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James Millar (loyalist)
James Millar (born 6 July 1966) – commonly known as "Sham" – is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. Millar was a leading member of the West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until 2003 when he was one of a number of dissident members forcibly expelled from the group. Early years Sham Millar was born in Belfast to a Protestant family and made his home in the Shankill Road area of west Belfast. He is the son of Wendy Millar, who was a leading figure in the UDA's women's unit. Along with contemporaries such as his brother Herbie, Johnny Adair, Sam McCrory, "Fat" Jackie Thompson and Donald Hodgen, Millar was part of a skinhead gang that was involved in petty and violent crime in and around the lower Shankill in the early 1980s. Joining the UDA The skinhead gang as a whole were sworn into the UDA in 1984 and assigned to C8 the eighth active unit of C Company, the section of the West Belfast Brigade that was active in the lower Shankill. Millar, Adair, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'right' bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. Specific forms of the mark include parentheses (also called "rounded brackets"), square brackets, curly brackets (also called 'braces'), and angle brackets (also called 'chevrons'), as well as various less common pairs of symbols. As well as signifying the overall class of punctuation, the word "bracket" is commonly used to refer to a specific form of bracket, which varies from region to region. In most English-speaking countries, an unqualified word "bracket" refers to the parenthesis (round bracket); in the United States, the square bracket. Glossary of mathematical sym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peace Lines
The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly loyalist and unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast and elsewhere. The majority of peace walls are located in Belfast, but they also exist in other regions with more than 20 miles of walls in Northern Ireland. History Although temporary peace walls were built in Belfast in the 1920s (in Ballymacarett) and 1930s (in Sailortown), the first peace lines of "the Troubles" era were built in 1969, following the outbreak of civil unrest and the 1969 Northern Ireland riots. They were initially built as temporary structures, but due to their effective nature they have become wider, longer, more numerous and more permanent. Originally few in number, they have multiplied over the years, from 18 in the early 1990s to at least 59 as of late 2017; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Democratic Party
The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulster Political Research Group. The UDP name had previously been used in the 1930s by an unrelated party, which on one occasion contested Belfast Central. History The party's roots were firmly in the Protestant community of Northern Ireland, but its initial political stance was not the traditional unionist one favoured by that section of society. Instead, it supported independence for Northern Ireland within the European Economic Community and the Commonwealth. These policies had been set out by its predecessors in the New Ulster Political Research Group, in their ''Beyond the Religious Divide'' policy document. However, this position did not capture the electorate's imagination, and the UDP switched to supporting the UDA's ''Common Sense'' position, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimbo Simpson
James "Jimbo" Simpson, also known as the Bacardi Brigadier, (died 11 October 2018) was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. He was most noted for his time as Brigadier of the North Belfast Ulster Defence Association (UDA). After falling from grace, Simpson spent a number of years outside Northern Ireland. He returned to Belfast in 2014 in a move related to an ongoing loyalist feud. Early years Simpson, a native of the Tiger's Bay area of north Belfast, joined the UDA in the early 1970s, claiming later that he did so as he felt that "there was no one to defend our streets from republicans in the New Lodge neighbouring Catholic district. He would go on to assume command of the North Belfast brigade, making him one of the six Inner Council members that led the UDA. He had taken over from Brigadier Tom Reid, who in his turn had succeeded Davy Payne following the latter's arrest in 1988. Brigadier Simpson was, along with Jackie McDonald, John Gregg and Billy McFarland, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy McFarland (loyalist)
William McFarland, also known as "the Mexican", is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. He was a leading figure in the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), he had served as head of the North Antrim and Londonderry East Tyrone Brigade of the group. Early years McFarland joined the UDA in the 1970s and for a time was active in a series of bomb attacks on Catholic-owned businesses in the North Antrim and County Londonderry area, activities for which he was eventually imprisoned.Wood, Ian S. (2006). ''Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA'', Edinburgh University Press, pp. 211–12. Around this time he was given the nickname "the Mexican" on account of his swarthy appearance and his thick moustache. Brigadier Following his release from prison, McFarland, who also maintained legitimate business interests in the construction industry, was appointed brigadier for the North Antrim and Londonderry area, a brigade that was only sporadically active compared to those in Belfast. McF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie McDonald
