Andy Tyrie
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Andrew Tyrie (born 5 February 1940) is a Northern Irish
loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
paramilitary leader who served as commander of the
Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
(UDA) during much of its early history. He took the place of
Tommy Herron Tommy Herron (1938 – 14 September 1973) was a Northern Irish loyalist and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until his death in a fatal shooting. Herron controlled the UDA in East Belfast, one of its two earliest strong ...
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 Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, 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 The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast a ...
. He was educated at the local Brown Square school and found work as a gardener with
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...
. 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 The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
. They first went to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, however, before settling permanently in Ulster."Interview with Andy Tyrie" by Barre Fitzpatrick. ''The Crane Bag''. Vol. 4, No. 2, The Northern Issue (1980/1981). Published by Richard Kearney. p.15 Tyrie's first involvement with
loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
paramilitaries came in 1967 when he was sworn in as a member of the
Ulster Volunteer Force 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 campaig ...
(UVF), although he did not stay long as he felt that the UVF was doing too little about
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
being forced out of Catholic areas, such as his own family.McDonald & Cusack, p. 66 He soon fell in behind
John McKeague John Dunlop McKeagueWD Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968–1993'', The Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 222 (1930 – 29 January 1982) was a Northern Irish loyalist and one of the founding members of the paramili ...
, initially following him in the
Ulster Protestant Volunteers The Ulster Protestant Volunteers was a Ulster loyalism, loyalist and Reformed fundamentalism, Reformed fundamentalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. They were active between 1966 and 1969 and closely linked to the Ulster Constitution Def ...
, before joining his
Shankill Defence Association The Shankill Defence Association was a loyalist vigilante group formed in May 1969 for the defence of the loyalist Shankill Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland during the communal disturbances that year. The Shankill Defence Association was f ...
(SDA) upon its foundation in 1969. Tyrie's power base within the SDA grew and he was a relatively high-profile figure on the Shankill when it was absorbed by the UDA in 1971.


Assuming leadership

The newly formed UDA was dominated by
Charles Harding Smith Charles Harding Smith (24 January 1931 – 1997) was a loyalist leader in Northern Ireland and the first effective leader of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). An important figure in the Belfast-based "defence associations" that formed the ba ...
in the Shankill area and by
Tommy Herron Tommy Herron (1938 – 14 September 1973) was a Northern Irish loyalist and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until his death in a fatal shooting. Herron controlled the UDA in East Belfast, one of its two earliest strong ...
in East Belfast. It was feared from early on that a
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 part ...
between the two would follow if either one was picked to lead the UDA. As such, in March 1973 Tyrie was picked as a compromise candidate for the leadership, being seen by Herron and Harding Smith as someone they could dominate. The strategy did not work, however, as a feud between the two top men followed, with Herron killed in September 1973. Harding Smith remained as a challenge to Tyrie's control. His new-found role of leader was bolstered by the events of the
Ulster Workers' Council Strike The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during " the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had ...
of May 1974 in which he played a leading role. Having been a
shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...
in his council days Tyrie became close to strike leader
Glenn Barr Albert Glenn Barr OBE (19 March 1942 – 24 October 2017) was a politician from Derry, Northern Ireland, who was an advocate of Ulster nationalism. For a time during the 1970s he straddled both Unionism and Loyalism due to simultaneously hol ...
and the UDA played a central role in marshalling the pickets and ensuring both order amongst the strikers and no picket crossing. Tyrie oversaw this aspect of the strike and was seen as one of the central figures, while the profile of the UDA grew as a result. With Tyrie's profile boosted by the UWC strike, Harding Smith sought to move against Tyrie and used the pretext of Tyrie sending a delegation to
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, with
Muammar al-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
seen in many loyalist eyes as being firmly on the side of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...
(IRA). Harding Smith tried to overrule Tyrie but a feud resulted and, after surviving two assassination attempts, Harding Smith was forced to leave Northern Ireland for good.


Political strategy

Tyrie had been a central figure in the strike and as such had close contact with many within the unionist establishment. However once the strike was over he was shunned by
Harry West Henry William West (27 March 1917 – 5 February 2004) was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979. Career to Stormont West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora R ...
and
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...
and as such he built up a resentment towards mainstream unionism that would inform many of his political decisions as UDA leader. He arranged an alliance with the
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...
but when the
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...
and the
Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
declined to join this grand alliance of loyalism Tyrie became even more resolved to pursue a political path for the UDA without mainstream unionism. Tyrie was close to William Craig and had supported his calls to "liquidate the enemy" in 1972, although as Craig's political relevance diminished Tyrie's desire for a politicised UDA increased. He broke further from the unionist position by calling for some coalitions with moderate
nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
in the
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. F ...
, albeit whilst adding that he had prepared the UDA for civil war if the initiative failed and severed all ties following the disastrous re-run of the UWC strike in 1977, during which the attempt not only failed but also saw four people inadvertently killed by the UDA and UVF. Tyrie underlined his split from unionism in 1982 by writing a play, ''This Is It'', in which he savagely attacked Ian Paisley and his " Third Force"'s dabbling in paramilitarism. Tyrie sought to move the UDA towards more political activity and appointed
Sammy Duddy Andrew Samuel Duddy (25 August 1945 – 17 October 2007), known as Sammy, was a Northern Irish loyalist, having joined the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) shortly after its formation in 1971. He later became a leading member of the Ulster Poli ...
, who had a reputation as a thinker within the movement, as his personal representative. Along with Duddy, Tyrie was one of the authors of the
New Ulster Political Research Group New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...
document ''Beyond the Religious Divide'' which outlined a strategy of co-operation between the two communities within the framework of an independent Northern Ireland. Under his leadership the UDA saw a strong downturn in violent activity in 1977 and 1978, although this followed a two-year period of high activity. Tyrie's political strategy took a blow in 1982 when he was arrested for being in possession of
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...
(RUC) maps and charts, although he was acquitted of subsequent terror charges.


