Hester Rogers (born 1940) is a
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
former
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 ...
activist and writer who was a member 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 ...
's (UDA) political wing during the period of religious-political conflict known as
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 "i ...
. She headed the UDA's women's department and ran the
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
and administration section at the organisation's headquarters in Gawn Street, off the
Newtownards Road
The A20 is a road in County Down in Northern Ireland. It runs from Belfast to Newtownards and on to Portaferry.
Beginning as the Newtownards Road at the junction of Bridge End close to Belfast city centre, the road runs in an easterly direct ...
. An outspoken critic of
strip search
A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...
ing female prisoners, she was a founder and activist for "Justice For Lifers", an organisation which advocated prison reform in Northern Ireland.
For over 10 years, Rogers contributed to the UDA's magazine ''Ulster'' and helped construct the ''Common Sense: Northern Ireland - An Agreed Process'' document which was a treatise on power-sharing between loyalists and
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 ...
, largely composed by South Belfast brigadier
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 ...
and UDA commander
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 ...
. She left the UDA following the death of McMichael in December 1987 and the resignation of Tyrie four months later. McMichael was killed when a
booby-trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
bomb planted by the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
exploded under his car. Tyrie resigned as commander after finding a similar device beneath his car.
Early life
Rogers was born into a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
family in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and brought up in staunchly loyalist east
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 ...
. She describes herself as "an Ulster woman".
[Deane, Seamus, Carpenter, Andrew, Williams, Jonathan (2002). ''The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing Volume 5: Irish Women's Writing and Traditions''. New York: New York University Press. p.1544] Rogers worked for a time as a
belly dancer
Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...
.
After becoming a mother, she moved into the loyalist
Suffolk housing estate located in an
interface area
Interface area is the name given in Northern Ireland to areas where segregated nationalist and unionist residential areas meet. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas w ...
in west Belfast.
[Wood, Ian S. (2006). ''Crimes of Loyalty: a History of the UDA''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p.14] Although she had no previous interest in politics, Rogers joined 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) - the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation - because of the prominent role it played within the loyalist community.
Roger's early involvement with the UDA caused a number of difficulties for her as she became a target for local
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
youths and her daughter was
sent to Coventry
To send someone to Coventry is an idiom used in England meaning to deliberately ostracise someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist. In essence, and by modern parlanc ...
at a local community centre when she attended
Irish dance
Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vario ...
classes, a pastime usually associated with Catholics.
[Wood, p. 15] Rogers also faced charges for public order offences and, although these were eventually dismissed, she was remanded on bail for eleven months as a result.
UDA membership
Following this Rogers was invited by UDA commander
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 ...
to work for the organisation and she became part of its political wing. She ran the public relations and administration section at the UDA headquarters on Gawn Street, off the Newtownards Road along with
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 ...
.
[McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim (2004). ''UDA - Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror''. Penguin Ireland. p. 104] A heavy smoker who often dressed in black leather clothing, Rogers cut a distinctive figure at the UDA offices and often spoke to journalists on behalf of the organisation from there.
She was noted for her wisecracking personality
and for the
banter
Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focu ...
and good-natured teasing she indulged in with Duddy and Tyrie.
Sally Belfrage
Sally Belfrage (October 4, 1936 – March 14, 1994) was a United States-born British-based 20th century non-fiction writer and international journalist. Her writing covered turmoils in Northern Ireland, the American Civil Rights Movement and her ...
was one of the journalists who had met Rogers. She confirmed the influence Rogers enjoyed at UDA headquarters with the following observation: "Hester was obviously more than a mere receptionist - she appeared almost to choreograph the place, to know everybody's business".
Rogers also headed the UDA's women's department.
[Wood, p.94] Founded by
Wendy "Bucket" Millar,
the UDA had several women's units, the most notable being 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 ...
and
Sandy Row
Sandy Row () is a large inner city estate in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lends its name to the surrounding residential community, which is predominantly Protestant working-class. The Sandy Row area had a population of 2,153 in 2001; in 2 ...
groups. The latter achieved notoriety in 1974 when the unit, commanded by Elizabeth "Lily" Douglas, killed Protestant single mother
Ann Ogilby in a savage "Romper Room" punishment beating.
[Simpson, Alan (1999). ''Murder Madness: True Crimes of the Troubles''. Dublin: Gill & McMillan. pp.38-39] The attack, which shocked the Protestant community, had not been sanctioned by the UDA leadership. The latter strongly condemned it along with the Sandy Row women's unit.
[Wood, p.59]
Highly critical of the prison system in Northern Ireland, Rogers was a founder and activist for "Justice For Lifers", an organisation which advocated prison reform.
For over 10 years, she was a contributor to the UDA's magazine ''Ulster'' and was encouraged by the UDA leadership to write about women's issues. An outspoken critic of the strip searching of female prisoners in
Armagh Women's Prison
Armagh Prison in Armagh, Northern Ireland, is a former prison. The construction of the prison began in the 1780 and it was extended in the style of Pentonville Prison in the 1840 and 1850s. For most of its working life Armagh Gaol was the prim ...
, she wrote an article about it in ''Ulsters July/August 1985 edition entitled "Strip Searches". She denounced the practise, stating:
Strip searches in the 200 year old Armagh Women's Prison are essential to security, say the authorities, but at what cost to the women prisoners? The cost as I see it is intimidation, degradation and the humiliation of women.[Deane, Carpenter, Williams, p.1505]
Two months earlier she wrote an article "A woman's place in the Loyalist community" for the 27 May 1985 edition of Northern Ireland's ''Fortnight Magazine''.
[CAIN issues: Women and the Conflict - Details of Source Material](_blank)
Retrieved 30 April 2012 She supplied much of the political thinking which went into the ''Common Sense: Northern Ireland - An Agreed Process'' document which was a treatise on proposed power-sharing between loyalists and
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 ...
. It was largely a composition by South Belfast brigadier
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 ...
and Andy Tyrie.
Departure and later life
She left the UDA following the death of McMichael on 22 December 1987 and resignation four months later of Tyrie. The Provisional IRA planted a booby-trap bomb underneath McMichael's car outside his home in
Lisburn
Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...
. He was fatally injured when the device exploded. Tyrie tendered his resignation as commander when he found a similar bomb beneath his vehicle; in his case, rivals within the UDA were believed to have been behind the attempt on his life rather than republican paramilitaries.
Rogers was close to Tyrie and was loyal to his leadership and so left the movement after his leadership came to an end.
Since quitting the UDA, Rogers took a
University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
women's studies course in the
Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education
Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as ''Belfast Met'', is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Hester
Ulster Defence Association members
1944 births
Writers from Belfast
Living people