Eddie Copeland is a prominent

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 ...

from

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 ...

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. He joined the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

after the fatal shooting of his father 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 Gurk ...

. John Copeland died on 31 October 1971, two days after being shot near his home in Strathroy Park 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 ...

. John Copeland was not known to be affiliated with any paramilitary group. Copeland has been the target of

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 ...

paramilitaries. In December 1996 he was seriously injured in an

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 ...

car bomb attack at his home. He suffered leg and arm injuries but escaped with his life when loyalist paramilitaries planted a booby-trap beneath his car. The bomb had been made by

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 ...

, who had been a leading figure in the

Red Hand Commandos 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 ...

before becoming an independent dissident. Copeland later received £60,000 in compensation for the injuries he received. On 8 February 1995, Andrew Clarke (27), a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court to ten years' imprisonment for the attempted murder of Copeland when he opened fire on mourners outside the home of deceased IRA Volunteer

Thomas Begley Thomas Begley (10 November 1970 – 23 October 1993) was a Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Volunteer. Begley was killed when a bomb he was planting on the Shankill Road, West Belfast, Northern Ireland exploded prem ...

in Belfast in October 1993. On 19 May 1999, the

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was found guilty of negligence at Belfast High Court and Copeland was awarded £27,500 compensation for the injuries he received. In 2001, Copeland was refused bail at Belfast High Court on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault and threatening to kill another person. The charges arose from the abduction of a man from a betting shop in Ardoyne. Copeland denied all charges. The charges were withdrawn in August 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Eddie Living people Paramilitaries from Belfast Provisional Irish Republican Army members Year of birth missing (living people)