Misplaced Pages

#379620

114-773: Bringing together the leaderships of the Ulster Defence Association , the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando , the CLMC sought to ensure that the groups would work towards the same goals. The group was made up of a number of 'Liaison Officers' who were senior figures from the paramilitary groups themselves, as well as from the Ulster Democratic Party and the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party . The UDP

228-591: A document entitled Common Sense , which promoted a consensual end to the conflict in Northern Ireland, while maintaining the Union. The document advocated a power-sharing assembly involving both nationalists and unionists, an agreed constitution and new Bill of Rights. It is not clear, however, whether this programme was adopted by the UDA as their official policy. However, the killing of McMichael that same year and

342-540: A further wedge between the wider UDA and its North Antrim and Londonderry Brigade, which had been the source of some dissident activity. McDonald is the most senior UDA brigadier, and author Jon Moran credits him with restoring order to the organisation due to his prominent role in bringing about the downfall of Johnny Adair. He and the South Belfast Brigade have long taken a hard-line stance against drugs and drug-dealing in south Belfast. He confirmed this

456-448: A mainstream UDA team were following him and recording his movements. When McDonald was told about this second meeting he secured agreement with the other brigadiers that Adair should be expelled from the UDA. Tension simmered for the next few months with little real fighting although McDonald threw a ring of steel around his Taughmonagh stronghold and even obtained an air raid siren to be sounded if any C Company members attempted to enter

570-655: A new Northern Ireland which would have been wholly Protestant. The plan was to be implemented should the British Army withdraw from Northern Ireland. Areas in the south and west with strong Catholic/nationalist majorities would be handed over to the Republic, and those Catholics left stranded in the "Protestant state" would be "expelled, nullified, or interned". The story was printed in The Sunday Independent newspaper on 16 January. The "doomsday plan"

684-487: A rival UDA faction in an internal dispute. Moore was succeeded by Hester Dunn of east Belfast, who also ran the public relations and administration section at the UDA headquarters. Wendy Millar's Shankill Road group was a particularly active women's unit, and another was based in Sandy Row , south Belfast, a traditional UDA stronghold. The latter was commanded by Elizabeth "Lily" Douglas. Her teenaged daughter, Elizabeth

798-678: A series of meetings during the middle of 1971 of loyalist " vigilante " groups called "defence associations". The largest of these were the Shankill and Woodvale Defence Associations , with other groups based in East Belfast, Lower Shankill and Roden Street. The first meeting, in September 1971, was chaired by Billy Hull , with Alan Moon of the lower Shankill as its vice-chair. Moon was quickly replaced by Jim Anderson. Moon, who had become reluctant to be involved in vigilantism since

912-399: A sign that the UDA was slowly coming away from crime. The move did see the southeast Antrim brigade of the UDA, which had been at loggerheads with the leadership for some time, support Shoukri and break away under former UPRG spokesman Tommy Kirkham . Other senior members met with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for talks on 13 July in the same year. On 11 November 2007 the UDA announced that

1026-712: A year." Protestants in Canada also supported the loyalist paramilitaries in the conflict. Sociologist Steven Bruce described the support networks in Canada as "the main source of support for loyalism outside the United Kingdom ... Ontario is to Ulster Protestants what Boston is to Irish Catholics ." After the Troubles began, an Orange-Canadian loyalist organization known as the Canadian Ulster Loyalist Association (CULA) provided

1140-409: Is Quis Separabit , which is Latin for "Who will separate [us]?". The UDA had several women's units, which were independent of each other. Although they occasionally helped staff roadblocks, the women's units were typically involved in local community work and responsible for the assembly and delivery of food parcels to UDA prisoners. This was a source of pride for the UDA. The first women's unit

1254-571: 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 the participants of the Troubles . Its declared goal was to defend Ulster Protestant loyalist areas and to combat Irish republicanism , particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). In

SECTION 10

#1732775422380

1368-491: Is not prevalent among its members, some who were arrested for illegal drug sales and "extortion" were exiled by the Brigade. A clear distinction between the factions was not available in the 20th IMC report, as this was the first report to differentiate between the two. In the 1970s the group favoured Northern Ireland independence , but they have retreated from this position. The New Ulster Political Research Group (NUPRG)

1482-474: The 2011 Irish presidential election , McDonald stated that Unionists had nothing to fear from it and any Unionist that opposed it was hypocritical. In October 2011 after accepting an invitation to attend an event in Belfast City Hall to unveil a new portrait of famous Irish republican and trade union leader James Connolly he was later forced to withdraw his attendance at the event. The reason for

1596-520: The Belfast Agreement in 1998 although McDonald was one of three Inner Council members – the others being John Gregg and Billy McFarland – who was less convinced about its merits, particularly the prospect of Sinn Féin entering any power-sharing executive. Nonetheless McDonald did not advocate a return to armed struggle and in late 1999 when it became clear that a feud between the UVF and LVF

1710-633: The British National Socialist Movement (formed in 1985). Members of these groups helped to smuggle weapons for the UDA. The UDA has received backing from Combat 18, the National Front and the British National Party . The links may not have been politically motivated, but for mutually beneficial arms deals. On one occasion the UDA sent Louis Scott, one of a few black members of the UDA, to make

