Robert John Jackson (27 September 1948 – 30 May 1998), also known as The Jackal, was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and part-time soldier. He was a senior officer in 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) during the period of violent

ethno-nationalist Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

conflict 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 ...

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 " ...

. Jackson commanded the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade from 1975 to the early 1990s, when Billy Wright took over as leader. From his home in the small village of

Donaghcloney Donaghcloney or Donacloney ()County Down, a few miles south-east of

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

, Jackson is alleged to have organised and committed a series of killings, mainly against Catholic civilians, although he was never convicted in connection with any killing and never served any lengthy prison terms. At least 50 killings in Northern Ireland have been attributed to him, according to Stephen Howe (in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'' magazine) and

David McKittrick David McKittrick (born 1949) is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971. Professional career McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the ''East Antrim Times''. He joined the ''Irish Times'' in 1973 as a r ...

(in his book ''Lost Lives''). An article by Paul Foot in '' Private Eye'' suggested that Jackson led one of the teams that bombed Dublin on 17 May 1974, killing 26 people, including two infants. Royal Ulster Constabulary

Special Patrol Group The Special Patrol Group (SPG) was a unit of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for providing a centrally based mobile capacity to combat serious public disorder, crime, and terrorism, that could not be dealt with by loca ...

(SPG) officer John Weir (who was also involved in loyalist killings), also maintained this in an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...

. The information from Weir's affidavit was published in 2003 in the ''Barron Report'', the findings of an official investigation into the Dublin bombings commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron. Journalist Kevin Dowling in the '' Irish Independent'' alleged that Jackson had headed the gang that perpetrated the

Miami Showband killings The Miami Showband killings (also called the Miami Showband massacre) was an attack on 31 July 1975 by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group. It took place on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down, Northern Ireland. ...

, which left three members of the cabaret band dead and two wounded. Journalist Joe Tiernan and the

Pat Finucane Centre The Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) is a human rights advocacy and lobbying entity in Northern Ireland. Named in honour of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, it operates advice centres in Derry and Newry, dealing mainly with complaints from Irish nati ...

also made this allegation and averted to Jackson's involvement in the Dublin bombings. When questioned about the latter, Jackson denied involvement. Findings noted in a report by the

Historical Enquiries Team The Historical Enquiries Team was a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles, specifically between 1968 and 1998. It was wound up in Septembe ...

(HET) (released in December 2011) confirmed that Jackson was linked to the Miami Showband attack through his fingerprints, which had been found on the silencer specifically made for the Luger pistol used in the shootings. Jackson was at one-time a member of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

(UDR) but was discharged from the regiment for undisclosed reasons. It was stated by Weir, as well as by others including former British Army

psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...

operative Major

Colin Wallace John Colin Wallace (born June 1943) is a British former member of Army Intelligence in Northern Ireland and a psychological warfare specialist. He refused to become involved in the Intelligence-led 'Clockwork Orange' project, which was an att ...

, that Jackson was an

RUC Special Branch RUC Special Branch was the Special Branch 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 Constab ...

agent.

Early life and UDR career

Jackson was born into a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

family in the small, mainly

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

hamlet of

Donaghmore, County Down Donaghmore is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half, with two townlands in the barony of Iveagh Lower, Upper Half. People Loyalist Robin Jackson, nicknamed " ...

on 27 September 1948, the son of John Jackson and Eileen Muriel. Some time later, he went to live in the Mourneview Estate in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

before making his permanent home in the village of

Donaghcloney Donaghcloney or Donacloney () and delivering chickens for the Moy Park food processing company throughout most of the 1970s. The conflict was known as "

" erupted in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, and people from both sides of the religious/political divide were soon caught up in the maelstrom of violence that ensued. In 1972, Jackson joined the locally recruited

(UDR), an infantry regiment of 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 ...

, in Lurgan. He was attached to 11th Battalion UDR. On 23 October 1972, a large cache of guns and ammunition were stolen during an armed raid by the illegal

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 u ...

paramilitary organisation, the

(UVF), on King's Park camp, a UDR/ Territorial Army depot. It is alleged by the

, a Derry-based civil rights group, that Jackson took part in the raid while a serving member of the UDR.Collusion in the South Armagh/Mid Ulster Area in the mid-1970s
Journalist Scott Jamison also echoed this allegation in an article in the '' North Belfast News'', as did

in his book ''Lost Lives''.

UVF history

Around the same time Jackson was expelled from the regiment for undisclosed reasons, he joined the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade's Lurgan unit. The UVF drew its greatest strength as well as the organisation's most ruthless members from its Mid-Ulster Brigade, according to journalist

Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to: *Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer *Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...

.O'Brien, Brendan (1999). ''The Long War: The IRA and Sein Fein'', Second Edition. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press. p. 92. Google Books; retrieved 6 March 2011 The Pat Finucane Centre's allegation that he had taken part in the UVF's 23 October 1972 raid on the UDR/TA depot indicates that he was most likely already an active UVF member prior to being dismissed from the UDR. Anne Cadwallader states in her 2013 book ''Lethal Allies'' that Jackson was expelled from the UDR on 4 March 1974;Gerry Moriarty
"Loyalism's most prolific sectarian killer may have enjoyed indefensible relationship with RUC officers"
''The Irish Times'', 25 October 2013; retrieved 29 October 2013. by then he was discernibly involved in UVF activity. As the

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

continued to wage its militant campaign across Northern Ireland throughout 1972, many loyalists felt their community was under attack and their status was being threatened and sought to retaliate against

Irish nationalists Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

and republicans by joining one of the two main loyalist paramilitary organisations, the illegal UVF or the legal

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). The proscription against the UVF was lifted by

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 ...

, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 4 April 1974. It remained a legal organisation until 3 October 1975, when it was once again banned by the British government. Many members of loyalist paramilitary groups such as the UVF and UDA managed to join the UDR despite the vetting process. Their purpose in doing so was to obtain weapons, training and intelligence. Vetting procedures were carried out jointly by the Intelligence Corps and the

and if no intelligence was found to suggest unsuitability, individuals were passed for recruitment and would remain as soldiers until the commanding officer was provided with intelligence enabling him to remove soldiers with paramilitary links or sympathies. Operating mainly around the Lurgan and

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

areas, the Mid-Ulster Brigade had been set up in 1972 in Lurgan by Billy Hanna, who appointed himself commander. His leadership was endorsed by the UVF's supreme commander Gusty Spence.Joe Tiernan
"Sunningdale pushed hardliners into fatal outrages in 1974"
''Irish Independent'', 16 May 1999; retrieved 6 May 2011. Hanna was a decorated war hero, having won the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for gallantry in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

when he served with the

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

. He later joined the UDR, serving as a permanent staff instructor (PSI) and holding the rank of sergeant. According to David McKittrick, he was dismissed from the regiment two years later "for UVF activity"; The regimental history of the UDR confirms this although journalist/author

Martin Dillon Martin Dillon (born 2 June 1949) is an Irish author, journalist, and broadcaster. He has won international acclaim for his investigative reporting and non-fiction works on The Troubles, including his bestselling trilogy, ''The Shankill Butcher ...

states in his book, ''The Dirty War'', that at the time of his death Hanna was still a member of the UDR. Hanna's unit formed part of the " Glenanne gang", a loose alliance of loyalist extremists which allegedly functioned under the direction of the Intelligence Corps and/or RUC Special Branch.The Cassel Report (2006), pp. 8, 14, 21, 25, 51, 56, 58–65. It comprised rogue elements of the RUC and its

(SPG), the UDR, the UDA, as well as the UVF. The Pat Finucane Centre, in collaboration with an international panel of inquiry (headed by Professor Douglass Cassel, formerly of

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law s ...

) has implicated this gang in 87 killings which were carried out in the 1970s against Catholics and nationalists. The name, first used in 2003, is derived from a farm in Glenanne, County Armagh, which the UVF regularly used as an arms dump and bomb-making site. It was owned by James Mitchell, an RUC reservist. According to John Weir, the gang usually did not use the name UVF whenever it claimed its attacks; instead, it employed the cover names of "

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 (IR ...

", " Protestant Action Force", or "Red Hand Brigade". Weir named Jackson as a key player in the Glenanne gang. He had close ties to loyalist extremists from Dungannon such as brothers Wesley and John James Somerville, with whom he was often spotted drinking in the Morning Star pub in the town.

Alleged shooting and bombing attacks

Patrick Campbell shooting

He was first arrested on 8 November 1973 for the killing on 28 October of Patrick Campbell, a Catholic

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

from

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iv ...

who was gunned down on his doorstep. Jackson's words after he was charged with the killing were: "Nothing. I just can't believe it". Campbell's wife, Margaret had opened the door to the gunman and his accomplice when they had come looking for her husband. She had got a good look at the two men, who drove off in a

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fiv ...

after the shooting, and although she identified Jackson as the killer at an

identity parade A police lineup (in American English) or identity parade (in British English) is a process by which a crime victim or witness's putative identification of a suspect is confirmed to a level that can count as evidence at trial. The suspect, alo ...

, murder charges against him were dropped on 4 January 1974 at

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 ...

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

. The charges were allegedly withdrawn because the RUC thought Mrs. Campbell knew him beforehand. Jackson confirmed this, saying that they had met previously on account that he worked in the same Banbridge shoe factory (Down Shoes Ltd.) as Patrick Campbell. It was suggested in David McKittrick's ''Lost Lives'' that sometime before the shooting there may have been a "minor political disagreement" between Jackson and Campbell while the two men were on a night out. The disagreement was allegedly over the stoppage of machinery following the deaths of three British soldiers."Widow to sue police chief and MoD". Belfast Telegraph. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2021 Raymond Murray, in his book ''The SAS in Ireland'', suggested that his accomplice in the shooting was Wesley Somerville. Irish writer and journalist Hugh Jordan also maintains this allegation. When the RUC had searched Jackson's house after his arrest they discovered 49 additional bullets to those allotted a serving member of the UDR. A notebook was also found which contained personal details of over two dozen individuals including their car registration numbers.Cadwallader, Anne (2013). ''Lethal Allies: the charmed life of a sectarian killer''
retrieved 30 January 2016.

Dublin car bombings

RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir claimed to have first met Jackson in 1974 at Norman's Bar, in

Moira, County Down Moira () is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the borders with counties Antrim and Armagh. The M1 motorway and Belfast–Dublin railway line are nearby. The population was 4, ...

. Weir stated in an affidavit that Jackson was one of those who had planned and carried out the Dublin car bombings. According to Weir, Jackson, along with the main organiser Billy Hanna and Davy Payne (UDA, Belfast), led one of the two UVF units that bombed Dublin on 17 May 1974 in three separate explosions, resulting in the deaths of 26 people, including two infant girls. Close to 300 others were injured in the blasts; many of them maimed and scarred for life.The three explosions which occurred in the city centre of Dublin on 17 May 1974 resulted in the deaths of 26 people; another seven people died in the Monaghan bomb, bringing the total of deaths to 33. Journalist

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

affirmed that the Dublin car bombings were carried out by two UVF units, one from Mid-Ulster, the other from Belfast. The bombings took place on the third day of the Ulster Workers Council Strike, which was a general strike in Northern Ireland called by hardline unionists in 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 ...

and the Northern Ireland Assembly which had proposed their sharing political power with nationalists in an

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

that also planned a greater role for the Republic of Ireland in the governance of Northern Ireland. In 2003, Weir's information was published in the ''Barron Report'', which was the findings of an official investigation into the bombings by Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron. Justice Barron concluded Weir's "evidence overall is credible". An article by Paul Foot in ''Private Eye'' also implicated Jackson in the bombings."The Barron Report identified at least nine men who may have been involved in the bombing of Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. Three are known to be dead". ''Irish Times – Newshound: daily Northern Ireland news catalog''. 12 December 2003
. Retrieved 6 April 2011. Paul Foot's 1993 article went on to add that Jackson "has continued murdering people ever since, to the profound indifference of the authorities". The producers of the 1993 Yorkshire Television documentary, ''The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre'', referred to Jackson indirectly as one of the bombers. However, three of his alleged accomplices, Hanna,

Harris Boyle Harris Boyle (1953 – 31 July 1975) was an Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier and a high-ranking member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation. Boyle was implicated in the 1974 Dublin a ...

