Mein Nisinta Seirbhse Poibl na hireann, Originally Published / Wednesday, 28 Sep 2011. Images Courtesy of Getty Images. [64] Republicans responded to the attacks by assassinating senior UVF members John Bingham, William "Frenchie" Marchant and Trevor King[65] as well as Leslie Dallas, whose purported UVF membership was disputed both by his family and the UVF. He was OC of the IRA in the Cavan area during the Border campaign in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Eight people were shot dead and hundreds were injured. In May 1966, the UVF issued a statement, announcing that it was declaring war on the IRA. [51] The couple had three daughters, Elizabeth (born 1954), Sandra (1956) and Catherine (1960). In October 1975, after staging a counter-coup, the Brigade Staff acquired a new leadership of moderates with Tommy West serving as the Chief of Staff. [27] Spence appointed Samuel McClelland as UVF Chief of Staff in his stead. [146][147] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. [153], The UVF have been implicated in drug dealing in areas from where they draw their support. Recently it has emerged from the Police Ombudsman that senior North Belfast UVF member and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch informant Mark Haddock has been involved in drug dealing. 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. The feud with the UDA ended in December following seven deaths. 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 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. They managed to procure a large cache of weapons and ammunition including L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles, Browning pistols, and Sterling submachine guns. . [30] As arranged, the car in which Spence was a passenger was stopped in Springmartin and Spence was taken away by UVF members. [24] The murder of Ward was, however, repudiated by Paisley and condemned in his Protestant Telegraph, sealing the split between the two. 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. [36] Catholic churches were also attacked. [9] According to the book Lost Lives (2006 edition), it was responsible for 569 killings. 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. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. [73], On 2 September 2006, BBC News reported the UVF might be intending to re-enter dialogue with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, with a view to decommissioning of their weapons. [87][88], On the night of 20 June 2011, riots involving 500 people erupted in the Short Strand area of East Belfast. Among their engagements was one as guests of honour of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom.[8]. Flanked by his PUP colleagues Jim McDonald and William Plum Smith, as well as Ulster Democratic Party members Gary McMichael, John White and Davy Adams, Spence read out the statement from Fernhill a former Cunningham family home on their former Glencairn estate in Belfast's Glencairn area. 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. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. [37], The IRA had split into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA in December 1969. The new Brigade Staff's aim was to carry out attacks against known republicans rather than Catholic civilians. Berenice's Cremation & Burial Care offers qualified funeral services in La Habra, CA, 90631. Instead his coffin was adorned with the beret and regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, his former regiment. Mr Lynch's widow, Norma, recollected last night that the late Catholic primate of Ireland, Cardinal O Fiaich, had said that "if there was a hope for peace in Ireland it would come through Gusty". "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. 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. [85][86], On 2526 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. [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". 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. [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. Mharaigh na Bistir thart ar 23 Caitliceach agus 8 Protastnach, dream dlseoir sceapatacha a d'fhuadaigh, a chiapaigh agus . RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The Irish parliament's Joint Committee on Justice called the bombings an act of "international terrorism" involving the British security forces. Find the perfect gusty spence funeral stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. The latter had formally asked Spence for his daughter's hand in marriage during a prison visit. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. [32][33] There were further attacks in the Republic between October and December 1969. Skip to navigation [n] Skip to content [c] Skip to footer [f] Search Search. His funeral service is taking place at Saint Michael's church off the Shankill Road. House of Commons: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Cusack & McDonald, p.3435, 105, 199, 205, The Lost Lives, David McKittrick, Page 1475, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47, Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent, Provisional IRA campaign 1969-1997 Loyalists and the IRA killing and reprisals, Republic of Ireland national football team, Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, "Report drawn up on behalf of the Political Affairs Committee on the situation in Northern Ireland", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfGe4WO8yok, "Sutton Index of Deaths: Organisation responsible for the death", "Sutton Index of Deaths: Crosstabulations", "Inside the UVF: Money, murders and mayhem - the loyalist gang's secrets unveiled", "UVF mural on Shankill Road being investigated by police", "UVF 'behind racist attacks in south and east Belfast'", Chronology of Key Events in Irish History, 1800 to 1967, "Irish tighten security after Dublin bombing", "Call for probe of British link to 1974 bombs", "Collusion in the South Armagh / Mid Ulster Area in the mid-1970's". [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. Formed in 1965,[7] it first emerged in 1966. Birgen, Julia. [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. Gusty Spence, who has died aged 78, was the . "On behalf of Sinn Fein I would wish to extend my condolences to his family at this time.". When the Assets Recovery Agency won a High Court order to seize luxury homes belonging to ex-policeman Colin Robert Armstrong and his partner Geraldine Mallon in 2005, Alan McQuillan said "We have further alleged Armstrong has had links with the UVF and then the LVF following the split between those organisations." 