Frankie Curry ( – 17 March 1999)McDonald & Cusack, p. 284 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 Cr ...

who was involved with a number of paramilitary groups during his long career. A critic of the

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 develop ...

, Curry was killed during a

loyalist feud Sporadic feuds erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles began in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved conflicts between and within the ...

UVF and RHC

A native of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

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 ...

and a nephew of

Gusty Spence Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933
. '' Curry became involved in the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

(UVF) at an early age, claiming that he had helped conceal guns in the aftermath of the June 1966 murder of Catholic civilian Peter Ward by Spence, Robert Williamson and Hugh McClean in the Malvern Arms bar on the Shankill. Curry's reputation within the UVF soon grew and in 1972 at the age of 17, he was a central figure in the plot to break his uncle Gusty Spence out of the

Maze Prison HM 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 paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

. Curry was driving Spence back to prison after a period of leave when their car was stopped by a UVF patrol and Spence was "abducted". In fact both Curry and Spence were closely involved in planning and executing the supposed kidnapping. Curry knew in advance the Springmartin Road location on which the event was to take place and had been told specially by the UVF leadership to drive Spence that day. Curry operated as part of the UVF's

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish r ...

(RHC) and was said to have been responsible for at least twelve of the killings claimed by the RHC. Curry himself would claim to have been involved in at least 16 deaths, claiming 19 in another interview, and had even described himself as a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

.Wood, p. 201 He stated that he had killed Bernard Rice, Patrick McCrory and Sean McConville in 1972 before killing Michael Coleman, Joseph McAleese, John McCormac and Thomas Holmes Curry the following year. All seven men were Catholic civilians.David McKittrick et al, ''Lost Lives'', Mainstream Publishing, 2008, p. 1469

Prison and aftermath

During his time as a paramilitary Curry served a number of spells in prison. In 1973 he was given four years for intimidation and

handling stolen goods Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods. In many jurisdictions, if an individual has accepted possession of goods (or property) and knew they were stolen, then the individua ...

and the following year was given twelve years for attempting to murder four youths on the

Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 road, a traffic rou ...

. During his trial Curry identified himself as a member of the Red Hand Commando and refused to recognise the court. Sometime before 1982 Curry switched to membership of the

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) and in 1982 he was returned to prison after being found transporting 101 bullets in his car for that organisation. He was jailed again in 1985 for possessing a gun and 900 rounds of ammunition. In 1986 he went on

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

over conditions, shedding two stone in weight and being hospitalised before ending his protest. During this spell he had an extra year added to his sentence after taking part in a prison protest that caused £1 million of damage to Crumlin Road gaol. Soon after this Curry fell out with the UDA and left the group, returning to the RHC. He would return to prison in 1995 for a nine-month sentence on charges of impersonating a police officer as part of a failed plan to hijack a lorry. Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack have claimed that Curry suffered from severe

mood swing A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive or a disruptive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part ...

s as well as an addiction to

morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

-based

painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

s. Cusack and McDonald further claim that one of Curry's final acts on behalf of the RHC was the killing of

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age Comedy film, comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the fi ...

, whose death was ordered by RHC supreme command after his involvement in the brutal killing of Margaret Wright at a loyalist shebeen. Curry confirmed himself as Elliot's killer in an interview shortly before his death.

Dissident activity

On 28 August 1996, the UDA's South Belfast Brigadier Alex Kerr, and head of the

UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the Ulster loyalism, loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (1966), Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy ...

Billy Wright, were expelled from the

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

and ordered to leave Northern Ireland after the pair had lent their support to a campaign against the

Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

in general and 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 ...

and

Ulster Democratic Party The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small Ulster loyalism, 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 Ulst ...

in particular. The campaign was being led by former UDA hitman and Ulster Independence Movement member Pastor Kenny McClinton. However Curry admired Wright and his Mid-Ulster UVF dissidents and had forged close links with the group, which would soon re-emerge as the

Loyalist Volunteer Force The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) a ...

(LVF), in the run-up to the

Drumcree conflict The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly Parades in Northern Ireland, parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Ulster Protestants, Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant marches each s ...

of 1996. A photograph showing Curry embracing Wright at a 1996

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based 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 ...

rally in support of "King Rat" was published at this time. Curry's involvement with Wright saw him expelled from the RHC and ordered to stand down by the Shankill UVF. Curry however, who also had some skill as a bomb-maker, ignored the orders and offered his services to any loyalist paramilitary group that felt it could use him. Curry began to use the term '

Red Hand Defenders The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Publicly however, Curry consistently denied any involvement in the RHD as well as any links to the LVF, claims that were regularly published in the press. Curry soon fell in with a group of dissidents within the West Belfast UDA and constructed a number of car bombs for them, including one that detonated under the car of Eddie Copeland on 22 December 1996, injuring the well-known

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

volunteer. A further car bomb Curry made for the UDA was used to kill Glen Greer on 25 October 1997 outside his Bangor home. Greer, who had been a UDA member in the Kilcooley estate, had long been under threat due to allegations that he had worked as an informer for the

RUC Special Branch RUC Special Branch was the Special Branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and was heavily involved in the British state effort during the Troubles, especially against the Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republica ...

