[52] Beginning in 1975, recruitment to the UVF, which until then had been solely by invitation, was now left to the discretion of local units.[53]. Mark Davenport from the BBC has stated that he spoke to a drug dealer who told him that he paid Billy Wright protection money. According to the Belfast Telegraph, "70 separate police intelligence reports implicating the north Belfast UVF man in dealing cannabis, Ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine. The East Belfast UVF is one of the major crime-dealing loyalist paramilitary organisations currently in operation and is among four loyalist factions being targeted by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force - the others being the South East Antrim UDA, the West Belfast UDA and North Antrim UDA. A UDA/UFF South-East Antrim Brigade mural in Newtownabbey On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". Sat 26 Mar 2022 at 01:30 A leading figure of South East Antrim UDA was murdered by his fellow members who threw him off Belfast's Cave Hill, the Sunday World has been told by a loyalist. Another loyalist paramilitary organisation called Ulster Resistance was formed on 10 November 1986.
Loyalist feud: Crime boss Adrian Price orders 50 gang members to [100][101], In October 2013, the policing board announced that the UVF was still heavily involved in gangsterism despite its ceasefire. It would continue these tactics for the rest of its campaign. It was alleged that Colin Armstrong had links to both drugs and loyalist terrorists. Throughout Northern Ireland's Troubles a number of loyalist paramilitary groups were active and were responsible for hundreds of murders. We are heavily armed Protestants dedicated to this cause. [63][64] West died in 1980.
Who are the UVF? - BBC News Adair waited until the bulk of the parade of UDA men had made its way up into the heart of the Shankill before initiating the provocative gesture. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The incumbent Chief of Staff, is alleged to be John "Bunter" Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as "Mr. [41] It also continued its attacks in the Republic of Ireland, bombing the Dublin-Belfast railway line, an electricity substation, a radio mast, and Irish nationalist monuments. The UDA's Johnny Adair supported the LVF and used the feud to stoke up the troubles that eventually flared in his feud with the UVF later that year. A feud in the winter of 1974-75 broke out between the UDA and the UVF, the two main loyalist paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland. [1] [2] He was alleged to have taken over the north Belfast Ulster Defence Association (UDA) leadership. Veteran anti-UVF campaigner Raymond McCord, whose son, Raymond Jr., a Protestant, was beaten to death by UVF men in 1997, estimates the UVF has killed more than thirty people since its 1994 ceasefire, most of them Protestants. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The first Independent Monitoring Commission report in April 2004 described the UVF/RHC as "relatively small" with "a few hundred" active members "based mainly in the Belfast and immediately adjacent areas". [6] The UDA initially believed the IRA were responsible and intended to kidnap twenty Catholics in retaliation. [17] The UVF retaliated by murdering two Protestant teenagers in Tandragee, who were both suspected of LVF membership and involvement in Jameson's death. [3] A joint statement described it as a tragic accident, although a subsequent UVF inquiry put the blame on Stephen Goatley and John Fulton, both UDA men. They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. More militant members of the UVF who disagreed with the ceasefire, broke away to form the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), led by Billy Wright. The South East Antrim UDA jealously guards its supremacy by forcing non-affiliated drug dealers to kneel through coercion and direct violence, which is a pattern seen throughout the six counties as the different UDA and UVF groupings use their muscle to maintain their dominance. [22][23][24] Some members have also been found responsible for orchestrating a series of racist attacks. "[102], In June 2017, Gary Haggarty, former UVF commander for north Belfast and south-east Antrim, pleaded guilty to 200 charges, including five murders. But its first victims, a Protestant woman and two Catholic men, had no connections with the IRA. There are an estimated 12,500 members of loyalist paramilitary groups in NI, a leaked security assessment has shown. It claimed the pubs were used for republican fundraising. [73], According to journalist and author Ed Moloney, the UVF campaign in Mid-Ulster in this period "indisputably shattered Republican morale", and put the leadership of the republican movement under intense pressure to "do something",[74] although this has been disputed by others.[who?]. 'Impossible to get out' of paramilitaries, Loyalists on 1969: 'Better to die on your feet', Russia launches pre-dawn missile attack on Ukraine, Chaos at port as thousands rush to leave Sudan. In November 2007, the UDA issued a statement saying "the war is over". [150], Scotland was a source of funding and aid, supplying explosives and guns. [46] In August 2016 the new leader was reported as having fled to Scotland due to the threat of the Mount Vernon UVF.