1824-509: The Force Research Unit (FRU), an undercover Intelligence Corps unit. Over a period of two months, Nelson dictated a police statement covering 650 pages. He claimed that he had been tasked by his FRU handlers with transforming the UDA into a more effective force, particularly at carrying out killings. Using information supplied by his handlers, Nelson produced dossiers on proposed targets, which were passed on to UDA hitmen. Nelson

1938-684: The Greysteel massacre . The "UFF" claimed the attack was in retaliation to the IRA's Shankill Road bombing , which killed nine people seven days earlier. According to the Sutton database of deaths at the University of Ulster 's CAIN project , the UDA was responsible for 259 killings during the Troubles. 220 of its victims were civilians (predominantly Catholics), 37 were other loyalist paramilitaries (including 30 of its own members), three were members of

2052-640: The Irish National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge , Dublin where Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath during her three-day visit to the Republic of Ireland . McDonald, who said he was proud and felt honoured to have participated in the event made the following statements to the Irish Times : It shows that there is a relationship and an association between Northern Ireland and the Republic. People need to be aware of

2166-595: The Maze Prison for extortion, blackmail and intimidation in January 1990. Following his imprisonment he was replaced as brigadier by Alex Kerr . He was released in 1994. Returning to his role as brigadier after Kerr defected to the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) group which was founded by Billy Wright in 1996, McDonald found himself in 1997 facing the possibility of a loyalist feud with

2280-825: The Provisional IRA in December 1987. He is also a member of the organisation's Inner Council and the spokesman for the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), the UDA's political advisory body. Born in Belfast , Northern Ireland into a Protestant family, McDonald attended Larkfield Secondary School later known as Balmoral High School in South Belfast. He lives in the south Belfast housing estate of Taughmonagh . His paramilitary activities have attracted considerable publicity from

2394-587: The Republic of Ireland . The UDA/UFF declared a ceasefire in 1994 and ended its campaign in 2007, but some of its members have continued to engage in violence. The other main Loyalist paramilitary group during the conflict was the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). All three groups are proscribed organisations in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000 . The Ulster Defence Association emerged from

SECTION 20

#1732775422380

2508-686: The Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG). Politically he always considered former Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) spokesman Davy Adams to be his main political advisor. He has in recent years turned his attention to community-building activities and helping former loyalist prisoners as a full-time organiser of the John McMichael Centre in Belfast's Sandy Row district, named after his deceased friend and former comrade. Beginning in 2003, McDonald has held peace talks with Irish president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin. In 2004, he

2622-762: The Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) and Shankill Defence Association (SDA), had sprung up in loyalist areas following the outbreak of The Troubles in the late 1960s as a means of protecting their local communities from attacks by nationalists . He was a member of the Taughmonagh C Battalion South Belfast Brigade. He was already a senior UDA member when he played a part in the Ulster Workers Council Strike , helping people on his south Belfast housing estate obtain food, medicine, transport and other necessities during

2736-511: The peace process . The ceasefire was announced at a press conference at Fernhill House in the Glen cairn area of the Shankill . Former UVF commander and PUP politician Gusty Spence read out the ceasefire statement which included an apology for the innocent victims of loyalist violence. "In all sincerity, we offer to the loved ones of all innocent victims over the past twenty-five years, abject and true remorse. No words of ours will compensate for

2850-461: The "UFF". Its first public statements came one month later. The UDA's official position during the Troubles was that if the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA) called off its campaign of violence, then it would do the same. However, if the British government announced that it was withdrawing from Northern Ireland, then the UDA would act as "the IRA in reverse." Active throughout

2964-479: The 'besieged' Protestants with the resources to arm themselves. A Canadian branch of the UDA also existed and sent $ 30,000 to the UDA's headquarters in Belfast by 1975. In 1972, five Toronto businessmen shipped weapons in grain container ships out of Halifax , bound for ports in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which were destined for loyalist militants. Between 1979 and 1986, Canadian supporters supplied

3078-686: The 1970s, uniformed UDA members openly patrolled these areas armed with batons and held large marches and rallies. Within the UDA was a group tasked with launching paramilitary attacks that used the cover name Ulster Freedom Fighters ( UFF ) so that the UDA would not be outlawed. The British government proscribed the UFF as a terrorist group in November 1973, but the UDA itself was not proscribed until August 1992. The UDA/UFF were responsible for more than 400 deaths. The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, killed at random, in what

3192-552: The Belfast peace rally of 12 March 2009 a community-led body calling itself the Combined Loyalists for Peace appeared. Quoted in the Irish Independent they stressed that the loyalist communities had a peace strategy and would stick to it. UDA leader Jackie McDonald confirmed the group's thoughts on a BBC interview when he said loyalists would not be goaded into reaction adding that "clowns" would not spoil

3306-630: The C Company UDA, and along with McFarland and Gray, told his men to leave the Shankill that evening. McDonald promptly contacted his opposite number in the South Belfast UVF and concluded a pact that their members would not attack each other. Even when the initial feud cooled, the enmity between McDonald and Adair continued to simmer and in Inner Council meetings the two frequently clashed as, according to one veteran loyalist, "Jackie