. McDonald and Cusack claimed that Curry shot and killed William "Wassy" Paul, a former UVF member, on 3 July 1998 in what police believed to be part of a feud over drugs.McDonald & Cusack, p. 311 The two had a long-running personal enmity and Curry would confess to being the murderer shortly before his own death the following year. Curry also continued his links with the LVF and on 5 September 1998 a pipe bomb he manufactured was brought to Drumcree by Muriel Landree, a close ally of Billy Wright, before being lobbed by an unidentified rioter, resulting in the death of Constable Frankie O'Reilly, a

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

officer. O'Reilly, who was raised a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

but had converted to

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, was the first victim of the RHD. A second followed on Halloween when a Catholic civilian, Brian Service, was shot on Alliance Avenue, a street that divides the republican

Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Roman Catholic Church, Catholic and Irish republicanism, Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1920 the adjacent area of Marrowbone saw at multiple days of communal violence be ...

area from the loyalist Upper Ardoyne. An attack on a Catholic bar on the outskirts of West Belfast was carried out that same week after Curry had encouraged dissident gunmen to do so, although this attack resulted in no fatalities. Curry returned to prison in early 1999, serving a short spell in

Magilligan Magilligan is a peninsula at the mouth of Lough Foyle in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is an extensive coastal site, part military firing range and part nature reserve, and is home to HM Prison Magilligan. The tip of the peninsula, w ...

for failing to pay fines related to driving offences before being released on 15 March that same year.

Death and aftermath

Curry's activity, and in particular his association with dissident elements within the UDA, had made him an unpopular figure with the leadership of that group whilst, despite his link to Gusty Spence and his history within the movement, the UVF had washed their hands of him. On

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

, 17 March 1999, a group of UDA members from North Down who were friends of "Wassy" Paul swooped on Curry on the Shankill Road and shot him dead as he left the Shankill Community Centre. His body was found behind the Pony Trotting Supporters Sports and Social Club with several bullet wounds to the back of the head.Slain loyalist laid to rest
/ref> Although Curry had earlier relocated to Portadown, his mother remained on the Shankill and he had been in the area to visit her that day. Curry's death saw an angry reaction from both the UDA's C Company on the Shankill and the LVF, with a death threat issued against McDonald and Cusack by LVF associate Jackie Mahood and his dissident UDA allies due to their reporting of Curry's involvement in bomb-making, an issue that his loyalist supporters felt was the crucial factor in the decision to kill Curry. For its part, the Red Hand Defenders issued a statement which blamed the killing on the UVF and threatened retaliation, although Gusty Spence, by then a leading figure in the

(PUP), quickly denied the claims that it was a UVF attack, a sentiment echoed by PUP leader David Ervine. The killing was also condemned by

activist John White who said "it's disgraceful that a man who dedicated his life to the loyalist cause should be cut down like this by people who call themselves loyalists".Loyalist feud looms after killing
/ref> Curry was close to White and had hoped to see him on the day of his killing in order that White might help him with some job applications. White would claim at Curry's funeral that the killing had been sanctioned by a major loyalist paramilitary group. By early 2000 the killing of Curry, as well as attempts by the UVF to kill Mahood, McClinton and

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

founder and associate of Curry Clifford Peeples, prompted

Johnny Adair John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is a Northern Irish loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Th ...

, to whom White was close, to throw the full weight of the Shankill UDA behind the dissident campaign. It was claimed in 2023 that Curry's death was approved by RHC supremo Winston Rea over the disappearance of a large amount of money Curry had stolen in a number of robberies.'Winkie Rea ordered loyalist assassin shot dead after huge row over missing cash'
''Sunday Life'', 3 December 2023

References

Notes Bibliography * McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim. ''UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror'', Dublin: Penguin Ireland, 2004 * Wood, Ian S. ''Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA'', Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Frankie 1955 births 1999 deaths Red Hand Commando members Ulster Volunteer Force members Ulster Defence Association members Paramilitaries from Belfast Loyalists imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland People killed by the Ulster Defence Association People murdered in Belfast 1999 murders in the United Kingdom Murder victims from Belfast