John "Jackie" McDonald (born 2 August 1947) is a Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association (UDA) brigadier for South Belfast, having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael's killing by the Provisional IRA in December 1987. He is also a member of the organisation's Inner Council and the spokesman for the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), the UDA's political advisory body. Ulster Defence Association Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland into a Protestant family, McDonald attended Larkfield Secondary School later known as Balmoral High School in South Belfast. He lives in the south Belfast housing estate of Taughmonagh. His paramilitary activities have attracted considerable publicity from the media, and he was the subject of interviews by journalist Peter Taylor for the latter's book ''Loyalists''. Described by journalist Rosie Cowan as the UDA's most powerful player, he is an outspoken critic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UDA South East Antrim Brigade
The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley and Whitewell, all of which are part of Newtownabbey, as well as Carrickfergus, the Shore Road, Greenisland, Ballymena, Whitehead, Antrim and Larne. A newer mural in the Cloughfern area of Newtownabbey and flags have updated the areas to include Ballycarry, Ballyclare, the rural hinterland of Ballymena called 'Braidside' and despite not being in County Antrim, the town of Newtownards. ''The Guardian'' has identified it as "one of the most dangerous factions". ''The Irish News'' described the brigade as 'powerful' and at one time being 'the most bloody and murderous gang operating with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gregg (UDA)
John Gregg (1957 – 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. From the 1990s until he was shot dead in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a "hawk" in some loyalist circles. Early life Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. Gregg when explaining his family background, revealed that his father, regarded as a quiet man, had trust in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army but joined the loyalist vigilante groups set up around the start of the Troubles ostensibly to protect the Protestant community from attacks by republicans. His own earliest memory of the Troubles was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association marches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Gray (UDA Member)
James Gray (1958 – 4 October 2005), known as Jim Gray, was a Northern Irish loyalist and the East Belfast brigadier of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the largest Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. He was often nicknamed "Doris Day" for his flamboyant clothing, jewellery, and dyed blond hair. Another media nickname for Gray was the "Brigadier of Bling". He was the owner of several bars in East Belfast. Early life Gray, the son of James and Elizabeth Gray, was born in 1958 and raised a Protestant in East Belfast. He had one sister, Elizabeth. He left school at age 15 and had ambitions of becoming a professional golfer, playing off a handicap of three. He briefly worked at the Short Brothers' factory but did not hold the job long as he was heavily involved in petty crime with the Tartan gangs prevalent in loyalist areas at the time. Ulster Defence Association According to an interview in the ''Sunday World'' with his ex-wife Anne Tedford, to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winkie Dodds
William "Winkie" Dodds (born 7 May 1959) is a Northern Irish loyalist activist. He was a leading member of the West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and for a number of years a close ally of Johnny Adair. Frequently serving as head of the West Belfast Brigade during Adair's spells in prison, Dodds later split from his old friend and is now no longer active in loyalist paramilitarism. Early years Dodds and Adair first came into contact when Adair was 12 and Dodds was 16. Dodds would demand money from the younger boy as Adair went round the doors of the Shankill Road delivering copies of the ''Belfast Telegraph''. The two soon became friends when Dodds began to hang around outside the Buffs Club with Adair and his gang. Like Adair, Dodds flirted with the white power skinhead scene and sometimes accompanied the others to skinhead discos in areas such as Rathcoole and Monkstown. In appearance Dodds was heavily built and had a tattoo of a pistol on his left a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dukes Of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series in the late 1970s (at one point, ranking second only to ''Dallas'', which immediately followed the show on CBS's Friday night schedule). The show is about two young male cousins, Bo and Luke Duke, who live in rural Georgia and are on probation for moonshine-running. The young men and their friends and their female cousin Daisy Duke, and other family (such as patriarch Uncle Jesse), have various escapades as they evade the corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg and law officer Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. The young men drive a customized 1969 Dodge Charger nicknamed ''the General Lee'', which became a symbol of the show. The series was inspired by the 1975 film ''Moonrunners'', about a bootlegger family which was also created by Gy Waldron an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boss Hogg
Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg, known as Boss Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. He was the commissioner of Hazzard County, and the county's political boss. Boss Hogg almost always wore an all-white suit with a white cowboy hat and regularly smoked cigars. His namesake is Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America. The role of Boss Hogg was played by Sorrell Booke, who performed frequently on radio, stage, television, and film prior to his role in ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. The character was also played by Burt Reynolds in the 2005 film. Description "Boss" Hogg was the sole commissioner of (fictional) Hazzard County, Georgia, and thus, held all executive and judicial powers therein. (In real life, Georgia is the only state which still allows this form of government, and in only eight of its 159 counties.) As the wealthiest man in the county, he would do ''almost'' anything to get his hands on mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