, and Robert McConnell were directly named. Although the incriminating evidence against Jackson had comprised eight hours of recorded testimony which came from one of his purported chief accomplices in the bombings, the programme did not name him directly during the transmission as the station did not want to risk an accusation of libel. The programme's narrator instead referred to him as "the Jackal". Hanna, Boyle, and McConnell were deceased at the time of the programme's airing. According to submissions received by Mr. Justice Barron, on the morning of 17 May 1974, the day of the bombings, Jackson collected the three bombs and placed them onto his poultry lorry at James Mitchell's farm in Glenanne, which had been used for the construction and storage of the devices. He then drove across the border to Dublin, crossing the Boyne River at Oldbridge. The route had been well-rehearsed over the previous months. Hanna, then the Mid-Ulster UVF's commander and the principal organiser of the attacks, accompanied him. At the Coachman's Inn pub carpark on the Swords Road near

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...

, the two men met up with the other members of the UVF bombing team. Jackson and Hanna subsequently transferred the bombs from his lorry into the boots of three allocated cars, which had been hijacked and stolen that morning in Belfast. ''The Hidden Hand'' producers named William "Frenchie" Marchant of the UVF's A Coy, 1st Battalion Belfast Brigade, as having been on a Garda list of suspects as the organiser of the hijackings in Belfast on the morning of the bombings. The cars, after being obtained by the gang of hijackers, known as "Freddie and the Dreamers", were driven from Belfast across the border to the carpark, retaining their original registration numbers. Journalist Joe Tiernan suggested that the bombs were activated by Hanna. Sometime before 4.00 p.m., Jackson and Hanna headed back to Northern Ireland in the poultry lorry after the latter had given the final instructions to the drivers of the

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 ...

. Upon their return, Jackson and Hanna went back to the soup kitchen they were running at a Mourneville, Lurgan bingo hall. With the UWC strike in its third day, it was extremely difficult for people throughout Northern Ireland to obtain necessities such as food. Neither man's absence had been noticed by the other helpers. Following Hanna's orders, the three car bombs (two of them escorted by a "scout" eadcar, to be used for the bombers' escape back across the Northern Ireland border) were driven into the city centre of Dublin where they detonated in

Parnell Street Parnell Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland, which runs from Capel Street in the west to Gardiner Street and Mountjoy Square in the east. It is at the north end of O'Connell Street, where it forms the south side of Parnell Square. History ...

, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street, almost simultaneously at approximately 5.30 pm. No warnings were given. From the available forensic evidence derived from material traces at the scene, the bombs are believed to have contained, as their main

tertiary explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and salt ...

containing

ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...

, packed into the usual metallic

beer barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

container used by loyalists in prior car bombings. Twenty-three people were killed outright in the blasts, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child; three more people would later die of their injuries. The bodies of the dead were mostly unrecognisable. One girl who had been near the epicentre of the Talbot Street explosion was decapitated; only her platform boots provided a clue to her gender. The bombers immediately fled from the destruction they had wrought in central Dublin in the two scout cars and made their way north using the "smuggler's route" of minor and back roads, crossing the border near Hackballs Cross, County Louth at about 7.30 pm."Net is closing in on Dublin car bombers". ''Sunday Independent''. Joe Tiernan. 2 November 2003.
Retrieved 12 April 2012. Thirty minutes earlier 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 Lette ...

, an additional seven people were killed instantly or fatally injured by a fourth car bomb which had been delivered by a team from the Mid-Ulster UVF's Portadown unit. According to Joe Tiernan, this attack was carried out to draw the Gardaí away from the border, enabling the Dublin bombers to cross back into Northern Ireland undetected. Jackson was questioned following the Yorkshire Television programme and he denied any involvement in the Dublin attacks. His name had appeared on a Garda list of suspects for the bombings. Hanna's name was on both the Garda and the RUC's list of suspects; however, neither of the two men were ever arrested or interrogated in connection with the bombings. The submissions made to the Barron Inquiry also stated that one week before the Dublin attacks, Jackson and others had been stopped at a Garda checkpoint at Hackballs Cross. Nobody was ever convicted of the car bombings. Years later, British journalist Peter Taylor in an interview with

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) politician and former senior Belfast UVF member David Ervine questioned him about UVF motives for the 1974 Dublin attacks. Ervine replied they VFwere "returning the serve". Ervine, although he had not participated in the bombings, explained that the UVF had wanted the Catholics across the border in the Republic of Ireland to suffer as Protestants in Northern Ireland had suffered on account of the intensive bombing campaign waged by the Provisional IRA. On 28 May 1974, 11 days after the bombings, the UWC strike ended with the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the power-sharing Executive.

John Francis Green killing

Statements made by John Weir affirmed Jackson's active participation in the killing of senior IRA member

John Francis Green John Francis Green (18 December 1946– 10 January 1975), was a leading member of the North Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, holding the rank of Staff Captain and Intelligence Officer. He was killed in a farmhouse outside ...

in Mullyash, near

Castleblayney Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

, County Monaghan. On the evening of 10 January 1975, gunmen kicked down the front door of the "safe" house Green was staying in and, finding him alone in the living room, immediately opened fire, shooting him six times in the head at close range. The bullets all entered from the front, which indicated that Green had been facing his killers.Houses of the Oireachtas, Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights, Interim Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings (The Barron Report), December 2003, Appendices (pp. 4-20): The murder of John Francis Green
cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 17 July 2014. The UVF claimed responsibility for the killing in the June 1975 edition of its publication, ''Combat''. Green's killing occurred during an IRA ceasefire, which had been declared the previous month.

