William Smith (sometimes erroneously spelt Smyth) (26 January 1954William Smith, ''Inside Man, Loyalists of Long Kesh – The Untold Story'', 2014, p. 19 – 8 June 2016) was 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, and politician. He had been involved in

Ulster loyalism 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 ...

in various capacities for at least forty years.

Early life

Smith was born in Mountjoy Street on Belfast's

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 ...

into a poor

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...

family, the son of shipyard worker Charles William Smith and his wife Isobel. He had three older sisters, Margaret, Elizabeth and Nan (the latter dying in infancy before he was born), a younger brother Gordon and a younger sister Jean. There was rumoured Native American ancestry in his family; therefore in his youth he acquired the lifelong nickname "Plum" after ''

The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...

'' character

Little Plum Little Plum (full name revealed to be Little Plum Stealing Varmint) is a British humoristic western comics series about a little Native American, originally created by Leo Baxendale and published in the magazine ''The Beano''. Concept The epon ...

.Peter Taylor, ''Loyalists'', Bloomsbury, 2000, p. 45 He was raised in a working class home where his parents sent him to

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

and taught him to respect the law. Like many of his contemporaries from similar backgrounds on both sides of the divide, the outbreak of the socio-political/religious conflict that came to be 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 ...

in 1969 saw him become involved in paramilitarism.

Move to paramilitarism

Following the introduction of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

in 1971, Smith worked for a time as an orderly in

Crumlin Road Gaol HMP Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. It is colloquially known as ' ...

where he served six months for rioting against the British Army in the Highfield estate. Unbeknownst to the prison authorities, Smith was working as a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

for the imprisoned

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) leader

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

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA ...

, including founder

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 ...

, who decided to form a new, more active organisation. In 1972, Smith was a founder-member of this new group, which quickly became an elite squad augmenting the UVF.Taylor, ''Loyalists'', p. 111 On 1 July Smith was one of two armed RHC men to meet Spence when he was released from prison to attend the wedding of his daughter to

Winkie Rea Winston Churchill Rea (born 1950 or 1951), known as Winkie Rea, is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary commander who was the former leader of the Red Hand Commando (RHC) loyalist paramilitary organisation that was in Northern Ireland du ...

. He took Spence to a meeting of the UVF leadership where a plan was hatched to keep Spence out of prison. A few days later when Spence was being returned to jail by his nephew

Frankie Curry Frankie Curry ( – 17 March 1999)McDonald & Cusack, p. 284 was a Northern Irish loyalist who was involved with a number of paramilitary groups during his long career. A critic of the Northern Ireland peace process, Curry was killed during a loy ...

, their car was stopped on Belfast's Springmartin Road and Spence "kidnapped" by UVF/RHC operatives. Soon after this incident Smith was himself arrested for his part in the attempted murder of Catholic civilian Joseph Hall, a drive-by shooting that Smith would later admit was motivated by "pure sectarianism and bigotry". Smith was handed a ten-year prison sentence for the shooting. Tried along with Ronnie McCullough and Tom Reid, Smith pleaded not guilty although he subsequently admitted that he did so to satisfy the UVF's policy of members never pleading guilty and would state that "we were caught red-handed".

In the Maze

Along with the likes of

Billy Hutchinson Billy "Hutchie" Hutchinson (born 1955) is an Ulster Loyalist politician serving as the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) since 2011. He was elected to Belfast City Council in the 1997 elections. Hutchinson was a Member of the North ...

David Ervine David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007, and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belf ...

and

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 ...

, Smith was one of those on the UVF wings of the

Maze prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...

in the 1970s to be won over by Gusty Spence to his newer, more politicised, way of thinking. This cadre of Spence-trained political figures would go on to play a leading role in bringing about the UVF ceasefire in 1994 as members of the

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 Volunte ...

(PUP). He learnt Irish during his time in prison, and was happy to refer to the language as 'his own'. Smith was released on 28 July 1977 after serving five years of a ten-year sentence.

Political activity

Smith secured a job in the

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the Wh ...

shipyard in 1978 and became involved in trade union activity, initially as 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 ...

before ultimately ending up a member of the general executive of the

Transport & General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

. He was dismissed from the shipyard in 1988 following a period of restructuring that involved a sell-off of part of the business, although Smith contended that his trade union activity had hastened his removal by making him unpopular with the management.Smith, ''Inside Man'', p. 169 At this point the unemployed Smith became involved with a number of community schemes on the Shankill Road that were organised by Gusty Spence, initially in a voluntary capacity. The two became close and when Spence undertook a reorganisation of the PUP in 1990, Smith was given the role of chairman and Prisons Spokesman, along with

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 ...

as leader, David Ervine as Political Spokesman and Spence and Jim McDonald as members of the party executive. Through Spence, Smith established contacts with Joe Colgan, a

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 ...

