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 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 C ...

paramilitary organisation, 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 campaign ...

(UVF).

Ulster Volunteer Force

Born in predominantly unionist 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 Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, 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' headquarters on the Ravenhill Road in south-east Belfast. From an early age he identified strongly with loyalism and Unionism. Author Sarah Nelson described him as a "skilled manual worker".Nelson, Sarah (1984). ''Ulster's Uncertain Defenders''. Belfast: Appletree Press. p.182 In the early stages of

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 ...

, he joined the loyalist

(UVF) and soon had a seat on its Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership on 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 ...

). According to journalist Joe Tiernan, Gibson, leader Jim Hanna from the Shankill Road UVF, and senior West Belfast member

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...

, comprised part of the UVF team that planted the Liberty Hall and Sackville Place car bombs in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in December 1972 and January 1973, which left a total of three men dead and 133 people injured. Tiernan also maintained that Gibson and his bombing unit were directed and controlled by officers from the British Intelligence community operating out of Army Headquarters in Lisburn. From January 1973 to December of that year Gibson, described as a "top intelligence officer" in the UVF, was interned in

Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...

Prison.Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, ''UVF'', Poolbeg, 1997, p. 143 This experience inside Long Kesh, including contact with Gusty Spence, left him a vehement opponent of internment and a critic of

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 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 ...

(DUP), Gibson having previously been chairman of the DUP East Belfast Branch. He then became a leading figure in the

Loyalist Association of Workers The Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW) was a militant unionist organisation in Northern Ireland that sought to mobilise trade union members in support of the loyalist cause. It became notorious for a one-day strike in 1973 that ended in wide ...

, a joint UVF-

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA) front organisation which was eventually merged into the Ulster Workers' Council. By 1974 Gibson was the UVF's Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General as well as the official spokesman. With the Supreme Commander

Gusty Spence Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933
. ''

Dewar, Michael (1985). ''The British Army in Northern Ireland''. Arms and Armour Press. p.243 Tim Pat Coogan has stated that in 1974 Gibson was the "leader of the UVF". He was one of the organisation's strike leaders during 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 ...

in May 1974,Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.138 having been brought onto the UWC's central committee the previous March. Indeed, Gibson had been one of only three paramilitaries to be invited to the secret meeting with Stanley Orme that was held immediately prior to the strike in an attempt to avoid the industrial action. The others in attendance were UDA commanders

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 ...

and

Tommy Lyttle Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle (c. 1939 – 18 October 1995), was a high-ranking Ulster loyalist during the period of religious-political conflict in Northern Ireland known as " the Troubles". A member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) – the larg ...

. When asked a direct question by Orme, Gibson, who was the trio's representative, replied: "We are only here as observers".Wood, Ian S. (2006). ''Crimes of loyalty: a history of the UDA''. Edinburgh University Press. p.37 The

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

had been called by unionists and loyalists to protest against the

Sunningdale Agreement The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The agreement was signed at Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973. Unioni ...

. This was an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...

and a cross-border

Council of Ireland The Council of Ireland was a statutory body established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 as an all-Ireland law-making authority with limited jurisdiction, initially over both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, and later solely over ...

which would have given the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

a voice in running Northern Ireland. On 17 May 1974, the third day of the UWC strike, the UVF exploded three no-warning

car bombs A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

in the city centre of Dublin and a fourth car bomb in

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

, resulting in the deaths of 33 people. Almost 300 were injured; many scarred and maimed for life. Nobody was ever charged in connection with the bombings which were carried out by units from the UVF's Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades.Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.125. Classified government documents discovered by the Pat Finucane Centre reveal that Gibson was one of a four-man UVF delegation that secretly met with MI6 officials in Laneside, a house in

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

, County Down which was used by the British Secret Service for clandestine meetings. The meeting between the UVF and MI6 commenced 10 days after the car bombings and lasted over two days. The other three UVF members present at the talks were Tom Best, Stanley Grey and John Falls. Gibson was concerned that the interests and opinions of the loyalist working-class were being ignored by the

United Ulster Unionist Council The United Ulster Unionist Council (also known as the United Ulster Unionist Coalition) was a body that sought to bring together the Unionists opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement in Northern Ireland. Formation The UUUC was established in Janua ...

(UUUC) politicians who were instead using the UWC strike for their own ends. He also demanded more UVF participation in politics. Gibson also discussed his support of the return of IRA prisoners Dolours and Marion Price to Northern Ireland along with loyalist prisoners held in England.

Volunteer Political Party

Following his release from prison in 1973, Gibson was chosen to serve as the public spokesman for the UVF. He was subsequently appointed as the Chairman of the short-lived Volunteer Political Party (VPP) that was formed in June 1974 by members of the UVF, which had been legalised two months before by

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–197 ...

. He publicly stated that the new party endorsed the idea of the establishment of an all-party talks forum, a policy that was seen as attractive to the British government. Gibson also added that if the UVF's efforts did not yield results then "there's going to be nothing left in Northern Ireland but for the Ulster Volunteer Force to go ahead and fight for Ulster". Gibson's campaign also focused on the poor standard of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

on the

, in particular the blocks of flats that were known colloquially as "

Weetabix Weetabix is a breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited in the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized (approx. 9.5 cm × 5.0 cm or 4" × 2") wheat biscuits. Variants include organic and Weetabix Crispy Minis (bite-sized ...

