uvf gusty spence funeral

uvf gusty spence funeral

Notable mourners included Unionist politicians Dawn Purvis, Mike Nesbitt, Michael McGimpsey, Hugh Smyth and Brian Ervine, UVF chief John "Bunter" Graham and UDA South Belfast brigadier Jackie McDonald. [22] Spence's involvement in the killings gave him legendary status among many young loyalists and he was claimed as an inspiration by the likes of Michael Stone. Spence now argued that UVF members were soldiers and soldiers should not kill civilians, as had been the case at McGurk's Bar. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. [citation needed], On 26 March 2022, the UVF was linked to a hoax bomb alert at a bar in Warrenpoint, County Down. Read about our approach to external linking. "The untouchable informers facing exposure at last". In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. Gusty Spence announced the loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. A controlled explosion was carried out and the bomb was later declared a hoax. [citation needed] The feud between the UVF and the LVF erupted again in the summer of 2005. 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". In keeping with his wishes, there will be no UVF trappings and his coffin will be draped in the regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles in which he served. [8] He was frequently involved in street fights with republicans and garnered a reputation as a "hard man". 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. "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". [116], Like the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF's modus operandi involved assassinations, mass shootings, bombings and kidnappings. The incumbent Chief of Staff, is alleged to be John "Bunter" Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as "Mr. Spence was praised by, among others, PUP leader Brian Ervine, who stated that "his contribution to the peace is incalculable". Reverend Chris Hudson, who helped broker contacts between loyalist paramilitaries and the Irish government, said that aspect of the statement was significant. In October, UVF and UPV member Thomas McDowell was killed by the bomb he was planting at Ballyshannon power station. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. "[97], In June 2017, Gary Haggarty, former UVF commander for north Belfast and south-east Antrim, pleaded guilty to 200 charges, including five murders. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. 206, 207, Ed Moloney, Secret History of the IRA, p.321, "Voices From the Grave:Two Men's War in Ireland" Ed Moloney, Faber & Faber, 2010 pp 417. 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. 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. [125] Historically, the number of active UVF members in July 1971 was stated by one source to be no more than 20. According to the Belfast Telegraph, "70 separate police intelligence reports implicating the north Belfast UVF man in dealing cannabis, Ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine. [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. 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". It comprises high-ranking officers under a Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General. [114] Many retaliatory attacks on Catholics were claimed using the covername "Protestant Action Force" (PAF), which first appeared in autumn 1974. 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. On 23 October 1972, the UVF carried out an armed raid against King's Park camp, a UDR/Territorial Army depot in Lurgan. 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. 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. The ferry [between Scotland and Northern Ireland] 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.[148] An Irish government memo written by David Donoghue stated: "The commonest contribution of Scots UDA and UVF is to send gelignite. [68], According to journalist and author Ed Moloney, the UVF campaign in Mid-Ulster in this period "indisputably shattered Republican morale", and put the leadership of the republican movement under intense pressure to "do something",[69] although this has been disputed by others.[who?]. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. 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,. "[56], His funeral service was held in St Michael's Church of Ireland on the Shankill Road. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support; it was thought that terrorising the Catholic community and inflicting such a death toll on it would force the IRA to end its campaign. The group also carried out attacks in the Republic of Ireland from 1969 onward. [9] According to the book Lost Lives (2006 edition), it was responsible for 569 killings. "Shortly after he was jailed, Gusty, after a period of reflection on his own life, quickly started to challenge other loyalists coming into prison to reflect on their own lives.". The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. He was the first RUC officer to be killed during the Troubles. [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". [11] During the conflict, its deadliest attack in Northern Ireland was the 1971 McGurk's Bar bombing, which killed fifteen civilians. "He was really a role model for many young men who would follow.". Fifteen Catholic civilians were killed and seventeen wounded. From late 1975 to mid-1977, a unit of the UVF dubbed the Shankill Butchers (a group of UVF men based on Belfast's Shankill Road) carried out a series of sectarian murders of Catholic civilians. The UVF carried out dozens of sectarian murderers and it was while he was serving a sentence in Long Kesh prison for his role in the murder of a Catholic that Mr Spence began to change his views about the use of violence. Twenty tons of ammonium nitrate was also stolen from the Belfast docks.