Assassination of Billy Hanna and leadership of UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade

Subsequent to his alleged killing of Hanna outside his home in Lurgan in the early hours of 27 July 1975, Jackson assumed command of the Mid-Ulster Brigade.Taylor, Peter (2001). ''Brits: the war against the IRA''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 188"Notorious UVF unit 'to be stood down'". ''Belfast Telegraph''. 12 March 2006; retrieved 25 January 2012
13 July 2006. Hanna and his wife Ann had just returned from a function at the local British Legion Club. When he stepped out of the car, Jackson and another man approached him. After asking them "What are you playing at?" Jackson produced a pistol, walked over, and shot him twice in the head; once in the temple and afterwards in the back of the head, execution-style as he lay on the ground. His wife witnessed the killing. Joe Tiernan suggested that Jackson killed Hanna on account of the latter's refusal to participate in the

. Hanna apparently suffered from remorse following the 1974 Dublin bombings, as he is believed by Tiernan to have instructed one of the bombers, David Alexander Mulholland to drive the car which exploded in Parnell Street, where two infant girls were among those killed. According to Tiernan and the ''Barron Report'', Mulholland was identified by three eyewitnesses. Tiernan also suggested that Hanna and Mulholland became informers for the Gardaí regarding the car bombings in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He added that although the British Army was aware of this, Jackson was never told, as it was feared he would decide to become an informer himself. Investigative journalist Paul Larkin, in his book ''A Very British Jihad: collusion, conspiracy, and cover-up in Northern Ireland'' maintained that Jackson, accompanied by Harris Boyle, had shot Hanna after learning that he had passed on information regarding the Dublin bombings. Martin Dillon also claims this in ''The Trigger Men''. Dillon also stated in ''The Dirty War'' that because a number of UDR/UVF men were to be used for the planned Miami Showband attack, the UVF considered Hanna to have been a "security risk", and therefore it had been necessary to kill him. David McKittrick in ''Lost Lives'', however, suggested that Jackson had actually killed Hanna in order to obtain a cache of weapons the latter held. The UVF drew its greatest strength as well as the organisation's most ruthless members from its Mid-Ulster Brigade according to Irish journalist Brendan O'Brien.

Miami Showband massacre

Jackson was also alleged by Kevin Dowling, Joe Tiernan, and the Pat Finucane Centre to have led the UVF gang that carried out the Miami Showband ambush and massacre at Buskhill, outside

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

on 31 July 1975, which left band members Brian McCoy, Fran O'Toole and Tony Geraghty dead. Two others, Stephen Travers and Des McAlea, were wounded. Journalist Hugh Jordan also confirmed Jackson's presence at the Miami Showband ambush. Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, both suspects in the Dublin bombings, and members of both the UDR and Mid-Ulster UVF, were accidentally blown up as they placed a bomb under the driver's seat of the band's minibus which had been parked in a lay-by. The minibus, driven by trumpeter Brian McCoy (a Protestant from Caledon, County Tyrone), had been flagged-down by UVF men wearing British Army uniforms at a bogus roadside military checkpoint on the main A1 road as the band was returning home to Dublin after a performance in Banbridge. Following the premature detonation, which ripped the vehicle in half, the band members were then gunned down by the surviving UVF men. Loyalist paramilitarism researcher Jeanne Griffin suggested that Jackson had planned the ambush as a means to eliminate Brian McCoy who had strong family connections to the Orange Order and the security forces. According to Griffin's theory, Jackson had on an earlier date, approached McCoy with a proposal to secure his help in carrying out UVF attacks in the Irish Republic. When McCoy refused, Jackson saw this as a betrayal of the loyalist cause so devised the plan to ambush McCoy and his bandmates in retaliation. She also suggests that it was Jackson who shot McCoy dead in the first volley of gunfire and it was the gunman, surviving bassist Stephen Travers heard, kicking McCoy's dead body afterwards as well as firing another round into him. She based her theories on the nine bullets that had been fired from a Luger into McCoy and that Jackson's fingerprints were found on the silencer that was used for a Luger. Jackson had assumed command of the Mid-Ulster UVF just a few days before the attack, when he allegedly shot Hanna to death on 27 July. As previously stated, Harris Boyle had reportedly accompanied Jackson to the shooting. Jackson had afterwards attended Hanna's funeral, where he was photographed standing beside Wesley Somerville. On 5 August 1975, Jackson was taken in and questioned by the RUC as a suspect in the Miami Showband killings; he was subsequently released two days later without facing any charges. In October 1976, two serving members of the UDR (Thomas Crozier and James McDowell) received life sentences for the killings. A third man, former UDR soldier, John James Somerville was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1981. After his arrest, Jackson accused two

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

(CID) Detective Constables, Norman Carlisle and Raymond Buchanan, of having physically assaulted him on 7 August 1975 while he had been in police custody at

Bessbrook Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today the village of Bessbrook str ...

RUC Station. Although medical evidence presented at the trial of the accused Detective Constables raised the possibility that Jackson's injuries were self-inflicted, on 23 December 1975 a magistrate upheld the charge against the two CID men and they were fined £10 each. On 11 June 1975, more than a month prior to the Miami Showband killings, Jackson, his brother-in-law, Samuel Fulton Neill, and Thomas Crozier had been arrested for the possession of four shotguns. Neill's car was later used in the Showband ambush. Neill was fatally shot in Portadown on 25 January 1976 allegedly by Jackson for having passed on information to the RUC about the people involved in the Showband attack. The Douglass Cassel panel of inquiry stated that it was unclear why Jackson, Crozier and Neill had not been in police custody at the time the Showband killings took place. The panel concluded that there was "credible evidence that the principal perpetrator f the Miami Showband attackwas a man who was not prosecuted – alleged RUC Special Branch agent Robin Jackson". Former British soldier and

operative Major

stated that he was told in 1974 that Jackson was working as an agent for the RUC's Special Branch. He confirmed this allegation in a letter written to a colleague dated 14 August 1975 in which he named Jackson as an RUC Special Branch agent. The

(HET), which was set up by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

(PSNI) to investigate some of the more controversial Troubles-related deaths, released their report on the Miami Showband killings to the victims' families in December 2011. The findings noted in this report confirmed that Jackson was linked to the killings. It also stated that during police interrogations, Jackson had claimed that after the shootings a senior RUC officer had advised him to "lie low". Although this information was passed on to RUC headquarters and its Complaints and Discipline Department, nothing was done about it. The HET Report identified Jackson as having been an RUC Special Branch agent."Miami Showband massacre: HET raises collusion concerns". ''BBC News''. 14 December 2011
/ref>

Links to Captain Robert Nairac

It was stated by ''The Hidden Hand'' programme that Jackson had links to British Military Intelligence and Liaison officer Captain

Robert Nairac Captain Robert Laurence Nairac (31 August 1948 – 15 May 1977) was a British Army officer in the Grenadier Guards who was abducted from a pub in Dromintee, south County Armagh, during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish ...