" due to a supposed resemblance to the cuboid shaped, crumbly breakfast cereal.Ed Moloney, ''Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland'', Faber & Faber, 2011, p. 375 In part due to their focus on social deprivation Gibson and the VPP were attacked by a number of unionist politicians, most notably Rev

Martin Smyth William Martin Smyth (born 15 June 1931) is a Northern Irish unionist politician, who served as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South from 1982 to 2005. He was a vice-president of the Conservative Monday ...

and John Taylor of 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 m ...

, who suggested that their working class approach to politics represented a form of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

. Much of this stemmed from the "Ulster Citizens Army", a supposedly loyalist paramilitary group that wrote a series of letters to the press expressing left-wing views on paper headed with the left-wing republican starry plough emblem. Rumours circulated that this group was in fact the UVF and that they had gone over to communism, although in fact the Ulster Citizens Army had never existed and was simply

black propaganda Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propagand ...

spread by the

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 Gurkha ...

press office in Lisburn, known colloquially as the "Lisburn Lie Machine". For their part the UVF issued a statement in their magazine ''Combat'' stating that they and the VPP were opposed to "all shades of communism, socialism and liberalism". Gibson also disavowed the Ulster nationalist ideas being proposed by the likes of Glenn Barr and

Kennedy Lindsay Kennedy Lindsay (1924–1997) was a Northern Ireland politician and a leading advocate of Ulster nationalism. Born in Canada but raised in Northern Ireland, Lindsay pursued a career as a history academic before becoming associated with the Ulster ...

at the time, arguing that Northern Ireland was too small to be economically viable as an independent state. Gibson, out of frustration with his party's inability to win support from ordinary, working-class people, hit the table one night shouting: "Scum, rats he politicians and Orangemen'I've told the people out there, but they're afraid. I've told them, you can run this country, you can have anything you want.'"Nelson, p.186 Gibson stood as the VPP's candidate for the West Belfast constituency in the October 1974 General Election. His candidacy came in for criticism from within the UVF. Gusty Spence, who supported the formation of the VPP, criticised Gibson's decision to run for election, arguing that it was much too soon for the party to think about making any inroads on the mainstream unionist vote. Stronger criticism came from an anonymous commentator, identified by Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald as a "senior west Belfast UVF figure at the time", who claimed that not only did Gibson attempt to force him out of his role as head of the Young Citizen Volunteers but even accused Gibson of orchestrating the assassination of former UVF Chief of Staff Jim Hanna, who was killed on 1 April 1974. Although Gibson received the support of West Belfast UDA leader

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 bas ...

, Glenn Barr of

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

and independent Shankill councillor

Hugh Smyth Hugh Smyth, OBE (1941 – 12 May 2014) was a Northern Irish politician who was leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He was a former Lord Mayor of Belfast as well as the longest serving member of Belfast City Council, having represented t ...

, he finished fourth behind the

(DUP) candidate

John McQuade John McQuade (9 August 1911 – 19 November 1984) was a Northern Ireland politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins. After serving with the British Army in Dunkirk and Burma, he was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) m ...

, who garnered 16,265 votes against Gibson's 2,690,Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. pp.139–140 with the seat won by the incumbent MP,

Gerry Fitt Gerard Fitt, Baron Fitt (9 April 1926 – 26 August 2005) was a politician in Northern Ireland. He was a founder and the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a social democratic and Irish nationalist party. Early yea ...

of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The VPP was dissolved shortly afterwards as the UVF accepted there was little interest in their forming a political arm. As a result, Hugh Smyth was elected to 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 ...

in 1975 as an

independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in electi ...

Feud

In July 1974 a

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. Th ...

between the UVF and the UDA broke out in east Belfast, where the UDA was much larger, as part of a wider deterioration in relations between the two paramilitary groups. As part of this strife Gibson had a grenade lobbed at his house by local UDA members. Gibson publicly accused the UDA of "gangster activities" in the aftermath of the attack. As the conflict escalated the UDA attempted to abduct Gibson outside an east Belfast bar on 6 May 1975. He broke free but broke his arm in the struggle before UVF members drinking at the bar came out to help him. In the resulting struggle one UDA member was shot and another stabbed, neither fatally. The UVF responded to the attack on Gibson by attempting to blow up Roberta House, 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 directi ...

headquarters of the east Belfast UDA. The bomb, which journalists Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald stated was being transported by UVF member and future

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volun ...

leader David Ervine, was intercepted by security forces whose presence in the area had increased as a result of the feud. Around this time Gibson and Billy Mitchell met with

at his Martyrs' Memorial Church in a largely unsuccessful attempt to heal the rifts that had opened between the paramilitaries and the UUUC with the UVF feeling that they had been sidelined in the new coalition. Gibson had already criticised Paisley for his failure to take the Carson route of publicly supporting the UVF. Both Gibson and Mitchell had been members of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctri ...

, although by the time of the meeting they had both long since left the religion.

Later life

By the time the UVF was banned again, in October 1975, Gibson was no longer a member of its leadership but continued to give political advice to its Brigade Staff. However, he made a show of presenting himself at a local police station to announce his membership of the group. He was turned away, the police remaining indifferent. Several years later, he gave an interview to the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'', in which he stated that he "wouldn't touch politics again".

, ''Northern Ireland: a personal perspective'', p.92

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Ken Ulster Volunteer Force members Politicians from Belfast Loyalists imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Year of birth missing Year of death missing