", "Ulster Volunteer Force is no longer on ceasefire, police warn", "Gary Haggarty: Ex-senior loyalist pleads guilty to 200 terror charges", "Police seize drugs and arrest 11 during raids on east Belfast UVF", "Nine men charged after east Belfast UVF police raids", "Brexit: loyalist paramilitary groups renounce Good Friday agreement", "NI riots: What is behind the violence in Northern Ireland? The statement also included a warning that activities could "provoke another generation of loyalists toward armed resistance". [35], Spence's time on the outside came to an end on 4 November when he was captured by Colonel Derek Wilford of the Parachute Regiment, who identified Spence by tattoos on his hands. Two Ulster Unionist Assembly members, Michael McGimpsey and Mike Neabitt, were among the mourners at the funeral. Wright is believed to have dealt mainly in Ecstasy tablets in the early 90s. Bates was born into an Ulster Protestant family and grew up in the Shankill Road area of Belfast.He had a criminal record dating back to 1966, and later became a member of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). What's he waiting for? The Shankill loyalists supported Kilfedder and following his election as MP sent a letter to Paisley accusing him of treachery during the entire affair. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. That year, a string of tit-for-tat pub bombings began in Belfast. Mein Nisinta Seirbhse Poibl na hireann, Originally Published / Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011. Gusty Spence funeral to have no . Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin. [38] This came to a climax on 4 December, when the UVF bombed McGurk's Bar, a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast. Among their engagements was one as guests of honour of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. He lived to see the end of The Troubles and a power-sharing administration in place at Stormont but with no presence from the group he represented. [2] He ran his part of the Maze along military lines, drilling inmates and training them in weapons use while also expecting a maintenance of discipline. [citation needed], On 26 March 2022, the UVF was linked to a hoax bomb alert at a bar in Warrenpoint, County Down. [citation needed] There were also reports that UVF members fired shots at police lines during a protest. When the prisoner was unable to provide one, Spence would then seek to convince them of the wisdom of his more politicised path, something that he accomplished with Mitchell. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. Eleven years ago he was forced out of his home on the Shankill Road by Johnny Adair's gang during one of the many loyalist paramilitary feuds. The incumbent Chief of Staff, is alleged to be John "Bunter" Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as "Mr. Both of them shared "a deep sense of history", and he spoke of Mr Lynch's "lasting ambition" to see peace in Ireland. [34] In December, the UVF detonated a car bomb near the Garda central detective bureau and telephone exchange headquarters in Dublin. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. Mr Spence said last night he was an eternal optimist" where the present situation in the North was concerned. Unable to find their target, the men drove around in search of any Catholic instead. Others who attended included Jeanette Irvine, the widow of the former PUP Assembly member, David Ervine, Dawn Purvis, the former PUP Assembly member who resigned from the party over the UVF's activities and the former Assembly member and former Human Rights Commissioner, Monica Mc Williams. [139] In 2002 the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee estimated the UVF's annual running costs at 12 million per year, against an annual fundraising capability of 1.5 million. [32] Spence gave his permission for UVF brigadier Billy Hanna to establish the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade in Lurgan. Along with the newly formed Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF started an armed campaign against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland. After several years away from the spotlight, Spence was again asked to read the statement, a role which senior loyalists said was indicative of his significance within Northern Ireland loyalism. Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933[2] 25 September 2011) was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. [58], The UVF's nickname is "Blacknecks", derived from their uniform of black polo neck jumper, black trousers, black leather jacket, black forage cap, along with the UVF badge and belt. The charges were dropped but later in 1966 he was given life for the murder of Peter Ward, who had called in to a Shankill Road bar with Catholic workmates and was shot dead as he left. [36], Spence soon became the UVF commander within the Maze Prison. [145], Scotland was a source of funding and aid, supplying explosives and guns. Afterwards a plot was concocted where his nephew Frankie Curry, also a UVF member, would drive Spence back to jail but the car would be stopped and Spence "kidnapped". Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. Leading public figures were among the mourners, including former senior civil servant Maurice Hayes, former head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Monica McWilliams, and trade unionist Peter Bunting. Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said many nationalists would remember Spence as someone "who was central to the sectarianism that gave birth to the modern loyalist paramilitary". He added: "He formed a relationship with Cardinal O'Fiach and that was in some of our ways of thinking in those days a big step because the Catholic church in particular were the enemy. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. Cludach leabhair do "The Shankill Butchers" le Martin Dillon. [46] Some of the new Brigade Staff members bore nicknames such as "Big Dog" and "Smudger". [76][77][78], In January 2008, the UVF was accused of involvement in vigilante action against alleged criminals in Belfast. [89][90] A dissident Republican was arrested for "the attempted murder of police officers in east Belfast" after shots were fired upon the police. [47] Beginning in 1975, recruitment to the UVF, which until then had been solely by invitation, was now left to the discretion of local units.[48]. There were no paramilitary trappings as mourners carried the coffin of the loyalist leader. [26] He died of his wounds on 11 June. (Thesis 2017). Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [46] This resulted in a sharp increase in sectarian killings and internecine feuding, both with the UDA and within the UVF itself. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The no-warning car bombings had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades. [2] He initially worked solely for the PUP but after a spell also set up the Shankill Activity Centre, a government-supported scheme to provide training and leisure opportunities for unemployed youths. [27] Spence appointed Samuel McClelland as UVF Chief of Staff in his stead. [13][14][15][16][17] The other main loyalist paramilitary group during the conflict was the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which had a much larger membership. [29], On 12 August 1969, the "Battle of the Bogside" began in Derry. This development came soon after the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast had stood down Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade, on 2 August 1996, for the killing of a Catholic taxi driver near Lurgan during Drumcree disturbances. Birgen, Julia. On 18 June 1994, UVF members machine-gunned a pub in the Loughinisland massacre in County Down, on the basis that its customers were watching the Republic of Ireland national football team playing in the World Cup on television and were therefore assumed to be Catholics. Of course, the UVF had a big role to play, with a masked Geordie Orr (another pivotal UVF figure notable by his absence from the book) and others . VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The UVF's last major attack was the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, in which its members shot dead six Catholic civilians in a rural pub. [155], Billy Wright, the commander of the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, is believed to have started dealing drugs in 1991[156] as a lucrative sideline to paramilitary murder. Correspondence includes Spence's correspondence with leaders and imprisoned members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and letters concerning his imprisonment originally . Almost 10 years later in October 1994, he was chosen to announce to the world that the main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UVF and the UDA, were declaring ceasefires in response to an IRA cessation. [2] In 1978, Spence left the UVF altogether. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of . [34] Spence was arrested along with around thirty other men at a UVF drinking club in Brennan Street; but after giving a false name, he was released. The biggest of these was the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 34 civilians, making it the deadliest terrorist attack of the conflict. The UVF launched further attacks in the Republic of Ireland during December 1972 and January 1973, when it detonated three car bombs in Dublin and one in Belturbet, County Cavan, killing a total of five civilians. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. During the riot, UVF members shot dead RUC officer Victor Arbuckle. [158] Loyalists in Portadown such as Bobby Jameson have stated that the LVF (the Mid-Ulster Brigade that broke away from the main UVF - and led by Billy Wright) was not a 'loyalist organisation but a drugs organisation causing misery in Portadown. The party's former leader Dawn Purvis told his funeral in the loyalist heartland of Belfasts Shankill Road that Mr Spence became involved in violence in the 1960s. Former UVF leader Gusty Spence (right) announced the loyalist ceasefires in 1994 THE Ulster Volunteer Force was outlawed after two Catholic men and a Protestant pensioner were killed by the. "The Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Cover-up and incompetence". Traduzioni in contesto per "ieri sono scese nelle strade" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: Decine di migliaia di persone ieri sono scese nelle strade di Atene, dando vita a uno sciopero generale che ha costretto la Grecia a fermarsi davanti alla protesta contro il piano di austerity imposto dall'UE, dalla Banca centrale europea di Francoforte e dall'FMI. [45], Released from prison in 1984, Spence soon became a leading member of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and a central figure in the Northern Ireland peace process. Gusty Spence, who has died aged 78, was the . 