The Ulster Special Constabulary Association (USCA) 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 ...

group active 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 ...

during the early 1970s. The group was established following the dissolution of the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the par ...

(commonly known as the B Specials) and operated with a semi-paramilitary structure. It initially began as a series of unrelated small groups of former B Specials who maintained contact before eventually crystallising into a formal vigilante group. The group was able to call upon as many as 10,000 members upon its formation in 1970.W.D. Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968-1993'', The Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 336 Initially it functioned mainly as a pressure group, demanding the introduction of tougher laws against the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

as well as a return to a more localised form of policing as typified by the B Specials. Soon however it became more closely associated with existing

Ulster loyalist 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 uni ...

paramilitary groups. George Green was the leading figure in the USCA and he represented the group on the

Ulster Army Council The Ulster Army Council (or UAC) of Northern Ireland was set up in 1973 as an umbrella group by the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force to co-ordinate joint paramilitary operations during the Ulster Workers' Council Strike. A ...

during the run-up to 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 b ...

. Under Green the group co-operated closely with 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), helping them set up weekend roadblocks for five weeks immediately prior to the strike. During the strike itself the USCA was part of a faction of minor loyalist paramilitary groups, represented by the

Orange Volunteers The Orange Volunteers (OV) or Orange Volunteer Force (OVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Over the following ye ...

Ulster Volunteer Service Corps The Ulster Volunteer Service Corps (UVSC) was an Ulster loyalist vigilante and paramilitary movement active in Northern Ireland during the early 1970s. Initially the steward group for the Ulster Vanguard (later the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Pa ...

Down Orange Welfare Down Orange Welfare was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary vigilante group active in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. Operating in rural areas of County Down, the group faded after failing to win support away from larger groups such as the Ulster De ...

and themselves, who pushed for Bill Craig to take a leading role in the running of the strike. The UDA and UVF had hoped to exclude politicians from the conduct of the strike as much as possible but ultimately acquiesced and allowed both Craig 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 ...

to play prominent public roles in the stoppage. Despite its close associations with loyalism the USCA had an innate conservatism that made many of its members uncomfortable about these links. With the formation of the

Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee The Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee (ULCCC) was set up in 1974 in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the aftermath of the Ulster Workers Council Strike, to facilitate meetings and policy coordination between the Ulster Workers Council, ...

the group declined membership and distanced itself from the loyalist paramilitaries. The USCA disbanded soon after this although many of its members would subsequently emerge in the 1977 established

Ulster Service Corps The Ulster Service Corps (USC) was a loyalist vigilante group with a paramilitary structure active in Northern Ireland in the late 1970s. Although short-lived it briefly had a sizeable membership. One of a number of small independent loyalist param ...

. Although the USCA did continue in some form up to 1977, apparently releasing a statement condemning Unionist politicians and organisations who were critical of the newly-formed Ulster Service Corps.''Belfast Telegraph'', 13 June 1977

References

{{Reflist Paramilitary organisations based in Northern Ireland 1970 establishments in Northern Ireland Ulster loyalist militant groups