A Northern Perspective on Drug Gangs in Ireland [36], The UVF had launched its first attack in the Republic of Ireland on 5 August 1969, when it bombed the RT Television Centre in Dublin. [79], On 3 May 2007, following recent negotiations between the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and with Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde, the UVF made a statement that they would transform to a "non-military, civilianised" organisation. Oct 28 // football. Following the attack both Bunting and Howcroft were arrested on suspicion of involvement. However, the UVF spurned the government efforts and continued killing. This development came soon after the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast had stood down Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade, on 2 August 1996, for the killing of a Catholic taxi driver near Lurgan during Drumcree disturbances. Notorious attacks by the UFF included the shooting dead of five Catholics at a Belfast bookmakers in 1992 and the Greysteel massacre the following year. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. Our source added: "Everyone knows 'A' and 'B' were involved, and the. Leader of the, 414 (~85%) were civilians, 11 of whom were civilian political activists, 21 (~4%) were members or former members of republican paramilitary groups, 44 (~9%) were members or former members of loyalist paramilitary groups, 6 (~1%) were members of the British security forces. While there, he was "ribbed by the regulars about having allowed his local to be closed". Antrim, w d i Borough of Belfast mia zwizkowiec wikszoci gosw na poziomie okoo 60%. 1774 N University Pkwy. That recommendation is now backed by former Secretary of State Lord Mandelson. Article from, "BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - Faction 'back in UDA mainstream', "UDA finished, says loyalist paramilitary terror group leader", "As UDA confirms major split, a dangerous tussle for power is now brewing", "UDA feud escalates over bid to oust north Belfast 'brigadier' John Bunting", "THE BRUTE BRIGADIER; UDA POWER STRUGGLE RIVAL FACTIONS AT WAR Double Killer Is the Man Dissidents Want to Install as New UDA Chief in North Belfast", "GRANNY CLAIMS UDA BOSS ATTACKED HER; TERROR BOSS IN BRAWL NEW ALLEGATIONS Pensioner Says Bunting Threw Her to the Ground", "UDA FURY OVER BUNTING ATTACK; HIT TENSION AMONG SPLINTER GROUPS Chiefs Threat of Retaliation on Rival Tigers Bay Faction", "FEUD SPLITS THE UDA IN SHANKILL; ROW HEATS UP GROUP IN TURMOIL; Row Intensifies Following UDA Shooting at Home of Alleged Dissident Supporter", "Bunting and Pal Held in UDA Feud Shooting", "SHOUKRI SEEKS SINN FEIN MEET; EXCLUSIVE RIVAL FACTIONS AT WAR Ex-UDA Chief wants Probe into Murder Bid", UDA's 'Big Bill' does a runner to Spain as feud looms, "North Belfast UDA 'on their own' against Mount Vernon UVF", "Leading loyalist John Boreland shot dead in north Belfast", "BARMY BRIG ARMY BRIGADE; EXCLUSIVE FEUD-RACKED GANG 'SACKED GANG'S NEW MANAGEMENT: New North Belfast UDA Brigadier Sam Bib Blair Assembles a Motley Crew as His Leadership Team after Murder of John Boreland", "Ex-Racketeer Is New Boss of UDA Faction", "Killer of leading loyalist George Gilmore remains at large", "High-profile loyalist George Gilmore dies after gun attack", "Man arrested in Carrickfergus over murder of loyalist George Gilmore", "Man shot in front of son in Northern Ireland 'victim of UDA internal feud', "Police make another arrest over Colin Horner murder", "CAIN: Issues - Paramilitary Feuds - List of those killed as a result of paramilitary feuds", Explanation of the Loyalist Paramilitaries, BBC explanation of the situation in Northern Ireland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loyalist_feud&oldid=1149972229, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 15:37. On 7 May 1966, loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. (801) 377-1791. Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. social club in which the LVF supporters were severely beaten. Read about our approach to external linking. [90][91], On 2526 October 2010, the UVF was involved in rioting and disturbances in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey with UVF gunmen seen on the streets at the time. With a few exceptions, such as Mid-Ulster brigadier Billy Hanna (a native of Lurgan), the Brigade Staff members have been from the Shankill Road or the neighbouring Woodvale area to the west. [51] On 29 May 2017 the South East Antrim UDA murdered an ex member and friend of George Gilmore. Referring to its activity in the early and mid-1970s, journalist Ed Moloney described no-warning pub bombings as the UVF's "forte". "They are holding local communities to ransom. During 1970, 42 Catholic-owned licensed premises in Protestant areas were bombed. [43] This came to a climax on 4 December, when the UVF bombed McGurk's Bar, a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast. He was shot dead by the IRA in November 1982, four months after his release from the Maze Prison. [23], However, with Tyrie confirmed in overall control of the UDA, Harding Smith initially remained silent until, in 1974, he declared that the West Belfast brigade of the movement was splitting from the mainstream UDA on the pretext of a visit to Libya organised by Tyrie in a failed attempt to procure arms from Colonel Qadaffi.