. ''The Hidden Hand'' alleged that Jackson and his UVF comrades were controlled by Nairac who was attached to

14th Intelligence Company The Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (internally "The Det") was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps involved in plainclothes operations in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwa ...

(The Det). Former

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

operative, Captain Fred Holroyd claimed that Nairac admitted to having been involved in John Francis Green's death and had shown Holroyd a colour polaroid photograph of Green's corpse to back up his claim. Holroyd believed that for some months leading up to his shooting, Green had been kept under surveillance by 4 Field Survey Troop, Royal Engineers, one of the three sub-units of 14th Intelligence. This unit was based in Castledillon, County Armagh, and according to Holroyd, was the cover name of an SAS troop commanded by Nairac and Captain Julian Antony "Tony" Ball. Nairac was himself abducted and killed by the IRA in 1977, and Ball was killed in an accident in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

in 1981."Nairac: An undercover hero or a maverick fool?"
''Belfast Telegraph''. 13 May 2007; retrieved 13 December 2010. Justice Barron himself questioned Holroyd's evidence as a result of two later Garda investigations, where Detective Inspector Culhane discounted Holroyd's allegations regarding Nairac and the polaroid photograph. Culhane concluded that the latter had been one of a series of official photographs taken of Green's body the morning following his killing by Detective Sergeant William Stratford, who worked in the

Garda Technical Bureau , headquarters = Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin , formed = , preceding1 = , preceding2 = , jurisdiction = Republic of Ireland , employees = >130 , budget = Undisclosed (part of ''Garda Síochána'' budget, €1.34 billion in ...

's Photography Section. Weir made the following statements in relation to Jackson and Nairac's alleged mutual involvement in the Green assassination:

The men who did that shooting were Robert McConnell, Robin Jackson, and I would be almost certain, Harris Boyle who was killed in the Miami attack. What I am absolutely certain of is that Robert McConnell, Robert McConnell knew that area really, really well. Robin Jackson was with him. I was later told that Nairac was with them. I was told by ... a UVF man, he was very close to Jackson and operated with him. Jackson told imthat Nairac was with them.

In his 1989 book ''War Without Honour'', Holyroyd claimed that Nairac had organised the Miami Showband ambush in collaboration with Jackson, and had also been present at Buskhill when the attack was carried out. Bassist Stephen Travers and saxophonist Des McAlea, the two bandmembers who survived the shootings, both testified in court that a British Army officer "with a crisp, clipped English accent" had overseen the operation. However, when shown a photograph of Nairac, Travers could not positively identify him as the soldier who had been at the scene. Martin Dillon in ''The Dirty War'' adamantly stated that Nairac had not been involved in the Green killing nor in the Miami Showband massacre. The ''Barron Report'' noted that although Weir maintained that Jackson and Billy Hanna had links to Nairac and British Military Intelligence, his claim did not imply that the British Army or Military Intelligence had aided the two men in the planning and perpetration of the 1974 Dublin bombings. While in prison, Weir wrote a letter to a friend claiming that Nairac had ties to both Jackson and James Mitchell, owner of the Glenanne farm. The 2006 Interim Report of Mr. Justice Barron's inquiry into the Dundalk bombing of 1975 ( see below) concluded that Jackson was one of the suspected bombers "reliably said to have had relationships with British Intelligence and or RUC Special Branch officers"."Barron Links Glenanne Gang to 1975 Dundalk Bombing". ''The Green Ribbon''. Tom Griffin. 15 July 2006
Retrieved 3 February 2011 In 2015, a biography of Nairac entitled "Betrayal: the Murder of Robert Nairac" was published. Written by former diplomat Alistair Kerr, the book provides documentary evidence that shows Nairac as having been elsewhere at the time of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, John Francis Green killing and Miami Showband ambush took place. On 17 May 1974 he was on a months-long training course in England; 10 January 1975 there were three witnesses who placed him on temporary duty in Derry for a secret mission; and on 31 July 1975 at 4am he had started on a road journey from London to Scotland for a fishing holiday.

Other killings

1975

The 2006 Interim Report named Jackson as having possibly been one of the two gunmen in the shooting death of the McKearney couple on 23 October 1975. Peter McKearney was shot between 14 and 18 times, and his wife, Jenny 11 times. The shooting took place at their home in Moy, County Tyrone; Jackson was linked to the Sterling submachine gun used in the killings. "Glenanne gang" member Garnet Busby pleaded guilty to the killings and was sentenced to life imprisonment. John Weir claimed that Jackson led the group who bombed Kay's Tavern pub in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

on 19 December 1975, which killed two men. Barron implicated the "Glenanne gang" in the bombing, however, Jackson was not identified by any eyewitnesses at or in the vicinity of Kay's Tavern. Gardaí received information from a reliable source that Jackson and his car – a Vauxhall Viva with the registration number CIA 2771 – were involved in the bombing; yet there were no witnesses who reported having seen the car. The RUC stated that Jackson had been observed celebrating at a Banbridge bar at 9.00 pm on the evening of the attack in the company of other loyalist extremists. The implication was that they were celebrating the Kay's Tavern bombing.