3420-530: The CLMC carried on and supported the signing of the Belfast Agreement . However, since then the CLMC has effectively ceased to exist as the UVF and UDA were embroiled in a loyalist feud over Johnny Adair and commitment to the Agreement has wavered. Overall control of Loyalism has largely been lost to the CLMC and, whilst it is still theoretically maintained, it is no longer the important body that it once was. The subsequent Loyalist Commission (LC) represented

3534-562: The Government and its institutions where legitimacy resides". UDA representative Frankie Gallagher also stated that the group now regretted being responsible for the killing of more than 400 people. Shaun Woodward , the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , stated that this "is a major act of leadership by the UDA and further comprehensive evidence of the success of politics over violence in Northern Ireland" and

Combined Loyalist Military Command - Misplaced Pages Continue

3648-547: The LVF had broken away. It was perceived that any open co-operation between the UDA and the LVF would anger the UVF, something which proved to be the case in following years and resulted in a loyalist feud . There has been debate as to whether or not the Red Hand Defenders have become an entity in their own right made up of dissident factions from both the UDA and the LVF (both of which have now declared ceasefires whilst

3762-557: The Provisional IRA and Loyalist Volunteer Force . In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reported UDA involvement in organised crime, drug trafficking, counterfeiting, extortion, money laundering and robbery. On 20 June 2006, the UDA expelled Andre Shoukri and his brother Ihab , two of its senior members who were heavily involved in organised crime . Some saw this as

3876-567: The RHD has not), although much intelligence has been based on the claims of responsibility which, as has been suggested, are frequently misleading. A 1985 MI5 assessment reported that 85% of the UDA's "targeting material" came from security force records. Scotland was a source of fundraising and other types of aid. Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: "There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. The ferry [between Scotland and Northern Ireland]

3990-498: The Troubles, its armed campaign gained prominence in the early 1990s through Johnny Adair 's ruthless leadership of the Lower Shankill 2nd Battalion, C. Company, which resulted in a greater degree of tactical independence for individual brigades. C. Company's hit squad, led by Stephen McKeag , became notorious for a campaign of random murders of Catholic civilians in the first half of the 1990s. They benefited, along with

4104-458: The UDA (specifically Adair's West Belfast Brigade, not the wider leadership of the UDA) was initially formed after the death of Billy Wright , the previous leader of the LVF, and grew from Adair's personal friendship with Mark 'Swinger' Fulton , the organisation's new chief. The necessity for a cover name resulted from the need to avoid tensions between the UDA and the UVF, the organisation from which

4218-448: The UDA announced a "12-month period of military inactivity". It said it would review its ceasefire every three months. The UPRG 's Frankie Gallagher has since taken a leading role in ending the association between the UDA and drug dealing. Following an August 2005 Sunday World article that poked fun at the gambling losses of one of its leaders, the UDA banned the sale of the newspaper from shops in areas it controls. Shops that defy

4332-428: The UDA could erect small temporary barriers in Loyalist neighbourhoods. That summer, the UDA marched through the streets of central Belfast in a massive demonstration of strength. In December 1972, Harding Smith and White were acquitted and returned to Belfast. Immediately after their return, a fierce power struggle ensued after Harding Smith declared to his associates: "I'm the boss. I take orders from no one". Fogel

4446-477: The UDA than their female counterparts. Starting in 1972 the UDA along with the other main Loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force , undertook an armed campaign against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland that would last until the end of the troubles. In May 1972, the UDA's pressured leader Tommy Herron decided that responsibility for acts of violence committed by the UDA would be claimed by

4560-591: The UDA was closely associated with the Vanguard movement led by William Craig and it was regularly described as the "military wing" of Vanguard. At a rally in Lisburn in February 1972, Craig inspected uniformed ranks of UDA members. Craig issued a warning during a rally at Ormeau Park the next month, where thousands of UDA men were present: "If the politicians fail us, it might become our responsibility to eliminate

4674-645: The UDA/UFF via the UPRG, stated that their process was underway. This was confirmed by General de Chastelain hours later. The CLMC set out to see that any conflict resolution initiatives by Irish republicans in the peace process were matched by loyalist groups, and nearly 20 years after its creation, and despite the fact that 'in essence' it no longer existed, it finally and successfully achieved its goals. Ulster Defence Association [REDACTED] Republic of Ireland The Ulster Defence Association ( UDA )

Combined Loyalist Military Command - Misplaced Pages Continue

4788-601: The UDP, which supported the signing of the Good Friday Agreement . The Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) was subsequently formed to give political analysis to the UDA and act as community workers in loyalist areas. It is currently represented on the Belfast City Council . In early January 1994, the UDA released a document calling for ethnic cleansing and repartition , with the goal of making

4902-416: The UVF, which led to many killings. The UDA has also been riddled by its own internecine warfare, with self-styled "brigadiers" and former figures of power and influence, such as Johnny Adair and Jim Gray (themselves bitter rivals), falling rapidly in and out of favour with the rest of the leadership. Gray and John Gregg are amongst those to have been killed during the internal strife. On 22 February 2003,

