A book written by well known Duleek journalist Ken Murray has been shortlisted for the prestigious UK Crimecon Awards 2026.
Ken, who was selected for the shortlist for his book, brings a wealth of journalistic experience across newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.
Titled The Killing of the Reavey Brothers. British Murder and Cover-up in Northern Ireland, the book tells the story of how two brothers, Brian and John Martin Reavey, were shot dead by members of the UVF Glennane Gang at Whitecross in South Armagh on January 4th 1976.
A third brother, Anthony, who was also shot, died three weeks later in mysterious circumstances when agents from British military intelligence broke into his bedroom and injected him with poison.
Speaking this week, author Ken Murray said: “I’m somewhat shocked to make the shortlist.
The book has received rave reviews from newspapers and critics in the north of Ireland but the competition in the UK is pretty outstanding so to get this far, is fantastic.”
The publication reveals that those responsible for the killings were never questioned by the RUC even though the names of those responsible are published for the first time in the book.
The wider gang also killed three members of the O’Dowd family in Ballydougan, Co Armagh, on the same day, January 4th 1976.
The O’Dowd family later relocated to Navan.
The same UVF gang was responsible for the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings which killed 33 people, including Cepta Dempsey from the Chord Road in Drogheda.
The gang also carried out the 1975 Miami Showband massacre outside Newry in which five people were killed, including three members of the band.
The book claims the infamous Glennane Gang had the encouragement, assistance and protection of certain rogue members within the RUC, British Army, UDR and MI5 who were intent on provoking the IRA out of ceasefire at the time.
The activities of the gang are currently being examined as part of Operation Denton.
Eugene Reavey, who has been engaged in legal battles with the British authorities since 1976, said: We are delighted to be nominated.
We have been getting fantastic feedback about the Book, and it would now appear that the literary community in Britain have also been shocked by its contents so let’s see what happens in June.
Hopefully, the profile from this nomination will help us to obtain long sought-after answers.
The book also includes claims that elements within the British Army worked with compromised members of the IRA to carry out the nearby Kingsmill massacre, where 10 Protestant workmen were taken from a minibus and shot dead less than 24 hours after the Reavey killings which occurred less than a mile away.
The book features confirmation from Belfast solicitor Kevin Winters that the British obtained seven Public Interest Immunity certificates to ensure that details of the Kingsmill massacre will never be released publicly.
Members of the Reavey family also discovered that the British military placed an 84 year embargo on files relating to the killing of the three brothers, meaning details will remain sealed until 2056.
The only other Irish book nominated at the Crimecon UK Awards is Kincora: Britain’s Shame Mountbatten MI5, the Belfast Boys’ Home Sex Abuse Scandal and the British Cover-Up by former BBC Northern Ireland journalist Chris Moore.
Mercier Press in Cork has also been nominated for Publisher of the Year.
The UK Crimecon Awards, which are part of a global network, will take place in London on June 4th.
Among the 66 person judging panel are former Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt, former BBC Panorama reporter John Sweeney, former RTÉ Crimecall presenter David Harvey and Ian Rumsey of ITV.