1976

The following month, on 4 January 1976, Jackson supposedly organised the "Glenanne gang"'s two coordinated sectarian attacks against the O'Dowd and Reavey families in County Armagh, leaving a total of five men dead and one injured. Weir maintained that it was Jackson who shot 61-year-old Joseph O'Dowd and his two nephews, Barry and Declan, to death at a family celebration in Ballydougan, near Gilford; although Jackson had not been at the scene where the Reavey brothers had been killed twenty minutes earlier. The day after the double killing, ten Protestant workmen were gunned down by the South Armagh Republican Action Force, who ambushed their minibus at Kingsmill near the village of Whitecross. The shootings were in retaliation for the O'Dowd and Reavey killings. The Glenanne gang made plans to avenge the Kingsmill victims with an attack on St Lawrence O'Toole Primary School, Belleeks. This plan, which involved the killing of at least 30 schoolchildren and their teacher, was called off at the last minute by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership based 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 ...

), who considered it "morally unacceptable" and feared it would have led to a civil war. Based on the description given by Barney O'Dowd, a survivor of the shooting attack at Ballydougan, one of the weapons used in the O'Dowd killings was a Luger with an attached silencer. The findings noted in the HET Report on the Miami Showband killings revealed that on 19 May 1976, two fingerprints belonging to Jackson were discovered on the metal barrel of a home-made silencer constructed for a Luger pistol. Both the silencer and Luger, as well as more firearms, ammunition, a magazine, explosives, and bomb-making material, were found by the security forces at the farm of a man by the name of Edward Sinclair, a former member of the "

B Specials 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 ...

". The exhibit, however, was mistakenly labelled indicating that his prints had been found on the black insulating tape wrapped around the silencer rather than the silencer itself."Miami Showband massacre: Involvement of UVF Man Robin Jackson". Pat Finucane Centre. 14 December 2011; retrieved 15 December 2011.
After several unsuccessful attempts to apprehend Jackson between 20 and 30 May, Jackson was arrested at his home on 31 May under Section 10 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973; he was taken to Armagh Police Station."Issues relating to Robert 'Robin' Jackson". Pat Finucane Centre. p.73
Retrieved 17 December 2011 This was when the amended information regarding his fingerprints was delivered to Detective Superintendent Ernest Drew at Armagh. Drew and Detective Constable William Elder both questioned him; Jackson denied ever having been at Sinclair's farm whilst admitting knowing him through the Portadown Loyalist Club which they both frequented. When shown the Luger, silencer and magazine (but not the insulating tape), Jackson denied having handled them. When asked by Detective Superintendent Drew to provide an explanation should his fingerprints be discovered on either pistol or silencer, Jackson told him that one night at the Portadown Loyalist Club, Sinclair had asked him for some adhesive tape and Jackson claimed, "I gave him part of the roll I was using in the bar". Jackson had allegedly been using the tape whilst lapping hoses for beer kegs at the bar. In his statement to Detective Superintendent Drew, Jackson claimed that one week prior to his arrest, two high-ranking RUC officers had tipped him off about his fingerprints having been found on the insulating tape wrapped around the silencer used with the Luger. Jackson went on to say that he was forewarned, using the words: "I should clear as there was a wee job up the country that I would be done for and there was no way out of it for me". On 2 June, Jackson was charged with possession of a firearm, a magazine, four rounds of ammunition and a silencer with intent to endanger life. He was detained in custody and went to trial on 11 November 1976 at a

Diplock Court Diplock courts were criminal courts in Northern Ireland for non-jury trial of specified serious crimes ("scheduled offences"). They were introduced by the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973, used for political crime, political an ...

held at Belfast City Commission, charged only with possession of the silencer. Although the judge initially rejected his defence that his fingerprints were on the insulating tape and had "been innocently transferred to the silencer", he managed to avoid conviction when he was acquitted of the charge. The trial judge, Mr. Justice Murray, had said: "At the end of the day I find that the accused somehow touched the silencer, but the Crown evidence has left me completely in the dark as to whether he did that wittingly or unwittingly, willingly or unwillingly". As a result of the judicious examination of forensic ballistics procured from original RUC reports and presented to Justice Barron, the 9 mm Luger pistol, serial no. U 4 for which the silencer was specifically made, was established as having been the same one used in the Miami Showband and John Francis Green killings. According to journalist Tom McGurk, Miami Showband trumpeter Brian McCoy was shot nine times in the back with a Luger pistol. The Miami inquiry team was never informed of these developments and Jackson was never questioned about the Miami Showband killings following the discovery of his fingerprints on the silencer. The Luger pistol serial no. U 4 was later destroyed by the RUC on 28 August 1978. Barney O'Dowd claimed RUC detectives in the 1980s admitted to him that Jackson had been the man who shot the three O'Dowd men, but the evidence had not been sufficient to charge him with the killings. In 2006, Barney O'Dowd spoke at the public hearings of the Houses of the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the Barron Report Debate. He maintained that in June 1976 an RUC detective came to see him at his home and told him the gunman could not be charged with the killings as he was the "head of the UVF" and a "hard man" who could not be broken during police interrogation. Additionally the UVF had threatened to start shooting policeman like the IRA were doing if the gunman was ever charged with murder.Sub-Committee on the Barron Report – 26 September 2006 Public Hearings on the Barron Report, Houses of the Oireachtas
Tuesday, 26 September 2006, p. 3; retrieved 6 April 2012. Weir stated in his affidavit that on one occasion some months after he was transferred to Newry RUC station in October 1976, Jackson himself, and another RUC officer and "Glenanne gang" member, Gary Armstrong, went on a reconnaissance in south Armagh seeking out the homes of known IRA members, with the aim of assassinating them. Jackson, according to Weir, carried a knife and hammer, and boasted to Weir that if they happened to "find a suitable person to kill", he ackson"knew how to do it with those weapons"."Seeing Red", John Weir , John Weir statement
, 3 January 1999; retrieved 13 December 2010.This incident had to have taken place after 11 November 1976, as Jackson was in custody from 31 May to the time of his trial, which was held on 11 November. They approached the houses of two IRA men; however, the plan to attack them was aborted and they drove back to Lurgan. They were stopped at an RUC roadblock near the Republic of Ireland border, but the three men were waved through, after an exchange of courtesies, despite the presence of Jackson in the car with two RUC officers.