5016-592: The UVF/UDA with 100 machine guns and thousands of rifles, grenade launchers, magnum revolvers, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. These shipments were considered enough for the UVF/UDA to wage its campaign, most of which were used to kill its victims. On 10 February 1976, following the sudden uptick of violence against Catholic civilians by loyalist militants, Irish cardinal William Conway and nine other Catholic bishops met with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his cabinet, asking them as to where

5130-524: The Ulster Freedom Fighters would be stood down from midnight of the same day, with its weapons "being put beyond use" although it stressed that these would not be decommissioned. Although the group expressed a willingness to move from criminal activity to "community development", the IMC said it saw little evidence of this move because of the views of its members and the lack of coherence in

5244-732: The Ulster Volunteer Force, and a group called Ulster Resistance (set up by the Democratic Unionist Party ), from a shipment of arms imported from Lebanon in 1988. The weapons landed included rocket launchers, 200 rifles, 90 pistols and over 400 grenades. Although almost two–thirds of these weapons were later recovered by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), they enabled the UDA to launch an assassination campaign against their perceived enemies. North Belfast UDA brigadier Davy Payne

5358-488: The act was also welcomed by Sinn Féin and DUP politicians. The President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese , described the decommissioning as "a very positive milestone on the journey of peace". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed the move as a step towards lasting peace in Northern Ireland. This area also continues to use the "UDA" title in its name, although it too expressed willingness to move towards "community development". Although serious crime

5472-416: The area under Fogel's command, a no-go area . The operation attracted a great deal of media and press coverage, resulting in much publicity for the UDA. British Army troops under the command of Major-General Robert Ford were sent to the area, where a stand-off with the UDA ensued. Leading UDA figures eventually entered into street negotiations with senior Army officers, where it was eventually agreed that

5586-406: The ban have suffered arson attacks, and at least one newsagent was threatened with death. The Police Service of Northern Ireland began accompanying the paper's delivery vans. The UDA was also considered to have played an instrumental role in loyalist riots in Belfast in September 2005. On 13 November 2005 the UDA announced that it would "consider its future", in the wake of the standing down of

5700-521: The chief critics of Tyrie, released statements to both the local media and BBC Newsnight condemning McDonald's appointment. McDonald admitted to Taylor: "Through not being able to get a job anywhere else and not being able to look after my own family and being part of the organisation that needed the money, eventually I did [join Craig] yes." The same year McDonald took over the South Belfast brigade, Andy Tyrie resigned as UDA commander and James Craig

5814-564: The death of UDA's South Belfast brigadier John McMichael , who was blown up in a booby-trap car bomb planted by the Provisional IRA outside his home in Lisburn , Supreme Commander Andy Tyrie promoted McDonald to the rank of brigadier. He subsequently assumed command of McMichael's South Belfast brigade having previously served as his second-in-command. Described by Peter Taylor as an "effective and popular commander", many people, however considered McDonald to have been one of Craig's "henchmen in

SECTION 50

#1732775422380

5928-438: The decommissioning included arms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices and the UDA stated that the arms "constitute the totality of those under their control". Following the decommissioning the Ulster Political Research Group , the UDA's political representatives, stated that the "Ulster Defence Association was formed to defend our communities; we state quite clearly and categorically that this responsibility now rests with

6042-517: The dissident republican murders, the groups which had made up the CLMC made separate announcements to the media that arms had been decommissioned. Dawn Purvis, now leader of the PUP mentioned above, quoting the input of influential liberal loyalists such as Billy Mitchell and Billy McCaughey , announced on behalf of the UVF and the RHC that all weapons had been put beyond use. Frankie Gallagher , speaking for

6156-416: The enemy." However, by 1979 the UDA had turned on Craig over his increasingly conciliatory approach to Nationalists and condemnation of the 1977 loyalist strike , leading the UDA to instead back Peter Robinson in that year's general election . At its peak of strength it held around forty thousand members, mostly part-time. During this period of legality, the UDA committed a large number of attacks using

6270-649: The estate. The killing of John Gregg and his associate Rab Carson by C Company in Sailortown on 1 February 2003 however finally led to a showdown, with McDonald taking charge of the anti-Adair faction. McDonald quickly got word to A and B Company of the West Belfast UDA , covering the Highfield estate and Woodvale areas of the Greater Shankill and nominally under Adair's command, that Adair

6384-408: The family, he was shot in the face as he left. Gray was seriously injured but survived the attack. McDonald called a crisis meeting of brigadiers, including Adair, at Sandy Row but it failed to reach a conclusion as Adair denied involvement in the attack on Gray. As soon as the meeting was over, Adair drove to Ballysillan in north Belfast to meet with allies in the LVF, although he was unaware that

6498-574: The first floor of a disused bakery in Sandy Row that had been converted into a UDA club. Two teenage girls, Henrietta Cowan and Christine Smith, acting under Elizabeth Douglas' orders to give Ogilby a "good rompering", punched, kicked, then battered her to death with bricks and sticks; the autopsy later revealed that Ogilby had suffered 24 blows to the head and body. The killing, which was carried out within earshot of Ogilby's six-year-old daughter, caused widespread revulsion throughout Northern Ireland and

