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Loyalist Feud
A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups during and after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles broke out in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved problems between and within the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as well as, later, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). UDA–UVF feuds Although the UDA and UVF have frequently co-operated and generally co-existed, the two groups have clashed. Two particular feuds stood out for their bloody nature. 1974–1975 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.Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.146 The bad blood originated from an incident in the Ulster Workers' Council strike of May 1974 when the two groups were co-operating in support of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "Low-intensity conflict, low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. It also had an Ethnic group, ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite use of the terms 'Protestant' and 'Catholic' to refer to the two sides, it was not a Religious war, religious conflict. A key issue was the Partition of Ireland, status of Northern Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, Unionists and Ulster loyalism, loyalists, who for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of its members came from the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade, which Wright had commanded. In a two-year period from August 1996, the LVF waged a paramilitary campaign in opposition to Irish republicanism and the Northern Ireland peace process. During this time it killed at least 14 people in gun and bomb attacks, almost all of them Catholic civilians killed at random. The LVF called off its campaign in August 1998 and decommissioned some of its weapons, but in the early 2000s a loyalist feud led to several killings. Since then, the LVF has been largely inactive, but its members are believed to have been involved in rioting and organized crime. In 2015, the security forces stated that the LVF "exists only as a criminal group" in Mid-Ulster and Antrim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted, injured, or otherwise wronged by another. Intense feelings of resentment trigger an initial retribution, which causes the other party to feel greatly aggrieved and vengeful. The dispute is subsequently fuelled by a long-running cycle of retaliatory violence. This continual cycle of provocation and retaliation usually makes it extremely difficult to end the feud peacefully. Feuds can persist for generations and may result in extreme acts of violence. They can be interpreted as an extreme outgrowth of social relations based in family honor. Until the early modern period, feuds were considered legitimate legal instruments and were regulated to some degree. For example, Montenegrin cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin King
Robin Andrew King, (born 7 July 1966) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who, despite having been born into a Catholic family, served as the commander of the Ulster Protestant Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). A close friend of the organisation's founder Billy Wright, King took over as leader following the death of Mark "Swinger" Fulton, who had succeeded Wright when he was assassinated by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in December 1997. Early years King was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, on 7 July 1966 to a Roman Catholic family, in which faith he was raised until the age of nine. He attended St. Paul's Catholic primary school in the Ballymacbredan Road in Magheralin, on the outskirts of Lurgan, where he excelled as a Gaelic Athletic Association player and received a medal for his skill at Irish dancing. When he was nine years old, the family transferred to Waringstown in the wake of his mother's conversion from Catholicism to the Church of Ireland (or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Fulton (loyalist)
Mark Fulton (c. 1961 – 10 June 2002) was a Ulster loyalism, Northern Irish loyalist. He was the leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), having taken over its command following the assassination of Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright in the Maze Prison in 1997 by members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Fulton was alleged by journalist Susan McKay to have carried out a dozen sectarian killings in the 1990s. He also allegedly organized the murder of a Catholic lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, in 1999 while he was out of prison on compassionate leave. In 2002, he was found hanged in his cell at Maghaberry (HM Prison), Maghaberry Prison, an apparent suicide. He was awaiting trial having been charged with conspiracy to murder a man from a rival loyalist paramilitary organisation. At the time of his death, Fulton was married with two children.McKay, Susan. "Blood brothers' love consummated in death". ''Irish Tribune''. 16 June 2002 Early years Mark Fulton was born in P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Wright (loyalist)
William Stephen Wright (7 July 1960 – 27 December 1997) was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader during the Troubles. He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in his hometown of Portadown around 1975. After spending several years in prison, he became a born again Christian preacher. Wright resumed his UVF activities around 1986 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s, taking over from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson. According to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Wright was involved in the sectarian killings of up to 20 Catholics, although he was never convicted for any. It has been alleged that Wright, like his predecessor, was working with RUC Special Branch. Wright drew media attention during the Drumcree standoffs of 1995 and 1996, when he supported the Protestant Orange Order in its bid to march its traditional route through the Catholic area of Portadown. In 1994, the UVF and other paramilitary groups had called ceasefires. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John "Bunter" Graham