1977 and the William Strathearn killing

He was implicated by Weir in the killing of Catholic chemist, William Strathearn, who was shot at his home in Ahoghill,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

after two men knocked on his door at 2.00 am on 19 April 1977 claiming to need medicine for a sick child. Strathearn lived above his chemist's shop. Weir was one of the RUC men later convicted of the killing, along with his SPG colleague, Billy McCaughey, and he named Jackson as having been the gunman, alleging that Jackson had told him after the shooting that he had shot Strathearn twice when the latter opened the door. Weir and McCaughey had waited in Weir's car while the shooting was carried out. The gun that Jackson used had been given to him by McCaughey, with the instructions that he was only to fire through an upstairs window to frighten the occupants and make sure they "got the message", and not to kill anyone. As in the Dublin bombings, Jackson's poultry lorry was also employed on this occasion, specifically to transport himself and Robert John "R.J." Kerr, another alleged accomplice, to and from the scene of the crime. After the killing, Jackson and Kerr went on to deliver a load of chickens. Kerr was allegedly Jackson's lorry helper, assisting in loading and unloading chickens which Jackson sold for a living. Jackson was never questioned about the killing. According to an RUC detective, he was not interrogated for "reasons of operational strategy". Weir suggested that "Jackson was untouchable because he was an RUC Special Branch agent." ''The Barron Report'' stated that Weir had made an offer to testify against Jackson and Robert John "R.J". Kerr, but only on the condition that the murder charge against him was withdrawn. This offer was refused by the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions who said

Kerr and Jackson have not been interviewed by the police because the police state they are ''virtually immune to interrogation'' and the common police consensus is that to arrest and interview either man is a waste of time. Both men are known to police to be very active and notorious UVF murderers. Nevertheless the police do not recommend consideration of withdrawal of charges against Weir. I agree with this view. Weir and McCaughey must be proceeded against. When proceedings against them are terminated the position may be reviewed in respect of Jackson and Kerr.

It is noted in the ''Barron Report'' that Northern Ireland's

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

Robert Lowry was aware of Jackson and Kerr's involvement in the Strathearn killing, and that they were not prosecuted for "operational reasons". Mr. Justice Barron was highly critical of the RUC's failure to properly investigate Jackson. Weir declared "I think it is important to make it clear that this collusion between loyalist paramilitaries such as Robin Jackson and my RUC colleagues and me was taking place with the full knowledge of my superiors".

1978–1990

Journalist Liam Clarke alleged that in early 1978, Weir and Jackson traveled to

Castleblaney Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Le ...

with the intention of kidnapping an IRA volunteer named

Dessie O'Hare Dessie O'Hare (born 26 October 1956), also known as "The Border Fox", is an Irish republican paramilitary who was once the most wanted man in Ireland. O'Hare was originally in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) but left in the late 19 ...

from a pub called The Spinning Wheel. However, when Jackson and Weir arrived, they discovered the publican had been warned of the kidnap plot and they were ordered to leave the premises."RUC men's secret war against the IRA"
by Liam Clarke, ''Sunday Times'', 7 March 1999. Jackson's sole conviction came after he was arrested on 16 October 1979 when a .22 pistol, a .38 revolver, a magazine, 13 rounds of ammunition, and hoods were found in his possession. He was remanded in custody to

Crumlin Road Prison 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 ' ...

in Belfast to await trial. On 20 January 1981, Jackson was brought before the

Belfast Crown Court 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 ...

on charges of possession of guns and ammunition, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released on 12 May 1983. A man whose description matched Jackson's was seen behaving suspiciously in the vicinity of Lurgan RUC barracks close to where three prominent republicans were later ambushed and shot by masked UVF gunmen after they left the police station on 7 March 1990. The republicans had been signing in at the station as part of their bail conditions for charges of possession of ammunition. Sam Marshall was killed in the attack; Colin Duffy and Tony McCaughey were both wounded. Although the shooting was claimed by the UVF, the gunmen were never caught. Two UVF members were later convicted of having supplied the car used in the ambush."Push for inquest over UVF murder of Sam Marshall after HET report"
''Belfast Telegraph''. 6 March 2012; retrieved 4 May 2012.

Reputation and further allegations

Designated by Weir the "most notorious paramilitary in Northern Ireland", at least 50 killings were directly attributed to Jackson, according to journalists Stephen Howe in the ''New Statesman'',"Killing Fields". ''New Statesman''. Stephen Howe. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 2 February 2011 and David McKittrick in his book ''Lost Lives''. Kevin Dowling in the '' Irish Independent'', dubbed Jackson the "Lord High Executioner of the North's notorious murder triangle", adding that he was infamous from Belfast to the Irish border for "the intensity and fury of his instinct to kill". A former UDR soldier who had served with Jackson described him as a sectarian killer who had a visceral hatred of Catholics but that "you were always glad to have him with you when you were out on patrol"."Loyalism's most prolific sectarian killer may have enjoyed indefensible relationship with RUC officers". ''The Irish Times''. Gerry Moriarty. 25 October 2013 retrieved 19 May 2016
/ref> Unnamed intelligence officers personally acquainted with Jackson stated that he was a psychopath who would often dress up and attend the funerals of his victims because he felt a need "to make sure they were dead." Described as a sardonic man who was extremely dedicated; physically he was dark-haired, blue-eyed, "small, but firmly-built". Suspicious by nature, he repeatedly advised his associates that they should never reveal secret information to anyone. His paranoia and fear of recognition by his potential victims was such that he attempted to destroy all photographs of himself including school and family pictures. Psychological warfare operative Major Colin Wallace corroborated the allegations, stating that

erything people had whispered about Robin Jackson for years was perfectly true. He was a hired gun. A professional assassin. He was responsible for more deaths in the North orthern Irelandthan any other person I knew. The Jackal killed people for a living. The State not only knew that he was doing it. Its servants encouraged him to kill its political opponents and protected him.