6612-508: The first time in June 2010, although the two had spoken previously over the telephone. The meeting, which went well, took place at the family home of Harry Haggan, a loyalist community worker who had just died. McDonald and Adams had both called at the Haggan home to offer their condolences to the deceased man's family. On 18 May 2011, McDonald led a delegation of UDA brigadiers to the ceremony at

6726-427: The general strike which had brought Northern Ireland to a standstill in May 1974. At this time he held a job as dispatches manager for the Balmoral Furniture Company in the Shankill Road. It had been the target of a Provisional IRA bomb in December 1971, in which four people had died, including two infants. According to author Ian S. Wood, McDonald was almost killed during the strike when Military Police fired upon

6840-456: The group called retaliation for IRA actions or attacks on Protestants. High-profile attacks carried out by the group include the Top of the Hill bar shooting , the Milltown massacre , the Sean Graham's and James Murray's bookmakers' shootings , the Castlerock killings , killings of Paddy Wilson and Irene Andrews and the Greysteel massacre . Most of its attacks were in Northern Ireland, but from 1972 onward it also carried out bombings in

6954-436: The group's formation, willingly stepped aside and ended his association with the UDA soon afterwards. The structure of this new movement soon took shape with a thirteen-man Security Council established in January 1972 as a reaction to a Provisional IRA bomb the previous month at the Balmoral furniture showroom on the Shankill which killed four people including two infants. By this point, Charles Harding Smith had become

SECTION 60

#1732775422380

7068-421: The group's leader, with former Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldier Davy Fogel as his second-in-command, who trained the new recruits in military tactics, the use of guns, and unarmed combat. Its most prominent early spokesperson was Tommy Herron ; however, Andy Tyrie would emerge as leader soon after. Its original motto was Cedenta Arma Togae ("Law before violence" ) and it was a legal organisation until it

7182-404: The group's leadership as a result of its decentralised structure. While the report indicated the leadership intends to move towards its stated goals, factionalism hindered this change and was the strongest hindrance to progress. Although most loyalist actions were curtailed since the IMC's previous report, most of loyalist paramilitary activity was coming from the UDA. The IMC report concluded that

7296-404: The hijacked vehicle he was driving in a chase along the Lisburn Road into Sandy Row . When receiving his social security payments during the strike, McDonald received a military salute from his boss when he walked into the latter's office wearing his complete UDA combat uniform. In the mid-1980s, McDonald became part of UDA "fundraiser" Jim Craig 's large protection racket. In 1988, just after

7410-407: The homes of such UVF "elder statesmen" as Gusty Spence and Winston Churchill Rea . At the culmination of the day, McDonald and other brigadiers, as well as Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Frank McCoubrey , were brought onto a makeshift stage where C Company members emerged and fired machine guns into the air in a show of strength. McDonald however retained his earlier attitude towards feuding with

7524-430: The intolerable suffering they have undergone during the conflict." The ceasefire, however, proved difficult to maintain and in 1996 the CLMC was forced to distance itself from the murder of Catholic taxi driver, Michael McGoldrick by the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade. They were further embarrassed by television pictures that year showing loyalists at Drumcree Church being led against the security forces by Billy Wright , at

7638-440: The killer, and a clash between the Donegall Pass UVF and the Sandy Row UDA looked imminent as relations deteriorated both in South Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland as a whole. McDonald did not want a war with the UVF and, according to authors Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack, ultimately negotiated a settlement whereby the killer would be housed on the edge of Taugmonagh and told to keep a low profile. The UDA gave its support to

7752-436: The killing, insisting that the ceasefire only applied within Northern Ireland. The ceasefire indicated that the CLMC was open to the possibility of ending its campaign and a line of negotiation was opened afterwards with Robin Eames , the head of the Church of Ireland . The only paramilitary action claimed in the name of the CLMC was a rocket attack on Crumlin Road Prison on 13 December 1991, in retaliation for an IRA bomb in

7866-435: The latter's profitable racketeering business." According to Steve Bruce Tyrie's appointment of McDonald as Brigadier helped to hasten Tyrie's own downfall due to the distaste with which McDonald was then regarded by a number of leading UDA figures. Due to his reputation as a racketeer and his close association with the widely disliked Craig and his equally loathed deputy and minder Artie Fee, a number of UDA modernisers, who were

7980-428: The leadership's willingness to change has resulted in community tension and the group would continue to be monitored, although "the mainstream UDA still has some way to go." Furthermore, the IMC warned the group to "recognise that the organisation's time as a paramilitary group has passed and that decommissioning is inevitable." Decommissioning was said to be the "biggest outstanding issue for loyalist leaders, although not

8094-401: The links between Orange Lodges in Scotland and loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland and that membership of the Orange Order in Scotland at the time was 80,000, and was concentrated in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Inverness. The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee noted in its report that "in 1992 it was estimated that Scottish support for the UDA and UVF might amount to £100,000

8208-588: The local Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), with whom he had previously been on good terms. In June 1997, the son of murdered UDA man, James Curtis Moorehead, shot and killed his father's killer, the UVF's Robert "Basher" Bates (who was also part of the Shankill Butchers gang, led by Lenny Murphy ), leading to the Shankill Road UDA "exiling" the young killer to Taughmonagh. UVF members began to prowl McDonald's Taughmonagh stronghold looking for

