east belfast uvf

[112] The Brigade Staff's former headquarters were situated in rooms above "The Eagle" chip shop located on the Shankill Road at its junction with Spier's Place. A man widely named as the leader of the east Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) took part in talks with senior police officers about a controversial loyalist bonfire, the BBC understands. Ms Johnston said the east Belfast UVF's statement was "an insult". They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. [69][70][113] Graham has held the position since he assumed office in 1976. The UVF stated that the attempted attack was a protest against the Irish Army units "still massed on the border in County Donegal". [100][101] A dissident Republican was arrested for "the attempted murder of police officers in east Belfast" after shots were fired upon the police. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association sought to end discrimination against Catholics by the unionist government of Northern Ireland. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. According to the Belfast Telegraph, "...70 separate police intelligence reports implicating the north Belfast UVF man in dealing cannabis, Ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine. It comprises high-ranking officers under a Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General. Birgen, Julia. In February, it began to target critics of militant loyalism – the homes of MPs Austin Currie, Sheelagh Murnaghan, Richard Ferguson and Anne Dickson were attacked with improvised bombs. It was alleged that Colin Armstrong had links to both drugs and loyalist terrorists. They have been engaged in orchestrating violence on our streets, and it's very clear to me that they are engaged in an array of mafia-style activities. Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. The report added that individuals, some current and some former members, in the group have, without the orders from above, continued to "localised recruitment", and although some continued to try and acquire weapons, including a senior member, most forms of crime had fallen, including shootings and assaults. Since 1964, there had been a growing civil rights campaign in Northern Ireland. Friday, 17th July 2020, 3:51 pm A UVF mural on the Lower Newtownards Road in east Belfast. "Overstating and Misjudging the Prospects of Civil War: The Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers in the Home Rule Crisis, 1912-1914." [45] In December, the UVF detonated a car bomb near the Garda central detective bureau and telephone exchange headquarters in Dublin. Unable to find their target, the men drove around the Falls district in search of a Catholic. [67] The UVF's activities in the last years of the decade were increasingly being curtailed by the number of UVF members who were sent to prison. CAIN also states that republicans killed 15 UVF members, some of whom are suspected to have been set up for assassination by their colleagues.[79]. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths – crosstabulations", "UVF disbands unit linked to taxi murder", Law and order Belfast-style as two men are forced on a 'walk of shame', 'Report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning', Twenty-Fourth Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, David Madine admits trying to kill loyalist Harry Stockman, "Police say UVF gunman seen in Rathcoole during trouble". [57] This resulted in a sharp increase in sectarian killings and internecine feuding, both with the UDA and within the UVF itself. [93] The IICD confirmed that "substantial quantities of firearms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices" had been decommissioned and that for the UVF and RHC, decommissioning had been completed. of which I have been speaking. The incumbent Chief of Staff, is alleged to be John "Bunter" Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as "Mr. They managed to procure a large cache of weapons and ammunition including L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles, Browning pistols, and Sterling submachine guns. [71], In the 1980s, the UVF was greatly reduced by a series of police informers. [116], The strength of the UVF is uncertain. [77] The UVF also killed senior Republican paramilitary members Liam Ryan, John 'Skipper' Burns and Larry Marley. It is suggested that the east Belfast UVF element is the most powerful paramilitary faction in Northern Ireland. The group is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.[7]. Article from The People (London, England). “Newspaper lists of UVF members from the city enlisting in 1914 were not published, unlike in some other parts of Ulster. Suspected cannabis with an estimated street value of £80,000 was … The UVF's leadership is based in Belfast and known as the Brigade Staff. The Mid-Ulster Brigade was also responsible for the 1975 Miami Showband killings, in which three members of the popular Irish cabaret band were shot dead at a bogus military checkpoint by gunmen in British Army uniforms. Officers from the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force also seized drugs, cash and expensive cars and jewellery in an operation carried out against the criminal activities of the UVF crime gang.[110][111]. “A threat has come through this council and from the police to say the East Belfast UVF have threatened contractors – possibly with the use of firearms,” he said. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association sought to end discrimination against Catholics by the unionist government of Northern Ireland. "Ulster's Uncertain Defenders: Protestant Political Paramilitary and Community Groups and the Northern Ireland Conflict". Credit: Peter Macdiarmid Share [30][31], Since 1964, there had been a growing civil rights campaign in Northern Ireland. [49] This came to a climax on 4 December, when the UVF bombed McGurk's Bar, a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast. On 17 February 1979, the UVF carried out its only major attack in Scotland, when its members bombed two pubs in Glasgow frequented by Irish-Scots Catholics. Eleven men have been arrested in a major operation into the criminal activities of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in east Belfast. [75] Republicans responded to the attacks by assassinating senior UVF members John Bingham, William "Frenchie" Marchant and Trevor King[76] as well as Leslie Dallas, whose purported UVF membership was disputed both by his family and the UVF. The Paramilitary … [96][97], On 25–26 October 2010, the UVF was involved in rioting and disturbances in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey with UVF gunmen seen on the streets at the time. We are heavily armed Protestants dedicated to this cause. Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin. [82], On 14 September 2005, following serious loyalist rioting during which dozens of shots were fired at riot police and the British Army the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announced that the British government no longer recognised the UVF ceasefire. [37] He died of his wounds on 11 June. The UVF has threatened to “orchestrate and participate in serious disorder”, police have said, following a day of tensions where two bonfire sites in east Belfast were cleared. In response to events in Derry, nationalists held protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent. It is suggested that the east Belfast UVF element is the most powerful paramilitary faction in Northern Ireland. He was the first RUC officer to be killed during the Troubles. [85], On 3 May 2007, following recent negotiations between the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and with Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde, the UVF made a statement that they would transform to a "non-military, civilianised" organisation. Two of those later convicted (James McDowell and Thomas Crozier) were also serving members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), a part-time, locally recruited regiment of the British Army. A CONTROVERSIAL paramilitary mural in east Belfast has been completed - and dedicated to four UVF men killed during the Troubles. [135], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. The Irish Army set up field hospitals near the border. [57] Some of the new Brigade Staff members bore nicknames such as "Big Dog" and "Smudger". Although the UDA and UVF have frequently co-operated and generally co-existed, the two groups have clashed. However, the year leading up to the loyalist ceasefire, which took place shortly after the Provisional IRA ceasefire, saw some of the worst sectarian killings carried out by loyalists during the Troubles. Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force are openly patrolling the Garnerville area of east Belfast today as part of a deepening feud with the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force. During the riot, UVF members shot dead RUC officer Victor Arbuckle. Fifteen Catholic civilians were killed and seventeen wounded. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. The men were tried, and in March 1977 were sentenced to an average of twenty-five years each.[62][63]. It issued a statement vowing to "remove republican elements from loyalist areas" and stop them "reaping financial benefit therefrom". [139] Supporters in Scotland have helped supply explosives and guns. [129] Like the IRA, the UVF also operated black taxi services,[130][131][132] a scheme believed to have generated £100,000 annually for the organisation. [65] The number of killings in Northern Ireland had decreased from around 300 per year between 1973 and 1976 to just under 100 in the years 1977–1981. It emerged in 1966. The UVF agreed to a ceasefire in October 1994. It was the deadliest attack of the Troubles. The Sunday World's offices were also firebombed. [8] According to the book Lost Lives (2006 edition), it was responsible for 569 killings. [32] The 'Paisleyites' set out to stymie the civil rights movement and oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The UVF very clearly have involvement in drug dealing, all forms of gangsterism, serious assaults, intimidation of the community. The UVF's leadership is based in Belfast and known as the Brigade Staff. In 1984, the UVF attempted to kill the northern editor of the Sunday World, Jim Campbell after he had exposed the paramilitary activities of Mid-Ulster brigadier Robin Jackson. The gang comprised, in addition to the UVF, rogue elements of the UDR, RUC, SPG, and the regular Army, all acting allegedly under the direction of the British Intelligence Corps and/or RUC Special Branch. [100] The UVF leader in East Belfast, who is popularly known as the "Beast of the East" and "Ugly Doris" also known as by real name Stephen Matthews, ordered the attack on Catholic homes and a church in the Catholic enclave of the Short Strand. [53] Both the UVF and the British Government have denied the claims. Thirty-three people were killed and almost 300 injured. In October, UVF and UPV member Thomas McDowell was killed by the bomb he was planting at Ballyshannon power station. Two UVF members, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, were accidentally killed by their own bomb while carrying out this attack. But Professor Richard Grayson, from Goldsmiths, University of London, told Belfast … [134] In 2002 the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee estimated the UVF's annual running costs at £1–2 million per year, against an annual fundraising capability of £1.5 million. And Mid-Ulster brigades detonated four car bombs to attack Catholic-owned pubs political and military strategy to stymie civil! Services we offer deaths of seven civilians in a major operation into East. Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Cover-up and incompetence '' on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister in. Coup and took over the Brigade Staff Death ( GoSD ) has details of 400! Provisional IRA and Official IRA in December, the `` Battle of the Troubles Grayson! Hawks had been a growing civil rights movement and oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister Battle. Held the position since he assumed office in 1976 responded by attacking nationalist districts out!, nationalists held protests throughout Northern Ireland. 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