-based

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

, and in March 1993 the two arranged an event in the city at which both a member of the UVF and the trade unionist Chris Hudson were in attendance. As a result of the meeting Hudson opened a regular channel of contact with the UVF through which he exhorted them to seek peace. The

Combined Loyalist Military Command The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee. Bringing t ...

(CLMC) ceasefire was announced on 13 October 1994 at Fernhill House, Glencairn when

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

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 ...

representatives

Gary McMichael Gary McMichael (born 1969) is a Northern Ireland community activist, and retired politician. He was the leader of the short-lived Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) during the Northern Ireland peace process, and was instrumental in organizing the Loy ...

Davy Adams David Adams (born c. 1953) is a Northern Irish loyalist activist and former politician. He was instrumental in bringing about the loyalist ceasefire of 1994 and played a leading role in the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process. Emerg ...

and John White. Smith was the chairman of the press conference at which Spence read out the statement.We can’t have any ‘Nuremberg’ trials here, say loyalists
/ref> For a time he had served as Chairman of the Progressive Unionist Party itself. Smith would go on to devote his attentions to community work with the Ex-Prisoners Interpretative Centre although he has remained a spokesman for the PUP. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the PUP in the

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 ...

elections in 2001 in the Court district electoral area. Speaking out in 2012 about Unionist concerns at the Maze prison becoming an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

shrine with a proposed Conflict Transformation Centre, Smith stated that if Loyalists themselves got involved in the scheme they could tell their side of the story and no one particular group could use it as a shrine.

Opposition to trials

In 2009 Smith was strongly critical of the report issued by the Consultative Group on the Past, as chaired by

Robin Eames Robert Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames, (born 27 April 1936) is an Anglican bishop and life peer, who served as Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006. Early life and education Eames was born in 1936, the son ...

and Denis Bradley. He criticised the work of the Historical Enquiries Team, which investigated unsolved incidents from the Troubles, arguing that it was opening "a can of worms" and preventing "closure". He compared any attempts to reopen investigations and bring about criminal proceedings to the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

. In 2010 Smith attacked the work of Victims Commissioner Brendan McAllister, who was investigating the activities of the UVF unit based on the Mount Vernon estate, north Belfast, during the Troubles. Smith argued that such investigations contravened a guarantee he had been given by

Mo Mowlam Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minis ...

that offences committed before 1998 could not be prosecuted due to a general amnesty. Soon afterwards Smith claimed that a document released by the British and Irish governments proved that the deal was in place as he claimed. In support of his stance Smith even gave evidence at the trial of Gerry McGeough, arguing that the republican should not have been tried for the 1981 attempted murder of Sammy Brush because of the supposed deal being in place.'Sinn Féin said if I shut up I wouldn't be shut up'
/ref>

Book

Smith launched his book ''Inside Man, Loyalists of Long Kesh – The Untold Story'' () on 13 October 2014, the twentieth anniversary of the CLMC ceasefire. The book argues that thanks to politicisation and education a group of prominent loyalists prisoners came to support negotiation with their republican counterparts, leading to the eventual

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...

. The book mainly dealt with the experiences of loyalist prisoners within the Maze and was not intended as an autobiography.

Death

Smith died on 8 June 2016, aged 62 after a short illness. Former PUP leader

Brian Ervine Brian Ervine (born October 1951, Belfast) is a playwright, songwriter and teacher living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Northern Irish playwright St John Ervine (1883–1971) was a distant relative. In October 2010 he succeeded Dawn Purvis as ...

paid tribute to his negotiating skills by bringing the RHC & UVF to the peace process, his intelligence, left thinking politics and for his cross community work.

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

Deputy First Minister

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

praised his contribution and commitment to the peace process.Martin McGuinness tribute to Ex-Red Hand Commando William 'Plum' Smith following death
/ref> His funeral was held in St. Matthew's Church of Ireland on the Woodvale Road. Community worker and former loyalist prisoner Jim Wilson described Smith's contribution to loyalism as 'massive' during The Troubles but later became an 'architect of peace'. Wilson also commented that Sinn Féin representative's presence at the funeral proved Smith's sincerity at extending the hand of friendship across the sectarian divide.
''The Belfast Telegraph''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William 1954 births 2016 deaths Ulster Volunteer Force members Progressive Unionist Party politicians Politicians from Belfast Red Hand Commando members Trade unionists from Belfast