8322-429: The long term. On 14 September 2002, East Belfast LVF man Stephen Warnock was killed by the Red Hand Commando and immediately afterwards Adair, seeing an opportunity to strike back at a rival, went to his family home to inform visiting LVF members that the killing had been actually ordered by Jim Gray. On Adair's encouragement, an LVF hit team waited for Gray to appear at Warnock's house where, after he paid his respects to

8436-437: The loyalist militants had acquired guns, to which Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees replied "Canada". Jackie McDonald John "Jackie" McDonald (born 2 August 1947) is a Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association (UDA) brigadier for South Belfast , having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael 's killing by

8550-430: The loyalist peace strategy. In a carefully choreographed move Frankie Gallahgher met Belfast mayor, Tom Hartley of Sinn Féin in public that same day. Despite goading from rebel republicans, three levels of formerly hard-line loyalism were evident for the first time and in public – the community, the military, and the political. All were showing overt support for no return to violence. Subsequently, and merely weeks after

8664-551: The main thinkers behind the UDA's motto "Law Before Violence" although this was ditched shortly after his resignation in favour of " Quis separabit ". As a compromise candidate between the rival factions of Harding Smith and Herron, Andy Tyrie , commander of West Belfast Brigade's A Company, was chosen as the UDA's chairman. He would soon become the UDA's Supreme Commander, a position he held until an attempted car bombing brought about his retirement in March 1988. Early in its history

8778-440: The media, and he was the subject of interviews by journalist Peter Taylor for the latter's book Loyalists . Described by journalist Rosie Cowan as the UDA's most powerful player, he is an outspoken critic of former Ulster Freedom Fighters ' notorious brigadier, Johnny Adair . He joined the UDA in 1972 about a year after it was formed in Belfast as an umbrella organisation for loyalist vigilante groups. These groups, such as

8892-485: The missile throwing youths were actually members of Adair's C Company sent to stir up sectarian hatred and win support for Adair's Drumcree strategy. McDonald was one of a number of brigadiers to accept Adair's invitation to a "Loyalist Day of Culture" on the Shankill Road on 19 August 2000 but was shocked to find that C Company had used the day to drive UVF members and their families from the road, even attacking

9006-408: The murder. The UDA "romper rooms", named after the children's television programme , were places where victims were beaten and tortured prior to being killed. This was known as a "rompering". The "romper rooms" were normally located in disused buildings, lock-up garages, warehouses, and rooms above pubs and drinking clubs. The use of the "romper rooms" was a more common practice among male members of

9120-601: The name Ulster Freedom Fighters, including the murder of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician Paddy Wilson and his companion Irene Andrews in 1973. The UDA was involved in the successful Ulster Workers Council Strike in 1974, which brought down the Sunningdale Agreement : a power-sharing agreement for Northern Ireland, which some unionists thought conceded too much to nationalist demands. The UDA enforced this general strike through widespread intimidation across Northern Ireland. The strike

9234-525: The now larger hard-line Loyalist Volunteer Force refused to retaliate to several murders in March 2009. Many duly credit the CLMC/LC bodies with the final say in the Northern Irish peace process, in that their groupings managed somehow to not only avoid retaliation to the March 2009 killings, but (some argue) that they brought, albeit unofficially, the un-aligned LVF more into the peace process. At

9348-648: The only one." On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". The decommissioning was completed five weeks before a government amnesty deadline beyond which any weapons found could have been used as evidence for a prosecution. The decommissioning was confirmed by Canadian General John de Chastelain , chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning , as well as Lord Eames , former Archbishop of Armagh and Sir George Quigley, former top civil servant. Chastelain stated that

9462-468: The organisation's leader, Charles Harding Smith and leading UDA member John White were arrested in London for gun-trafficking. A temporary de facto leadership assumed control and Anderson became the acting chairman of the UDA. At the end of May 1972, Fogel, by then the leader of B Company and Harding Smith's second-in-command, erected the first UDA roadblocks and street barricades, making Woodvale,

9576-657: The political work of the new McMichael-ite UDA politicos, known as the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which followed the now defunct UDP, and the David Ervine -inspired PUP. Led by the UPRGs liberal but tough East Belfast faction, Frankie Gallagher, and Dawn Purvis the new PUP leader, the testing post-Ervine vacuum murders by the CIRA-RIRA alliance were rendered ineffective when even

9690-403: The prison on 24 November 1991 which killed two loyalist prisoners. An RPG-7 was fired at the canteen block where republican prisoners were having their evening meal but the rocket bounced off a window grille and failed to explode After a long process of consultation with members and activists across Northern Ireland , the CLMC called a ceasefire on 13 October 1994, bringing loyalists fully into

9804-424: The scene with his family and his close ally John White , ending his spell in charge on the Shankill. Several weeks later McDonald organised a "battle of the bands" (competition between loyalist flute bands) at which he made it clear that unity had been re-established. He then received a standing ovation from those present as, marching behind a masked man carrying an AK 47 , McDonald led the other five brigadiers onto

