The legacy of the Miami Showband is that they brought communities together at the height of the Troubles, bass player Stephen Travers has said. 

Sometimes affectionately known as the ‘Irish Beatles’,  the band were hugely popular in the 1970s. 

Often they performed six nights a week and many of their gigs took place in Northern Ireland. 

A stamp depicting The Miami Showband. Picture by: Alamy.com.

After one such gig  on 31st July 1975, the Miami Showband were travelling south to Dublin when they were stopped at what they assumed was a British Army checkpoint. 

In fact, it was a trap set by members of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force. 

Band members were made to line up on the side of the road, while the UVF attempted to hide a bomb on the bus. 

It prematurely exploded, killing those trying to hide it. 

Surviving members of the UVF then opened fire, killing three members of the band. 

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

The atrocity shocked the world and quickly became known as the ‘Miami Showband Massacre’, but Mr Travers said he does not believe it defines how people remember the group. 

“The real legacy of the Miami Showband is that we brought people together during a time when sectarianism was rife,” he explained to for The Pat Kenny Show for the 50th anniversary of the massacre.

“Whenever we played, Catholics and Protestants came to hear the Miami - because we were a mixed band of Catholics and Protestants from North and South. 

“So, when people came to hear us, sectarianism was left outside the door.

“People came in and they saw each other as human beings.

“Our legacy is that we held the communities together to a great extent during the Troubles.” 

A small memorial where members of the Miami Showband were killed by the UVF. Picture by: Alamy.com.

The Miami Showband’s last performance before the ambush was in Banbridge, County Down. 

One local woman who saw them, Carole, said people have still have “brilliant memories” of their gigs. 

“I was there that night and I couldn’t believe it that they were all shot,” she said sadly. 

“I can’t remember that much but I just remember them playing.” 

Hearing the news, she added, was “desperate” and "unbelievable".

Main image: Split of Stephen Travers and a memorial to the Miami Showband. Pictures by: Newstalk and Alamy.com.