Paramilitary strategy

Although under his leadership the UDA undertook a series of sectarian killings, Tyrie would later claim that he had been opposed to this strategy, arguing: "I was sickened every time I heard about the death of a Catholic taxi driver or shop keeper. We wanted to go for the IRA and republicans but we couldn't locate them, we didn't know who they were". As early as 1971 Tyrie had argued that the role of the UDA should be "terrorising the terrorists" i.e. attacking the Republican Movement head on rather than either sectarian attacks against Catholics or the group's stated purpose as a defensive vigilant militia for loyalist areas. These ideas came to fruition to an extent with the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) "shopping list" of leading republicans to be targeted by dedicated death squads in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although this was for the most part directed by UFF leader
John McMichael John McMichael (9 January 1948 – 22 December 1987) was a Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent and charismatic figure within the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belf ...
rather than Tyrie. Tyrie also supported a more professional approach from the UDA and sought to establish more professional training for members, an initiative in which he met stern resistance from other UDA leaders who feared that such a programme would bring about a new elite to threaten their own positions. Tyrie finally got his way in the mid-1980s with a series of residential programmes for young active UDA members. These programmes, overseen by senior UDA members with British Army experience, included both practical training in gun use, bomb-making and close combat as well as more theoretical aspects such as anti-interrogation techniques, basic
forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
training, communications and
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
.


Removal

As part of his political strategy Tyrie became close to South Belfast brigadier John McMichael and supported his development of the
Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: si ...
along Ulster nationalist lines. He had previously written in a UDA publication in the late 1970s that an independent Northern Ireland could "take its rightful place in the world and not be seen as a country with a death-wish", after becoming disillusioned with what he saw as the British government's lack of commitment to Northern Ireland. Tyrie shunned the limelight and as a consequence he appointed McMichael as official spokesman for, and thus the public face of, the UDA.
Martin Dillon Martin Dillon (born 2 June 1949) is an Irish author, journalist, and broadcaster. He has won international acclaim for his investigative reporting and non-fiction works on The Troubles, including his bestselling trilogy, ''The Shankill Butcher ...
, ''The Trigger Men'', Mainstream Publishing, 2003, p. 95
However, McMichael's assassination by the IRA in December 1987 and his replacement in the party by the less well-known
Ray Smallwoods Raymond "Ray" Smallwoods (c. 1949 – 11 July 1994) was a Northern Ireland politician and sometime leader of the Ulster Democratic Party. A leading member of John McMichael's South Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Smallwoo ...
placed some doubts upon the political strategy that Tyrie had long advocated. Furthermore, resentment among UDA hardliners had been growing and they came to feel that Tyrie's leadership was too much about politics and not enough about military action. Tyrie was also criticised for what his internal opponents felt was a tendency towards cronyism, with the late 1980s seeing responsibility and position being given to internally unpopular figures like
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 J ...
and Eddie Sayers, seemingly because they were personally close to Tyrie. To silence some of his critics Tyrie arranged a shipment of guns from
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
for the UDA in early 1988. However, after a tip-off, the North Belfast brigadier
Davy Payne H. David "Davy" Payne (c. 1949 – March 2003) was a senior Northern Irish loyalist and a high-ranking member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) during the Troubles, serving as brigadier of the North Belfast Brigade. He was first in comma ...
was stopped at an RUC checkpoint in
Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
. He was driving the "scout" eadcar as the weapons were being transported in a small convoy of vehicles; the guns which were stored in the boots of his associates' cars were then seized in what was the latest in a series of setbacks that had dogged the UDA as a paramilitary group in the late 1980s. With Tyrie's stock at an all-time low among UDA militants he narrowly avoided death from a car bomb on 6 March 1988. No responsibility for the failed attack was claimed. Tyrie himself felt that the attack was carried out by potential successors within the UDA but, whichever explanation was true, it demonstrated that Tyrie was no longer secure in his position and had become a target within loyalism as UDA leader. Five days after the attack Tyrie announced his resignation as leader of the UDA and was placed on 'retirement' by the organisation.


Post-UDA activity

Tyrie established his own business in
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
after leaving active duty with the UDA. Since quitting as UDA leader Tyrie has largely been outside active loyalism, although he has been brought back from time to time as the main voice of the old UDA. In 1994 he and Barr were recalled by the
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 Res ...
to spearhead their funding initiative. He would go on to become an enthusiastic supporter of the UDP in their campaign in favour of the
Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
, claiming that it vindicated the strategy employed by John McMichael and himself. In this role he became close to John White, who frequently made use of Tyrie when it came to convincing older UDA members of the benefits of the Agreement.McDonald & Cusack, p. 361 Tyrie is fully retired from politics.


References

Notes Bibliography * McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim. ''UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror'', Dublin, Penguin Ireland, 2004 *Taylor. Peter. ''Loyalists'', London: Bloomsbury, 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrie, Andy 1940 births Living people Paramilitaries from Belfast Ulster Defence Association members Ulster nationalists