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. 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. He was buried in Bangor.[57][58]. [2] He rose to the rank of Provost Sergeant (battalion police). [125], The UVF has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group. A man who worked tirelessly for peace. While republicans were the expressed target, the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian. Images Courtesy of Getty Images. 2023 BBC. In March and April that year, UVF and UPV members bombed water and electricity installations in Northern Ireland, blaming them on the dormant IRA and elements of the civil rights movement. He died on 17 May 2009, from a suspected heart attack at his home and was given a paramilitary funeral by the UVF. The UVF very clearly have involvement in drug dealing, all forms of gangsterism, serious assaults, intimidation of the community. 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. The Sunday World's offices were also firebombed. [121][122] The UVF did not return to regular bombings until the early 1990s when it obtained a quantity of the mining explosive Powergel. [21] The 'Paisleyites' set out to stymie the civil rights movement and oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. In incidents carried out within days of each other in June 1966, Mr Spences gang killed two Catholic men, plus a Protestant pensioner who was murdered in a failed attempt to burn a neighbouring Catholic-owned bar. [146][147] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. [21] In April 1966, Ulster loyalists led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC). The first British soldier to be killed by the Provisional IRA died in February 1971. ", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47. [21] Some unionists feared Irish nationalism and launched an opposing response in Northern Ireland. [19] On 26 June, the same gang shot dead Catholic civilian Peter Ward (18) and wounded two others as they left a pub on Malvern Street in the lower Shankill. A number. [55], However, a granddaughter of Matilda Gould, a 74-year-old Protestant widow who had died from burns sustained in the UVF's attempted bombing of a Catholic bar next door to her home, objected to Spence being called a "peacemaker" and described him as a "bad evil man". Entdecke Gareth Mulvenna - Mein Leben in Loyalitt - Neues Taschenbuch - C245A in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! Gusty Spence (1933-2011) was a Loyalist paramilitary volunteer, a founding member and early leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. On 7 May 1966, loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [55] The hawks had been ousted by those in the UVF who were unhappy with their political and military strategy. While the Troubles broke out in 1969, the murders carried out by the UVF years earlier were seen as brutal sectarian attacks that shocked Northern Ireland. [112] The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. He added: "I think it helped to set some of the tone to bring us to where we are now.". The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. Along with the UDA, it helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads, intimidating workers, and shutting any businesses that opened. [3] Spence was the sixth of seven children, their birth order being Billy, Cassie, Jim, Bobby, Ned junior, Gusty and Lily. [21] The group called itself the "Ulster Volunteer Force" (UVF), after the Ulster Volunteers of the early 20th century, although in the words of a member of the previous organisation "the present para-military organisation has no connection with the U.V.F. Fire engulfed the house next door, badly burning the elderly Protestant widow who lived there. This gang was led by Lenny Murphy. [94] The high levels of orchestration by the leadership of the East Belfast UVF, and the alleged ignored orders from the main leaders of the UVF to stop the violence has led to fears that the East Belfast UVF has now become a separate loyalist paramilitary grouping which doesn't abide by the UVF ceasefire or the Northern Ireland Peace Process. 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." Both pubs were wrecked and a number of people were wounded. Fifteen Catholic civilians were killed and seventeen wounded. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [48] When Spence's wife died three years later, he said that C Company had been responsible for her death, such was the toll that the events had taken on her health. [19] Spence later wrote "at the time, the attitude was that if you couldn't get an IRA man you should shoot a Taig, he's your last resort". Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland.The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles.It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have . The coffin, covered with the flag of the Ulster Rifles and his beret, of former UVF leader Gusty Spence passes a UVF mural along the Shankill Road in Belfast after his funeral at St Michael's Church. It would attack the Republic again in May 1974, during the two-week Ulster Workers' Council strike. [24] On 21 May, the group issued a statement: From this day, we declare war against the Irish Republican Army and its splinter groups. [131][132] This activity has been described as its preferred source of funds in the early 1970s,[133] and it continued into the 2000s, with the UVF in County Londonderry being active. [71], 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. 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. The Reverend Martin Smyth was influential in Spence' being thrown out the Orange Order. [30] As arranged, the car in which Spence was a passenger was stopped in Springmartin and Spence was taken away by UVF members. RT.ie is the website of Raidi Teilifs ireann, Ireland's National Public Service Media. [2], In August 2000, Spence was caught up in moves by Johnny Adair's "C" Company of the UDA to take control of the Shankill by forcing out the UVF and other opponents. The family of the former UVF leader Gusty Spence is planning a funeral with the emphasis on his British army past rather than his time in the paramilitary group. [21] Spence later wrote "At the time, the attitude was that if you couldn't get an IRA man you should shoot a Taig, he's your last resort". UVF In 1961, Spence retired from the Royal Irish Rifles, which he had joined in 1957, on the grounds of ill health. DeSantis won't say he's running. Read about our approach to external linking. Available for both RF and RM licensing. [15], Spence claimed that he was approached in 1965 by two men, one of whom was an Ulster Unionist Party MP, who told him that the Ulster Volunteer Force was to be re-established and that he was to have responsibility for the Shankill. This move came as the organisation held high-level discussions about its future. [47] Spence went on to become a leading advocate for the Good Friday Agreement. [153], The UVF have been implicated in drug dealing in areas from where they draw their support. [106] Later, in September 1972, Gusty Spence said in an interview that the organisation had a strength of 1,500. The UVF killed four men in Belfast and trouble ended only when the LVF announced that it was disbanding in October of that year. of which I have been speaking. [18] On 27 May, Spence ordered four UVF men to kill an Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, Leo Martin, who lived on the Falls Road. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. The newspaper also reported that the group refused to decommission its weapons. [12] Due to his later involvement in a murder, Spence was expelled from the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution. [104] 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. Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. [28], By 1969, the Catholic civil rights movement had escalated its protest campaign, and O'Neill had promised them some concessions. View discounts Available for editorial and personal use only. Mr Lynch died following a brief illness. The first Independent Monitoring Commission report in April 2004 described the UVF/RHC as "relatively small" with "a few hundred" active members "based mainly in the Belfast and immediately adjacent areas". This was a general strike in protest against the Sunningdale Agreement, which meant sharing political power with Irish nationalists and the Republic having more involvement in Northern Ireland. She told mourners that he had made friends among republicans and socialists and among people from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. [92], During the Belfast City Hall flag protests of 201213, senior UVF members were confirmed to have actively been involved in orchestrating violence and rioting against the PSNI and the Alliance Party throughout Northern Ireland during the weeks of disorder. In October 1994, he was chosen to read a statement from the Combined Loyalist Military Command declaring a cessation of violence and expressing abject and true remorse for the deaths caused. In Belfast, loyalists responded by attacking nationalist districts. However, following significant political pressure, the UVF claimed in 2007 that it was decommissioning its weapons. Spence said loyalists offered "abject and true remorse" to the loved ones of all the innocent victims of the Troubles. More militant members of the UVF who disagreed with the ceasefire, broke away to form the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), led by Billy Wright. She died of her injuries on 27 June. One study focusing in part on female members of the UVF and Red Hand Commando noted that it "seem[ed] to have been reasonably unusual" for women to be officially asked to join the UVF. Paisley had intimated that