9918-663: The security forces and 11 were republican paramilitaries. According to the Stevens Enquiry , a number of these attacks were carried out with the assistance or complicity of elements of the British security forces. The preferred modus operandi of the UDA was individual killings of civilian targets in nationalist areas, rather than large-scale bomb or mortar attacks. The UDA employed various codewords whenever they claimed their attacks. These included: "The Crucible", "Titanic", "Ulster Troubles" and "Captain Black". Its ceasefire

10032-622: The similarities and the sacrifices, especially in the wars. I think it is a time for them to come together and appreciate each other's pasts and give ourselves all a better future. I always thought "The Troubles" would never end in my lifetime, and in many ways they still haven't really, but there is a kind of peace. We need to build on that. He travels on an Irish passport. His picture and details were published on far right website Redwatch when he attended an anti-racist protest in 2009. Commenting on Martin McGuinness running for election in

10146-444: The stage. When asked by Peter Taylor whether he had any regrets about his past involvements, McDonald replied: I have certainly. I would say without a shadow of doubt the worst thing that ever happened to South Belfast, John McMichael and myself especially, was that Jim Craig ever had anything to do with our organisation. McDonald remains a member of the UDA's Inner Council and is also the spokesman for its political advisory body,

10260-466: The subsequent removal of Tyrie from the leadership and his replacement with an Inner Council saw the UDA concentrate on stockpiling weapons rather than political ideas. In 1989, the ULDP changed its name to the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP). It finally dissolved itself in 2001 following very limited electoral success and internal difficulties. Gary McMichael , son of John McMichael, was the last leader of

10374-671: The time the leader of the Mid-Ulster UVF . Following the unsanctioned killing of a Catholic taxi driver by his brigade, Wright, along with the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster UVF, was stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership). Wright was soon expelled from the UVF for his renegade actions along with a number of his followers who soon reconstituted as the Loyalist Volunteer Force , continuing without ceasefire. Despite no longer having full control of Loyalism,

10488-471: The transaction. Johnny Adair , who had been in Combat 18 before the UDA, established stronger links once he became a brigadier. The Red Hand Defenders is a cover name used by breakaway factions of the UDA and the LVF. The term was coined in 1997 when members of the LVF carried out attacks on behalf of Johnny Adair's "UFF 2nd Battalion, 'C' Company (Shankill Road)" and vice versa. The relationship between

10602-531: The turnouts. Herron and Anderson became linked and the East Belfast brigadier took to styling himself as deputy leader to Anderson, whom he treated as sole chairman. By spring 1973, however, Fogel had already returned to his native England, and Anderson decided to stand down. He publicly announced his resignation as joint chairman in March 1973, in part because he was a fairly law-abiding individual who sat uneasily with violently chaotic figures like Harding Smith and Herron. It had been Anderson who had been one of

10716-447: The vicinity. To some surprise McDonald in 2012 labelled The Twelfth as "the worst day of my year". He cited the excess consumption of alcohol by followers and supporters of the parades in Belfast causing violence on occasions. He also noted that if the parades had an outward route only without having a return route the potential for disorder would be decreased. The comments were condemned by other loyalists and were said to have driven

10830-613: The withdrawal was attributed to an angry backlash from senior UDA leaders angry at the Sinn Féin mayor of Belfast Niall Ó Donnghaile 's decision to remove photos of the Royal Family from his office. Criticising young loyalists in November 2011, he suggested they were too interested in drinking alcohol and using drugs than caring about their future. In a further verbal attack, he lambasted some loyalist band members for attacking each other when drunk and when there are no Catholics in

10944-509: Was a lot less enthusiastic than Adair about getting involved in the Drumcree conflict . He had grown weary of seeing the mainstream unionist parties seek to ally themselves to loyalist paramilitaries when it was expedient only to sever any links as soon as the relationship no longer suited them. Similarly he was unconvinced by a series of vandalism attacks on loyalist areas in Belfast in late June by three carloads of "republicans", feeling that

11058-495: Was about to begin he joined fellow brigadiers McFarland, Gregg and Jim Gray in announcing that the UDA would not be getting involved. Such sentiments were not echoed by west Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair however as he saw the LVF as close allies and resented the UVF. McDonald grew further apart from Adair as the year 2000 progressed. Whilst supporting the Orange Order 's desire to march through nationalist areas, McDonald

11172-475: Was arrested after his "scout" car had been stopped at a RUC checkpoint and large caches of the weaponry were discovered in the boots of his associates' cars. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison. In 1992, Brian Nelson , a prominent UDA member who served as the organisation's intelligence chief, was arrested by the Stevens Inquiry Team . It was subsequently uncovered that he was also an agent of

11286-402: Was banned by the British government on 10 August 1992. Under Smith's command, the UDA was organised along paramilitary lines into battalions , companies , platoons and sections . The organisation drew more members, becoming the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Unlike its principal rival, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the UDA was legal. In April 1972,

11400-683: Was based on the work of Dr Liam Kennedy , a lecturer at Queen's University Belfast who in 1986 had published a book called Two Ulsters: A Case for Repartition , although it did not call for ethnic cleansing. The UDP's Raymond Smallwoods said "I wasn't consulted but the scenario set out is a perfectly plausible one". The DUP's Sammy Wilson stated that the plan "shows that some loyalist paramilitaries are looking ahead and contemplating what needs to be done to maintain our separate Ulster identity" The UDA had links with Neo-Nazi groups in Britain—specifically Combat 18 (formed in 1992) and