John "Bunter" Graham (born c. 1945) is a long-standing prominent Ulster loyalist figure. It is unknown when Graham joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) but he quickly rose high in its ranks as a member of the "Brigade Staff" (Belfast leadership) to allegedly become UVF Chief of Staff in 1976.Moloney, Ed (2010). ''Voices From the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland''. Haber & Haber. pp.377-378 At some point in the late 1970s, he was admitted to the Mater Hospital for a short stay. Although he was watched by bodyguards, the Provisional IRA decided to assassinate him, in what they termed "Operation Bunter". However, this was prevented by the police, acting on information received from an informant. In 1983, Joseph Bennett, a UVF commander, became an informant for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). As a result, fourteen prominent members of the UVF were imprisoned, including Graham. Graham was targeted for assassination by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) and on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Gibson (loyalist)
Kenneth Gibson was a Northern Irish politician who was the Chairman of the Volunteer Political Party (VPP), which he had helped to form in 1974. He also served as a spokesman and Chief of Staff of the loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Ulster Volunteer Force Born in predominantly unionist East Belfast, Northern Ireland, Gibson was brought up in the Willowfield area.REMEMBERING KEN GIBSON , Longkesh Inside Out Retrieved 2 July 2013 He was a member of the Free Presbyterian religion before splitting with the church. He had been active as a member of the Sunday men's Bible study group at the Martyrs' Memorial Church, the Free Presbyterians' he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Hanna (loyalist)
James Andrew Hanna (c. 1947 – 1 April 1974), also known as Red Setter,Steve Bruce, ''The Red Hand'', Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 141 was a senior member of the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) until he was shot dead by fellow members, for being an alleged informer. Journalists Joe Tiernan and Kevin Myers described him as having been the senior military leader of the UVF. Tiernan also suggested that he was part of a UVF unit that planted car bombs in Dublin in December 1972 and January 1973 which left three people dead and 145 injured. Tiernan claimed that Hanna was controlled by four British Army Intelligence Corps officers who frequently visited his home in Lisburn. Ulster Volunteer Force Hanna was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in about 1947, and was raised in the Protestant religion. Physically he was tall and red-haired, and possessed an outgoing, friendly personality. He lived in his native Lis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel McClelland
Samuel "Bo" McClelland was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary who served as the Chief of Staff on the Ulster Volunteer Force's Brigade Staff (UVF) from 1966 until his internment in late 1973. UVF leadership Following the imprisonment of UVF leader Gusty Spence for murder in October 1966, Spence remained ''de jure'' leader of the group but needed a stand-in leader on the outside. He chose McClelland for this role, and appointed him Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General of the Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership) largely because he respected him for his Korean War military service, Spence also being a former British Army soldier.Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, ''UVF'', Poolbeg, 1997, p. 21 McClelland had lied about his age in order to enlist in the Royal Ulster Rifles.Ed Moloney, ''Voice from the Grave'', Faber & Faber, 2010, p. 334 Like Spence, McClelland was also a native of the Shankill Road and had a reputation as a disciplinarian. He sought to continue Spence's work by keeping ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gusty Spence
Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933 . '' (CAIN). Retrieved 5 April 2011. – 25 September 2011) was a leader of the paramilitary (UVF) and a leading loyalist in |
Andy Tyrie
Andrew Tyrie (born 5 February 1940) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who served as commander of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) during much of its early history. He took the place of Tommy Herron in 1973 when the latter was killed, and led the organisation until March 1988 when an attempt on his life forced him to resign from his command. Background Tyrie was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of the seven children of an ex-soldier and a part-time seamstress. He was brought up in a two-bedroomed house in the Shankill Road. He was educated at the local Brown Square school and found work as a gardener with Belfast City Council. Tyrie's family lived in both Ballymurphy and New Barnsley, but were forced out of both heavily Catholic areas in 1969. The family returned to the Shankill. Tyrie's surname is an ancient Scottish clan name; his ancestors migrated from Scotland to Ireland in the early days of the Ulster Plantation. They first went to Dublin, however, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
