The Ulster Protestant Volunteers was a

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 ...

and Reformed fundamentalist

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

group 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 ...

. They were active between 1966 and 1969 and closely linked to the

Ulster Constitution Defence Committee The Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) was established in Northern Ireland in April 1966. The UCDC was the governing body of the loyalist Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). The UCDC coordinated parades, counter demonstrations, and pa ...

(UCDC) and

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), established by

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 Noel Doherty in 1966. The organisation's inaugural meeting took place 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 ...

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

, which would later become the UCDC. Their first incidents quickly followed. In the spring of 1966, members bombed an all-girls primary school in

Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Catholic and Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during The Troubles. Foundation The village of Ardoyne was founded in ...

, where talks to better relations between Protestants and Catholics were to take place. In May of that year they had their first kill in Shankill, although it was unintentional. The victim was 70-year-old Matilda Gould, a Protestant who the volunteers mistook for the Catholic living next door. Shortly after this, the UVF and UPV took part in the killings of two Catholic men not far from the scene of the first attack. Following the 1967 trial of the UVF's leader

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

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

. As a result, Irish troops moved toward the border alongside ambulances, and British troops moved into the area as well. The UPV was also involved in the RTÉ Studio bombing on 5 August 1969.{{cn, date=November 2019 Shortly after the failed attack in Ballyshannon, a message was issued by the groups:

"We wish to state that an active service unit from Northern Ireland was dispatched to undertake this task. So long as the threats from Éire continue, so long will the Volunteers of Ulster’s People’s Army strike at targets in Southern Ireland."

Several attacks followed, including ones in Bodenstown and Dublin.

After 1969

In April 1970, the UPV called off a march through

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

city centre celebrating the victories of Ian Paisley and William Beattie in the

Northern Ireland Parliament The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

by-election. That same month

Sir Arthur Young Colonel Sir Arthur Edwin Young (15 February 1907 – 20 January 1979) was a British police officer. He was Commissioner of Police of the City of London from 1950 to 1971 and was also the first head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to be styled ...

, Inspector General of the

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), cancelled a meeting with the 2nd Lagan Valley division of the UPV for picketing police headquarters in advance of the meeting. In July 1971 the South Londonderry Division of the UPV warned that the "Loyalist people of Northern Ireland would soon be left with no alternative but to take the law into their own hands." In October 1971 the UPV called on Unionist MPs to vote against entering the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

, claiming that membership would curtail the UK's sovereignty and threaten Northern Ireland's place in the UK. In May 1972 the

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight Roll-on/ro ...

branch of the UPV organised a rally to protest against the existence of "no-go areas" in predominantly Nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. Rev. William McCrea and a local councillor were the guest speakers. In January 1973 Ian Paisley and William Craig accompanied by a delegation of representatives from Larne-based loyalist organisations including the UPV,

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 ...

(UPV),

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), Tartan gangs and "East Antrim Loyalist Front" met a high-ranking RUC officer. The meeting came after several local members of loyalist paramilitary groups had been questioned by police. Some had their fingerprints taken and told that charges may be brought against them. A RUC spokesman stated afterwards he was impressed by the "reasonable approach" by the loyalist delegation and some points had been cleared up by both sides. In November 1983, in the aftermath of the

Darkley killings The Darkley killings or Darkley massacre was a gun attack carried out on 20 November 1983 near the village of Darkley in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Three gunmen attacked worshippers attending a church service at Mountain Lodge Pentecosta ...

, the UPV claimed to have mobilised for undercover duty in border areas and other "danger zones" in Northern Ireland where Republican paramilitaries were active. The UPV spokesman stated "We will not be seen on the ground. Our work will be undercover and in monitoring the security situation." The UPV wanted to assemble an "Ulster Security Council" with "full powers to repel the rebellion" and also demanded the resignations of the RUC Chief Constable, and the

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 ...

. Former members of the UPV later joined

Ulster Resistance Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM), is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement established by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in November 1986 in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. O ...

, another paramilitary grouping linked to Ian Paisley."DUP members knew of Ulster Resistance plans to get weapons",''Sunday Tribune'', 30 April 1989.

References

The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Far-right politics in Northern Ireland Christian terrorism in Europe Ulster loyalist militant groups

After 1969

See also

References