11514-404: Was condemned by the UDA prisoners serving inside the Maze Prison . None of the other UDA women's units had consented to or been aware of the fatal punishment beating until it was reported in the news. Douglas, Cowan, and Smith were convicted of the murder and sentenced to imprisonment at Armagh Women's Jail. Seven other members of the women's unit and a UDA man were also convicted for their part in

11628-579: Was founded on the Shankill Road by Wendy "Bucket" Millar , whose sons Herbie and James "Sham" Millar would later become prominent UDA members. The UDA women's department was headed by Jean Moore, who also came from the Shankill Road. She had also served as the president of the women's auxiliary of the Loyalist Association of Workers . Her brother Ingram "Jock" Beckett, one of the UDA's founding members, had been killed in March 1972 by

11742-537: Was initially the political wing of the UDA, founded in 1978, which then evolved into the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party in 1981 under the leadership of John McMichael , a prominent UDA member killed by the IRA in 1987, amid suspicion that he was set up to be killed by some of his UDA colleagues. In 1987, the UDA's deputy commander John McMichael (who was then the leader of the UFF) promoted

11856-577: Was led by VUPP Assemblyman and UDA member, Glenn Barr . The UDA were often referred to by the nickname "Wombles" by their rivals, mainly the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The nickname is derived from the furry fictional children's TV creatures The Wombles , and was given to the UDA because many of its members wore fur-trimmed parkas . Its headquarters is in Gawn Street, off the Newtownards Road in east Belfast, and its current motto

11970-615: Was made up of representatives from UDA and the PUP was made up of representatives from both the RHC and UVF. The CLMC first tested the idea of a ceasefire in 1991 when it called a halt to all action from 29 April to 4 July of that year. The only breach of the 10-week ceasefire was the killing by the Ulster Freedom Fighters of Eddie Fullerton , a Sinn Féin Councillor in Buncrana , County Donegal . The UDA justified

12084-416: Was one of the members. The Sandy Row women's UDA unit was disbanded after it carried out a vicious "romper room" punishment beating on 24 July 1974 which left 32-year-old Ann Ogilby dead. The body of Ogilby, a Protestant single mother who had an affair with the husband of one of the unit's members, was found in a ditch five days later. The day of the fatal beating Ogilby was abducted and forced upstairs to

12198-576: Was part of a loyalist delegation which met with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin. In 2010, to the surprise of many people, he stated that the Orange Order should walk away from the Garvaghy Road dispute unless the residents of the contentious parade route give their consent for the march to take place. He also criticised republicans and Sinn Féin for manipulating the parades issue. McDonald met Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in person for

12312-512: Was pivotal in getting arms into the north—and anything like checkpoints, or armed police and Army in Scotland would have b******d that all up." An Irish government memo written by David Donoghue stated: "The commonest contribution of Scots UDA and UVF is to send gelignite . Explosives for the north were mostly shipped in small boats which set out at night from the Scottish coast and made contact at sea with vessels from Ulster ports." Donoghue noted

12426-426: Was promptly ousted from the B Company command, while the formidable East Belfast brigadier, Tommy Herron , appeared on the scene to challenge Harding Smith's leadership. Anderson became joint chairman of the UDA with Harding Smith. The struggle that ensued between Harding Smith and Herron overshadowed the Inner Council and during the height of the feud Anderson often had to call a register at its meetings, so poor were

12540-467: Was put permanently out of the picture. The latter was shot dead in the "Bunch of Grapes" pub in east Belfast by two masked gunmen from the UDA (using their cover name "Ulster Freedom Fighters") in October 1988 for "treason". It was claimed by younger elements within the UDA that he had set up John McMichael to be targeted by the IRA. McDonald was arrested in 1989, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in

12654-524: Was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison. One of the most high-profile UDA attacks came in October 1993, when three masked men attacked a restaurant called the Rising Sun in the predominantly Catholic village of Greysteel , County Londonderry , where two hundred people were celebrating Halloween . The two men entered and opened fire. Eight people, including six Catholics and two Protestants were killed and nineteen wounded in what became known as

12768-448: Was the only one with the balls to stand up to him". Nonetheless when Adair was released from prison on 15 May 2002, McDonald, arguing that he deserved a second chance and hoping that his return to prison may have mellowed him, was one of the brigadiers to appear at Adair's Boundary Way home and welcome him back in front of the television cameras. The public show of bonhomie between McDonald and Adair did not result in improved relations in

12882-440: Was to be removed and secured the loyalty of these two groups. He also told them to set up an office on the Shankill's Heather Street Social Club as a safe house where members of C Company could defect back to the mainstream UDA. At around 1 a.m. on 6 February 2003, about 100 heavily armed UDA members invaded the lower Shankill and set upon the twenty or so members of C Company who had remained loyal to Adair. For his part Adair fled

12996-614: Was welcomed by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Paul Murphy , and the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland , Hugh Orde . Since the ceasefire, the UDA has been accused of taking vigilante action against alleged rival drug dealers, including tarring and feathering a man on the Taughmonagh estate in south Belfast. It has also been involved in several feuds with

#379620