'You can't go to a sporting event in the United States without hearing a Metallica song because it's high energy, excellent music, amps the crowd up and everybody's feeling good when they hear it.' Metallica's M72 World Tour will play Dublin's Aviva Stadium on June 19 and 21, 2026. Two-night tickets are now on sale. For further information, enhanced experiences, travel packages and more, go to James Hetfield and Metallica will bring their explosive show to the Aviva next year News in 90 Seconds - 3rd June 2025
The Herald Scotland
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Give It To Me Oj tastes Final glory at Sandown
A winner at long odds-on last weekend at Huntingdon, Give It To Me Oj (20-1) travelled sweetly for Caoilin Quinn, who delivered him to challenge on the run to the last and held off Mythical Moon to win by three-quarters of a length, with Fasol back in third. Gary Moore said: 'I was worried he wasn't very well handicapped off his mark on what he did at Liverpool, so when I ran him last week I thought at least he will either have two wins to his name or if he gets beat, he would be dropped with this race in the back of my mind. 'He has always been a nice horse and he has kind of exceeded all expectations today for a four-year-old to carry 12st and it was quite a good performance. Probably the handicapper got it right again and had him on the right mark. 'He will stick to hurdles and I want to give him a break now, but he could go back on the Flat. We'll see how he comes out of today. 'His handicap mark will decide where he goes now and one that comes into the back of my mind, if not a handicap, would be the Masterson Holdings at Cheltenham.' The Moores and Quinn then doubled up in the bet365 Josh Gifford Novices' Handicap Chase with Mark Of Gold (11-1), who collared long-time leader Mahons Glory on the run in to win by three-quarters of a length. Mahons Glory lost many lengths by repeatedly jumping out to his left. Gary Moore said: 'This horse is unbelievable what he's done. A great bunch of people own him and it's great for Stevie Fisher. 'Him and Caoilin get on amazingly well and they are made for each other. It was a great riding performance again today and a great performance from the horse. 'His handicap mark has meant he's had to run in some tough races this year and a bit like the horse in the first, I thought he was badly handicapped, but if he got beat he might come down a pound or two. 'It's brilliant and we've made no secret of the fact we've had a moderate season, but it's a shame it is going to end now.'