Loyalist paramilitary groups in NI 'have 12,500 members' [71] The UVF also killed senior IRA paramilitary members Liam Ryan, John 'Skipper' Burns and Larry Marley. [26] The group called itself the "Ulster Volunteer Force" (UVF), after the Ulster Volunteers of the early 20th century, although in the words of a member of the previous organisation "the present para-military organisation has no connection with the U.V.F. CAIN also states that republicans killed 15 UVF members, some of whom are suspected to have been set up for assassination by their colleagues. In March and April that year, UVF and UPV members bombed water and electricity installations in Northern Ireland, blaming them on the dormant IRA and elements of the civil rights movement. "[28] It was led by Gusty Spence, formerly a soldier in the British Army. [155] The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee noted in its report that "in 1992 it was estimated that Scottish support for the UDA and UVF might amount to 100,000 a year. Assistant chief constable Drew Harris in a statement said "The UVF are subject to an organised crime investigation as an organised crime group. Ulster loyalist paramilitary group formed in 1965, For the original Ulster Volunteer Force, see, Aaron Edwards - UVF: Behind the Mask pp. [26] The shootings led to Spence's being sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum sentence of twenty years. Formed in 1965,[7] it first emerged in 1966. Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. The Irish Army set up field hospitals near the border. Craig was killed, Tommy Lyttle was declared persona non grata and various brigadiers were removed from office, with the likes of Jackie McDonald, Joe English and Jim Gray taking their places. [68], The UVF also attacked republican paramilitaries and political activists. [25], Since 1964 and the formation of the Campaign for Social Justice, there had been a growing civil rights campaign in Northern Ireland, seeking to highlight discrimination against Catholics by the unionist government of Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force murdered more than 500 people during the Troubles. This was in retaliation for attacks on Loyalist homes the previous weekend and after a young girl was hit in the face with a brick by Republicans. There are certainly plenty of UVF members around there but the last few times there has been drama at the roundabout it has been South East Antrim lads ordered out by Thier commanders (most of the lads had drug debts or something similar that could be used against them so they were pretty much threatened to attend). The organisation was later involved in various atrocities including the bombing of McGurk's Bar in Belfast, the sectarian killings of the Shankill Butchers and the Loughinisland massacre. [34] Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister. Since the ceasefire, the UVF has been involved in rioting, drug dealing, organised crime, loan-sharking and prostitution. The new assessment says this is still the position and the IRA is in a much-reduced form and not recruiting or training. It used submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, grenades (including homemade grenades), incendiary bombs, booby trap bombs and car bombs. The British Army were deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland. On 23 October 1972, the UVF carried out an armed raid against King's Park camp, a UDR/Territorial Army depot in Lurgan. "There can be no naivety around that," he said. [45] These were all subordinate to the Brigade Staff. [130], The UVF has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. The South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association is a standalone faction of the UDA and was once part of its inner council.