[40]. Available for both RF and RM licensing. "FIFTH REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT MONITORING COMMISSION", Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs - Part One: The continuing threat from paramilitary organisations, "Inside story: Why the IRA never attacked Scotland", "Revealed: how Scots loyalists sent gelignite to paramilitaries. [43] Jackson was allegedly the hitman who shot Hanna dead outside his home in Lurgan. [82] 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. Also, why did the author not probe the close relationship between Gusty Spence and the RHC? [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. 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. [8], From an early age Spence was a member of the Prince Albert Temperance Loyal Orange Lodge, where fellow members included John McQuade. 2023 BBC. Two members of the group survived the attack and later testified against those responsible. [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. [164], For the original Ulster Volunteer Force, see, Aaron Edwards - UVF: Behind the Mask pp. On the basis of that, we as a federation have called for the respecification of the UVF [stating that its ceasefire is over]. [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. [25], On 27 May, Spence sent four UVF members to kill IRA volunteer Leo Martin, who lived in Belfast. Spence in 1972, while at large from prison, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, Biographies of people prominent during 'the Troubles': S, "CAIN: Background: Chronology of Key Events 1800 to 1967". After his release December 1984, Spence was a key figure in developing UVF thinking and indirectly its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party. Known IRA men will be executed mercilessly and without hesitation. Blood and rage: a cultural history of terrorism, "Granddaughter of victim says Gusty Spence was not a peacemaker", "Shankill shuts to pay its respects to UVF chief Gusty Spence", BBC News, Thursday, 3 May 2007, "Loyalist veteran's path to peace", Murders of Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine, Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gusty_Spence&oldid=1136743955, Loyalists imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict, People convicted of murder by Northern Ireland, People from Northern Ireland convicted of murder, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Northern Ireland, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Hiberno-English, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 22:44. [36] Catholic churches were also attacked. [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. Gusty was a man of war, he was also a man of peace, she said. The feud with the UDA ended in December following seven deaths. [75] This was to take effect from midnight. Spence grew increasingly frustrated with UVF leadership, and left the organization altogether in 1978. [70], There followed years of violence between the two organisations. [84] The Progressive Unionist Party's condemnation, and Dawn Purvis and other leaders' resignations as a response to the Moffett shooting, were also noted. It claimed the pubs were used for republican fundraising. [46] Some of the new Brigade Staff members bore nicknames such as "Big Dog" and "Smudger". [32] Spence gave his permission for UVF brigadier Billy Hanna to establish the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade in Lurgan. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. [149] It is estimated that the UVF nevertheless received hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations to its Loyalist Prisoners Welfare Association. They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. 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. They were blamed by the PSNI on members of the UVF, who also said UVF guns had been used to try to kill police officers. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. He will be buried in Bangor after a funeral service on the Shankill Road. 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. During its 12 July 1967 march, the Orange lodge to which he belonged stopped outside the prison in tribute to him. [125] Members were disciplined after they carried out an unsanctioned theft of 8 million of paintings from an estate in Co Wicklow in April 1974. 28 September 2011 Gusty Spence announced the loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994 Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. He was born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. It was during his time in the Maze prison that Spence began to talk politics and encouraged others to do the same. Since the ceasefire, the UVF has been involved in rioting, drug dealing, organised crime, loan-sharking and prostitution. [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. A number of friends and family members spoke at the service at St Michael's Church of Ireland on the Shankill Road. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. 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Armed men hijacked a van on the nearby Shankill Road and forced the driver to take a device to a church on the Crumlin Road. [37] As the loyalist Maze commander, Spence initially also had jurisdiction over the imprisoned members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), although this came to an end in 1973 when, following a deterioration in relations between the two groups outside the prison walls, James Craig became the UDA's Maze commander. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. UVF In 1961, Spence retired from the Royal Irish Rifles, which he had joined in 1957, on the grounds of ill health. RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. The 78-year-old had been ill for some time. [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". 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. [39], Spence began to move towards a position of using political means to advance one's aims, and he persuaded the UVF leadership to declare a temporary ceasefire in 1973. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. In line with Mr Spences wishes, his coffin was draped with the flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, the British army regiment in which he served for six years before he joined the UVF in the 1960s. The largest death toll in a single attack was in the 3 March 1991 Cappagh killings, when the UVF killed IRA members John Quinn, Dwayne O'Donnell and Malcolm Nugent, and civilian Thomas Armstrong in the small village of Cappagh. 2023 BBC. 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. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. Unable to find their target, the men drove around the Falls district in search of a Catholic. The Irish parliament's Joint Committee on Justice called the bombings an act of "international terrorism" involving the British security forces. [84] Eleven months later, a man was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of the UVF's alleged second-in-command Harry Stockman, described by the Belfast Telegraph as a "senior Loyalist figure". [7] His family had a long tradition of Orange Order membership. [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]. [29], On 12 August 1969, the "Battle of the Bogside" began in Derry. [21] The shootings led to Spence's being sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum sentence of twenty years. [125], The UVF has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group. [21] The 'Paisleyites' set out to stymie the civil rights movement and oust Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. [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. [47] Spence went on to become a leading advocate for the Good Friday Agreement. Mark Davenport from the BBC has stated that he spoke to a drug dealer who told him that he paid Billy Wright protection money. [74], 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. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. Augustus Spence was born in a Protestant area of Belfast, not far from Shankill Road. 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. The Shankill loyalists supported Kilfedder and following his election as MP sent a letter to Paisley accusing him of treachery during the entire affair. The UVF killed four men in Belfast and trouble ended only when the LVF announced that it was disbanding in October of that year. Gusty Spence is regarded as one of the founders of loyalist paramilitarism, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [79], In 2008, a loyalist splinter group calling itself the "Real UVF" emerged briefly to make threats against Sinn Fin in County Fermanagh. In keeping with his wishes,. Although Mr Lynch was from a different tradition, he had "welcomed his friendship," and he recalled the conversations they had about peace in Ireland. Mr Spence was convicted for the murder of one of the victims, 18-year-old Peter Ward, who was shot dead after being identified as a Catholic while he drank in a mainly Protestant pub. Thirty-three people were killed and almost 300 injured. A number. Adair's men forced their way into Spence's Shankill home but found it empty, as Spence tended to spend much of the summer at a caravan he owned in Groomsport. It was not in his later life. [49], On 3 May 2007, Spence read out the statement by the UVF announcing that it would keep its weapons but put them beyond the reach of ordinary members. Two UVF members, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, were accidentally killed by their own bomb while carrying out this attack. It was the UVF's deadliest attack in Northern Ireland, and the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. 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. ", "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? [6] He was also a member of the Church Lads' Brigade, a Church of Ireland group and the Junior Orange Order. Until recent years,[12] it was noted for secrecy and a policy of limited, selective membership. ", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47. The loyalist leader always denied responsibility and his family are now challenging the conviction. In her address to the church congregation, Ms Purvis recalled how Mr Spence had been frank about his UVF role, but that he had often shocked loyalist contemporaries by his willingness to bring an end to conflict and build bridges between working class Protestants and Catholics. [33] His fugitive status earned him the short-lived nickname the "Orange Pimpernel". One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade. 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 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". Mr Spence argued for a ceasefire with republicans from as early as the mid-1970s and played a key role in encouraging young loyalists he met in prison to think of the reasons for their involvement in violence. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. 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 . [140][141], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. 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. 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). [54] 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 19771981. "The Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Cover-up and incompetence". The UVF's leadership is based in Belfast and known as the Brigade Staff. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. [31], The UVF had launched its first attack in the Republic of Ireland on 5 August 1969, when it bombed the RT Television Centre in Dublin. [citation needed] There were also reports that UVF members fired shots at police lines during a protest. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. The crowds included a leader of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association Jackie McDonald. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. [87][88], On the night of 20 June 2011, riots involving 500 people erupted in the Short Strand area of East Belfast.

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