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An independent investigation has been launched into the murder of a man in the Irish Republic in May 1976.

Seamus Ludlow, 47, a forestry worker, was shot after a night out in Dundalk, County Louth.

His family believe he was mistaken for a member of the IRA by a loyalist gang which included soldiers.

The cross-border investigation will be undertaken by Jon Boutcher, the retired police chief who is already looking into numerous Troubles cases.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ understands the investigation forms part of the Barnard Review, which is Mr Boutcher's investigation of murders carried out by the loyalist Glenanne gang.

Its members are suspected of involvement in about 90 attacks during the Troubles, including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 33 people, and the 1975 Miami Showband Massacre targeting one of Ireland's best known showbands.

A parliamentary committee in Dublin previously recommended a state inquiry be held into the murder, after an official judge-led report criticised the original Garda (Irish police) investigation.

It was found that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) told the Garda in 1979 that it believed four named loyalists were involved in Mr Ludlow's killing, but the information was not pursued by the Garda at the time.

No-one has ever been charged with the murder.

Mr Ludlow's family has long been campaigning for an new investigation and announced the latest development on Tuesday.

It says a new witness has come forward in the last two weeks.

Gavin Booth, a solicitor representing the family, said work on the investigation had already begun.

"We understand that Jon Boutcher has already started his investigation," he said.

"He expects it to take around two to three years and hopefully that will finally give the family the full truth, the full facts into what happened to Seamus Ludlow on that night in 1976."