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The family of a man murdered in County Louth almost 40 years ago are launching a legal action against authorities in Northern Ireland for alleged collusion.

Seamus Ludlow, of Thistle Cross near Dundalk, was shot dead on 2 May, 1976, as he returned home from a night out.

His family is taking civil proceedings against the PSNI, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Northern Ireland's secretary of state.

They believe this will force the disclosure of crucial evidence.

A parliamentary committee in Dublin recommended 10 years ago that 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. The Barron report found that the 47-year-old had no connections with any subversive organisation.

The family are also seeking meetings with the Irish government over its decision not to launch a commission of investigations into events surrounding the murder, as recommended by the Barron report.

"The civil action being launched in the north may, we hope, cause some traction in the south to deliver truth, justice and accountability for the family of Seamus Ludlow, 40 years after his death," a family spokesman said.

After the murder, members of the Garda wrongly told the Ludlow family that he had been shot by the IRA as an informer.

They also failed to give the family adequate notice about the inquest into his death and no member of the family was present.

The parliamentary committee which investigated the circumstances expressed grave concerns about the role collusion played in the murder.

It was undisputed that two of the suspects were members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), it found.