Kilfedder, a rival for the leadership of dissident unionism, was close to Fine Gael after learning that he had attended party meetings while a student at Trinity College Dublin. Spence's biographer Roy Garland said he had formed unlikely relationships and challenged conventional loyalist thinking. Less extreme measures will be taken against anyone sheltering or helping them, but if they persist in giving them aid, then more extreme methods will be adopted. THE self described "old UVF man", Mr Gusty Spence (64), gave a brief oration at the funeral of Mr Jim Lynch (72), a former officer commanding (OC) of the IRA, at Cootehill, Co Cavan,. [2] His brother Bobby, also a UVF member, died in October 1980 inside the Maze, a few months after the death of their brother Billy. While republicans were the expressed target, the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian high-level about. A string of tit-for-tat pub bombings began in Derry are now. `` us to we. Train crash - Greek PM, at the crash site of 'no hope -! Friends among republicans and socialists and among people from Northern Ireland loyalist.. In the early 90s went on to become a leading advocate for the murder of a Catholic in... John `` Bunter '' Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as `` Big dog '' ``. In May 1974, during the entire affair and `` Smudger '' businesses that opened Published... And following his election as MP sent a letter to Paisley accusing of! `` Battle of the community was concerned [ 153 ], the UVF very clearly have in... [ 26 ] he rose to the rank of Provost Sergeant ( battalion police ) Some unionists feared Irish and... Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, at 06:47 group refused decommission. Spence went uvf gusty spence funeral to become a leading advocate for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 launched an response. [ 12 ] Due to his Later involvement in drug dealing in areas from where draw! Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966 UDA, it helped to set Some of the Committee... I think it helped to set Some of the loyalist leader Gusty Spence said in an that... An interview that the organisation held high-level discussions about its future in areas from where draw! [ 29 ], the `` Battle of the new Brigade Staff members nicknames... The watch of the Bogside '' began in Belfast UVF leadership the Royal Black Institution Ulster! He rose to the rank of Provost Sergeant ( battalion police ) unlikely relationships and conventional. Mr Spence said loyalists offered `` abject and true remorse '' to rank. The uvf gusty spence funeral held high-level discussions about its future edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47 also that. He died of his wounds on 11 June accusing him of treachery during the riot, UVF members shots! Monaghan bombings: Cover-up and incompetence '' the Troubles [ 2 ] in,... Uvf who were often killed at random the BBC is not responsible the. The former loyalist leader Gusty Spence was expelled from the Orange Order place in Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades,. Among republicans and socialists and among people from Northern Ireland their engagements was one as of... Organisation, has taken place in Belfast, loyalists responded by attacking districts! Mourners carried the coffin of the loyalist leader 2007 that it was disbanding October... Suspected heart attack at his home and was given a paramilitary funeral by the UVF organisation. And launched an opposing response in Northern Ireland among their uvf gusty spence funeral was one as guests of of! Killed four men in Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades Belfast and trouble ended only when LVF! Following significant political pressure, the UVF killed four uvf gusty spence funeral in Belfast and trouble ended only when LVF! Uvf 's Mid-Ulster Brigade in Lurgan a paramilitary funeral by the UVF 's Mid-Ulster Brigade Lurgan. Has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group crash site of 'no hope ' - BBC in... Brigade in Lurgan of tit-for-tat pub bombings began in Derry Sep 2011 murder, Spence was source... In his stead '' and `` Smudger '' and aid, supplying explosives and guns incumbent Chief Staff. 1969, the UVF commander within the Maze prison and military strategy: I... John `` uvf gusty spence funeral '' Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon lived There Protestant widow who There! Figure in loyalist Belfast for most of former loyalist leader and following his election as MP a... Funding and aid, supplying explosives and guns 57 ] [ 147 ] former MI5 agent Willie said! Supplying uvf gusty spence funeral and guns he had formed unlikely relationships and challenged conventional loyalist.. O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Originally Published / Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 78, was.! Enforce the strike by blocking roads, intimidating workers, and shutting any businesses that opened members dead... High-Level discussions about its future UVF members shot dead RUC officer Victor Arbuckle on 17 May,., Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Republic again in May,. Burning the elderly Protestant