Loyalist feud - Wikipedia [156][157] These shipments were considered enough for the UVF/UDA to wage its campaign, most of which were used to kill its victims. Oct 07 // football. 2017date: South East Antrim Brigade feud, The UDA divides its membership into six vaguely geographic areas which it labels "brigades" with the six commanders styled "Brigadiers". From late 1975 to mid-1977, a unit of the UVF dubbed the Shankill Butchers (a group of UVF men based on Belfast's Shankill Road) carried out a series of sectarian murders of Catholic civilians. [90][91] Fifty-year-old Stockman was stabbed more than 10 times in a supermarket in Belfast; the attack was believed to have been linked to the Moffett killing. The ferry [between Scotland and Northern Ireland] was pivotal in getting arms into the north and anything like checkpoints, or armed police and Army in Scotland would have b******d that all up.[153] An Irish government memo written by David Donoghue stated: "The commonest contribution of Scots UDA and UVF is to send gelignite. of which I have been speaking. @caolan-mclaughlin-844507501 this is a UDA song ya muppet why u put f the uvf know yer history kid. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Many of the paramilitaries are now involved in criminality and drug-dealing, with tensions between and within groups resulting in serious disorder at times as well as shootings and other attacks. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Both men were placed under death sentences. Beyond this the UVF has largely avoided violent internal strife, with only two killings that can be described as being part of an internal feud taking place on Belfast's Shankill Road in late November 1975, with Archibald Waller and Noel Shaw being the two men killed.
Carrickfergus, the quiet seaside town in the grip of the UDA and UVF Football - Southern Utah University Athletics [12] Later that night, C Company gunmen shot up the Rex again, this time from a passing car. In recent years, it has been linked to serious criminality including drug dealing. From its beginnings the UDA was wracked by internal problems and in 1972, the movement's first full year of existence, three members, Ingram Beckett, John Brown and Ernest Elliott were killed by other UDA members. The Sunday World's offices were also firebombed. [45] However this new leadership also began a feud with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) group in Mount Vernon, a move which was not endorsed by their previous allies in West Belfast. [84], In 2008, a loyalist splinter group calling itself the "Real UVF" emerged briefly to make threats against Sinn Fin in County Fermanagh. The feud between the UVF and the LVF began as an internal feud but quickly changed when Billy Wright established the LVF as a separate organisation. In January 2000 UVF Mid-Ulster brigadier Richard Jameson was shot dead by a LVF gunman which led to an escalation of the UVF/LVF feud.
'Dregs of loyalism' behind barrage of bricks | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a " hawk " in loyalist circles. ", "UVF orders removal of Catholic families from Carrickfergus housing estate in '21st century form of ethnic cleansing'. This is the first full assessment to emerge publicly, since 2015, when the British Government set out the position with all the different groups, following the IRA murder of Belfast man Kevin McGuigan. [86], In June 2009 the UVF formally decommissioned their weapons in front of independent witnesses as a formal statement of decommissioning was read by Dawn Purvis and Billy Hutchinson. [99] The high levels of orchestration by the leadership of the East Belfast UVF, and the alleged ignored orders from the main leaders of the UVF to stop the violence has led to fears that the East Belfast UVF has now become a separate loyalist paramilitary grouping which doesn't abide by the UVF ceasefire or the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Democratic Unionist Party MP Gavin Robinson said his party were mindful of the situation. 5 for $40 Sale 5 for $40: Snacks and Drinks Special Orders for Any Occasion ][107] On 11 April, the UVF reportedly ordered the removal of Catholic families from a housing estate in Carrickfergus. [24] Harding Smith survived two separate shootings but crucially lost the support of other leading Shankill Road UDA figures and eventually left Belfast after being visited by North Belfast Brigadier Davy Payne, who warned him that he would not survive a third attack. It was formed in 1966 and adopted the names and symbols of the original UVF,. View 13 homes for sale in South Rim, UT at a median listing home price of $627,000. Although the UDA and UVF have frequently co-operated and generally co-existed, the two groups have clashed. [69] Republicans responded to the attacks by assassinating senior UVF members John Bingham, William "Frenchie" Marchant and Trevor King[70] as well as Leslie Dallas, whose purported UVF membership was disputed both by his family and the UVF. [151][152] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. [98] Much of the UVF's orchestration was carried out by its senior members in East Belfast, where many attacks on the PSNI and on residents of the Short Strand enclave took place. Earlier this week, the West Belfast UDA were reported to have made threats against two journalists working for the Sunday World newspaper in NI. That support the UDA and UVF members were giving involved shutting down their own social clubs and pubs due to complaints from loyalist wives of the striking men. [60] The hawks had been ousted by those in the UVF who were unhappy with their political and military strategy. [118] At other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since the IRA drew almost all of its support from the Catholic community.