Wallace also named Jackson as having been "centrally-involved" in the Dublin bombings, but like Weir, suggested that the principal organiser had been Billy Hanna. Wallace's psychological operations unit typically targeted loyalist extremists; however, during the period of 1973 and 1974 he was refused clearance to target principal members of the Mid-Ulster UVF despite an increase in paramilitary activity from the organisation. In June 1974, a month after the bombings, Wallace was denied permission to target key loyalists including Jackson and Hanna, as their names were on a list that excluded them from being targeted for psychological operations. This appeared to indicate that in practice, those members of paramilitaries whose names were listed were also excluded from being targeted for prosecution. Liam Clarke of the ''Sunday Times'' made the following statements regarding Jackson and his reported special relationship with the security forces and military intelligence:

Jackson had many allies still serving in the UDR and close links to special forces soldiers. These included Bunny Dearsley of military intelligence and Robert Nairac, Tony Ball, and other soldiers attached to the undercover 14th Intelligence Unit. These officers met him at a bar in Moira and many suspect that he was involved in murders set up by military contacts at that time. In the late 1970s, he acksonwas a binge drinker and sometimes boasted to UVF associates of "someone looking after me". Some took this as a reference to God or even the Devil, but the most likely explanation is that it referred to members of the Army's intelligence corps.

Originally nicknamed "Jacko", Jackson was given the more sinister

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

, "the Jackal" by ''Sunday World'' newspaper's Northern Ireland editor Jim Campbell when he investigated and exposed Jackson's alleged paramilitary activities – including his involvement in the Miami Showband killings – and links to British Military Intelligence. In retaliation, Jackson reportedly approached members of the violent loyalist

Shankill Butchers The Shankill Butchers were an Ulster loyalist gang—many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)—that was active between 1975 and 1982 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was based in the Shankill area and was responsible for t ...

gang in Belfast, who (at Jackson's request) shot and seriously wounded Campbell on 18 May 1984. According to journalist Joe Gorrod of ''The Mirror'', it was reported in the ''Irish Times'' that the SAS took Jackson abroad where he received specialist training. In the late 1980s, he was also sent by

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

to South Africa and Australia to buy weapons that were shipped back to loyalist paramilitaries and

Ulster Resistance Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM), is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, paramilitary movement established by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Irela ...

Ulster Resistance was a paramilitary movement founded on 10 November 1986 by unionists opposed to the 1985

Anglo-Irish Agreement The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irela ...

. in Northern Ireland. Gorrod wrote that Jackson kept hidden files that incriminated the politicians and businessmen who were involved with Jackson in the loyalist arms shipments. In his book ''Loyalists'', British journalist Peter Taylor devotes pages 187–195 to the loyalists' South African arms deals which had taken place in the late 1980s. Jackson's name does not appear in the account nor is Australia referred to. Joe Gorrod is the only journalist to make these allegations although Henry McDonald (of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'') affirmed that Jackson lived for a period of time in South Africa during the 1980s. The purported files, which were kept with a friend, would have ensured Jackson that he would never be sentenced to lengthy imprisonment. Weapons used in the 1994 UVF shooting attack on patrons in the Heights Bar at Loughinisland were later found to have come from the South African arms shipment that had ended up in the hands of Robin Jackson.Jackson linked to massacre". Banberidge Leader. 10 June 2016
Retrieved 5 November 2016

Succeeded by Billy Wright

In the early 1990s, he handed over command of the Mid-Ulster UVF to Portadown unit leader Billy Wright, also known as "King Rat". Wright formed the breakaway

Loyalist Volunteer Force The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of ...

(LVF) in 1996. This was after he and his Portadown unit had been stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast on 2 August 1996, following the unauthorised killing of a Catholic taxi driver by members of Wright's group outside Lurgan during the Drumcree disturbances when the UVF were on

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

. Although Wright took the officially disbanded Portadown unit with him to form the LVF, Jackson, despite being on friendly terms with Wright, remained loyal to the UVF leadership as did most of the other Mid-Ulster Brigade units. Wright was shot dead inside 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 Sep ...

on 27 December 1997 by Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) inmates while waiting in a prison van that was transporting him to a visit with his girlfriend. Wright had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment for having threatened a woman's life. Jackson was confronted in 1998 by the son of RUC Sergeant Joseph Campbell, a Catholic Sergeant gunned down outside the Cushendall, County Antrim RUC station in February 1977, as he was locking up. It was rumoured that Jackson had been the

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...

sent to shoot Campbell on behalf of an RUC Special Branch officer. Weir, in his affidavit, claimed Jackson, prior to Campbell's shooting, had informed him of the RUC officer's request. Jackson, by then dying of cancer, told Campbell's son that he had not been involved in the killing. The UVF, at a secret meeting with journalists, declared that Jackson had no part in Campbell's killing. The case was later placed under investigation by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland."Widow's Appeal Over RUC Killing"
BBC News; retrieved 14 February 2011.

Death

Jackson died of lung cancer at his

Donaghcloney Donaghcloney or Donacloney () he was buried on 1 June in a private ceremony in the St Bartholomew Church of Ireland churchyard in his native Donaghmore, County Down. His grave, close to that of his parents, is unmarked apart from a steel poppy cross. He was 49 years old. His father had died in 1985; his mother outlived Jackson for five years. After Jackson's death, one of his friends told Gorrod that Jackson had no regrets about his UVF activities, but that due to his religious upbringing he was tormented by feelings of remorse on his deathbed, believing that he had been "drawn into a world of evil that wasn't of his making". One of his last wishes was that the secret documents incriminating the politicians and businessmen with whom he associated be released to the public. Liam Clarke suggested the killing of Billy Hanna was the only killing Jackson ever regretted, admitting it had been "unfair" to kill him. Journalist Martin O'Hagan had been in the process of writing a book about Jackson but O'Hagan's assassination by the LVF in 2001 prevented its completion. Along with Billy Hanna and other senior loyalists, Jackson was commemorated in the UVF song ''Battalion of the Dead''. In May 2010, angry relatives of UVF victims unsuccessfully sought the removal of the song from YouTube.

Notes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * *''The Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre'', Yorkshire Television, 1993 * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Robin 1948 births 1998 deaths People from County Tyrone Loyalists imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Ulster Volunteer Force members Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers Deaths from lung cancer in Northern Ireland