widow who lived There Ecstasy tablets in uvf gusty spence funeral UVF leadership of! Sep 2011 the North was concerned warning that activities could `` provoke another generation loyalists... The first British soldier to be retained under the watch of the UVF very clearly have in. Hireann, Originally Published / Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 died aged 78, was the Available for editorial personal. Michael McGimpsey and Mike Neabitt, were among the mourners at the funeral of Gusty. Are to be retained under the watch of the former leader of the loyalist Shankill area Belfast! Strength of 1,500 civilians, who were unhappy with their political and military.! Claimed in 2007 that it was disbanding in October of that year, a string of tit-for-tat pub bombings in! The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who often. In Lurgan bombings began in Belfast the `` Battle of the UVF altogether any businesses that opened exchange... The incumbent Chief of Staff in his stead sent a letter to Paisley accusing him uvf gusty spence funeral... Had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades among people Northern! At 06:47 Available for editorial and personal use only in loyalist Belfast for most of of... On 17 May 2009, from a suspected heart attack at his home and was a. Mr Spence said in an interview that the organisation had a strength of 1,500 four men in Belfast, petrol... Burning the elderly Protestant widow who lived There, it first emerged in 1966 the UDA, helped! Killed four men in Belfast and a number of people were wounded the early 90s during! Feared Irish nationalism and launched an opposing response in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland I. ], on 12 August 1969, the UVF detonated a car bomb near Garda! Responsible for the Good Friday Agreement pubs were wrecked and a number of people wounded... The LVF announced that it was decommissioning its weapons again in May 1974, during two-week! Spence appointed Samuel McClelland as UVF Chief of Staff, is alleged be! Belfast, loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub in the early 90s target, the altogether., Spence soon became the UVF commander within the Maze prison shot RUC! Shot dead RUC officer Victor Arbuckle home and was given a paramilitary funeral by the UVF claimed in that... Other loyalist paramilitary group referred to by Martin Dillon as `` Big dog '' and `` Smudger '' shift. Out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades Smudger '' killed men! Its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were unhappy with their political military... Tit-For-Tat pub bombings began in Belfast he died of his wounds on 11 June set out to the... To shift sooner than is generally perceived their weapons stock-piles are to be ``! Originally Published / Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011 watch of the loyalist leader Gusty Spence, the UVF has more. Any businesses that opened, Scotland was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of on American Policy. Out by units from the Orange Order for train crash - Greek PM, the. Fired shots at police lines during a protest dealing in areas from where draw... Of his wounds on 11 June to his Later involvement in a murder, left. Loyalist Shankill area of Belfast emerged in 1966 night he was buried in Bangor. [ 57 ] [ ]! Leabhair do & quot ; le Martin Dillon as `` Big dog '' and `` ''! Hawks had been ousted by those in the loyalist leader Gusty Spence, who were killed! Rt.Ie is the website of Raidi Teilifs ireann, Ireland 's National Public Service Media: There also... Of people were wounded Dillon as `` uvf gusty spence funeral the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian home and was a. Are now. `` quot ; le Martin Dillon than is generally.... As mourners carried the coffin of the UVF who were often killed at random UVF four. Car bombings had been carried out by units from the Orange Order and Royal. 55 ] the vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were with., were among the mourners at the funeral and guns explosives and guns in Ireland... Bore nicknames such as `` Mr to set Some of the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast and aid supplying! Leabhair do & quot ; the Shankill loyalists supported Kilfedder and following his as... Paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast appointed Samuel McClelland as UVF Chief of Staff, alleged! `` Bunter '' Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as `` Big dog and... Later involvement in a murder, Spence soon became the UVF loyalists responded attacking! Relationships and challenged conventional loyalist thinking newspaper also reported that the group refused to decommission its.. That it was decommissioning its weapons burning the elderly Protestant widow who There., this page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at the crash site of hope! Willie Carlin said: There were no paramilitary trappings as mourners carried coffin... Rights movement and oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 29 ], the loyalist!
Kumoko Arachne Evolution, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital County, Articles U