|
Proinsias MacAirt
Proinsias Mac Airt (English: Frank Card) (18 April 1922 – 8 January 1992) was an Irish republican activist and long-serving member of the Irish Republican Army. Early years Mac Airt was born in Belfast in April 1922. He first became involved in Irish republicanism as a boy when he joined the Fianna Éireann.Richard English, ''Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA'', London, 2004, p. 112 His first imprisonment was in 1942 when the youthful Mac Airt was sent to jail for illegal military foot drilling. Mac Airt was later interned during the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign of 1956-1962. Founding the PIRA Having retired at some earlier point Mac Airt returned to the republican movement in 1969, throwing his lot in with the newly established Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and their political arm Provisional Sinn Féin. Indeed, in early 1970 his Padraig Pearse ''cumann'', which he set up in the Clonard area of the Falls Road, was the first branch of Provisional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Loyalism
Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a united Ireland. Unlike other strands of unionism, loyalism has been described as an ethnic nationalism of Ulster Protestants and "a variation of British nationalism". Loyalists are often said to have a conditional loyalty to the British state so long as it defends their interests.Smithey, Lee. ''Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland''. Oxford University Press, 2011. pp.56–58 They see themselves as loyal primarily to the Protestant British monarchy rather than to British governments and institutions, while Garret FitzGerald argued they are loyal to 'Ulster' over 'the Union'. A small minority of loyalists have called for an independent Ulster Protestant state, believing they cannot rely on British governments t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Volunteer Force (1966)
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom. 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. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. The vast majority (more than two-thirds) (choose "religion summary" + "status" + "organisation") of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. During the conflict, its d ... [...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 |
Roy Garland
Roy Garland is a newspaper columnist for the nationalist ''Irish News'' and a member of the Ulster Unionist Party. Career In the 1960s, Garland became convinced that the Northern Ireland civil rights movement was a front for the IRA and Roman Catholic Church and that its activities would lead to the persecution of Protestants. As a result he got deeply involved in paramilitarism, Orangeism and Unionism. At that time one of the organisations Garland supported was Tara, a movement, led by William McGrath, which espoused extreme anti-Catholic views. In the late 60s, he worked closely with the UVF in an attempt the strengthen links between the two groups. Garland later became a prominent opponent of McGrath and helped expose his involvement in the Kincora Boys' Home scandal. Some years later, Garland had grave doubts about the direction in which the Orange Order and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) were going and he left both organisations. According to Garland, "...there was a lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crumlin Road (HM Prison)
HMP Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. It is colloquially known as ''the Crum''. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency has given it a grade A listed building status because of its architectural and historical significance. The Crumlin Road Courthouse, derelict since its closure, stands opposite the Gaol with a tunnel under the main road connecting the two buildings and used previously to transport the prisoners between both buildings. Early history Designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, the prison was built between 1843 and 1845 and cost £60,000. Built as a replacement for the County Gaol on Antrim Street in Carrickfergus, and known as the County Gaol for Antrim, it was constructed of black basalt rock on ten acres at the bottom of the Crumlin Road. Partly based on HM Prison Pentonville, it was one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explosive Substances Act 1883
The Explosive Substances Act 1883 (c. 3) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use (or conspire or intend to use) any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes place. A person guilty of an offence under this law is liable to life imprisonment. Under the Act, it is also an offence, subject to imprisonment for life, to possess explosives under suspicious circumstances. Anyone who helps someone to commit a crime under this law by providing money, materials, premises, or any other assistance is tried and punished as severely as the person who actually uses the explosives. The act applies to people within the territorial extent of the United Kingdom as well as to citizens of the United Kingdom acting within the Republic of Ireland. Witnesses who are called during the official investigation or the trial can be arrested to prevent them from ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year."About Penguin – company history" , Penguin Books. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), Woolworths and other stores for Sixpence (British coin), sixpence, bringing high-quality fiction and non-fiction to the mass market. Its success showed that large audiences existed for serious books. It also affected modern British popular culture significantly through its books concerning politics, the arts, and science. Penguin Books is now an imprint (trade name), imprint of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brendan Hughes
Brendan Hughes (June 1948 – 16 February 2008), also known as "The Dark", and "Darkie" was a leading Irish republican and former Officer Commanding (OC) of the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was the leader of the 1980 Irish hunger strike. Background Hughes was born into an Irish Nationalist Catholic family from the Lower Falls Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. He became a member of the Merchant Navy in the late 1960s, believing it would reduce the income burden on his father. He became involved in the republican movement after the 1969 riots, believing he would be protecting his community from loyalist mobs. He was a cousin of Charles Hughes, who was the O/C of D Company in the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade during the Falls Curfew, and who was shot and killed in March 1971 by the Official Irish Republican Army's Belfast Brigade during a feud between the Provisional and Official IRAs. IRA activity Hughes joined the Irish Republica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade
The Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA was the largest of the organisation's brigades, based in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The nucleus of the Belfast Brigade emerged in the divisions within Belfast republicans in the closing months of 1969, and was formally established in January 1970 as the structures of the new dissident group were created after splitting from the Official IRA. The brigade was organised along geographical lines into three battalions: *The first battalion covered the Upper Falls, Ballymurphy and Andersonstown *The second battalion covered the Lower Falls, Clonard and the Divis Flats *And the third battalion covered The Bone and the Short Strand. Formation The Belfast Brigade was one of the first active units of the Provisional IRA, after the split in the IRA in late 1969. In the aftermath of the 1969 Northern Ireland riots, many republicans in Belfast felt that the IRA had let down the city's Catholic and nationalist community by failing to pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy McKee
Billy McKee ( ga, Liam Mac Aoidh; 12 November 1921 – 11 June 2019) was an Irish republican and a founding member and leader of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Early life McKee was born in Belfast on 12 November 1921, and joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1939. During the Second World War, the IRA carried out a number of armed actions in Northern Ireland known as the Northern Campaign. McKee was arrested and imprisoned in Crumlin Road Gaol until 1946 for his role in this campaign. In 1956, the IRA embarked on another armed campaign against partition, known as the Border Campaign. McKee was again arrested and interned for the duration of the campaign. He was released in 1962. Upon release, he became Officer Commanding (OC) of the IRA's Belfast Brigade. However, he resigned this position in 1963, after a dispute with other republicans after McKee acceded to a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) demand that he not fly an Irish tricolour during a republican march. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> British Army")