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 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. 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. 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. Wright was apparently enraged by the nickname and made numerous threats to O'Hagan and Campbell. She said: "Some people have said that in his later life, he changed to become committed to peace. It would attack the Republic again in May 1974, during the two-week Ulster Workers' Council strike. None the less, they ransacked the house and stole Spence's army medals, while the Spence family were forced to stay off the Shankill for the entirety of the loyalist feud. This was a large, three-day riot between Irish nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. Correspondence includes Spence's correspondence with leaders and imprisoned members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and letters concerning his imprisonment originally . It set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos [85][86] Fifty-year-old Stockman was stabbed more than 10 times in a supermarket in Belfast; the attack was believed to have been linked to the Moffett killing. Scores of houses and businesses were burnt out, most of them owned by Catholics. [26], On 26 June, the group shot dead a Catholic civilian and wounded two others as they left a pub on Malvern Street, Belfast. He was the first RUC officer to be killed during the Troubles. [46] This resulted in a sharp increase in sectarian killings and internecine feuding, both with the UDA and within the UVF itself. [50], Spence married Louie Donaldson, a native of the city's Grosvenor Road, on 20 June 1953 at Wellwood Street Mission, Sandy Row. [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. 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. [58][59] West died in 1980. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. [23] Tim Pat Coogan has described Spence as a "loyalist folk hero". [36], Spence soon became the UVF commander within the Maze Prison. [21] In April 1966, Ulster loyalists led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC). (2006) "Neglected Intelligence: How the British Government Failed to Quell the Ulster Volunteer Force, 19121914. SENIOR UVF figures have warned loyalists will "wreck the place" and "the streets will be in flames" if any Brexit deal between the UK and EU does not . In 1984, Gusty was released from prison, and became a leading figure in the Progressive Unionist Party and . Its name was taken from . It issued a statement vowing to "remove republican elements from loyalist areas" and stop them "reaping financial benefit therefrom". Available for both RF and RM licensing. What's he waiting for? While republicans were the expressed target, the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian. ", "UVF orders removal of Catholic families from Carrickfergus housing estate in '21st century form of ethnic cleansing'. [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. Donoghue noted 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. What's he waiting for? VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. DeSantis won't say he's running. [47] Spence went on to become a leading advocate for the Good Friday Agreement. The Irish Army set up field hospitals near the border. The widow of former PUP leader David Ervine, Jeanette, also attended. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. [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]. In keeping with his wishes, there were no paramilitary trappings and his coffin was draped with the regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, in which he served. The UVF stated that the attempted attack was a protest against the Irish Army units "still massed on the border in County Donegal". The statement also included a warning that activities could "provoke another generation of loyalists toward armed resistance". There was to be much overlap in membership between the UCDC/UPV and the UVF.[22]. 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. Along with the newly formed Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF started an armed campaign against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland. [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. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. [44], The brigade formed part of the Glenanne gang, a loose alliance of loyalist assassins which the Pat Finucane Centre has linked to 87 killings in the 1970s. [84] The Progressive Unionist Party's condemnation, and Dawn Purvis and other leaders' resignations as a response to the Moffett shooting, were also noted. [43] David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson were among the other UVF men imprisoned in the mid-1970s to become disciples of Spence. He later became involved in politics and announced the landmark loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994. Slowly. [103], On 25 March 2022, the UVF was blamed[by whom?] [9] Spence served until 1961 when ill-health forced him to leave. At the same time, he distanced himself from any policy of random murders of Catholics. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. LocationLa Habra, CA 90631 EmailGet a free estimate Call(562) 579-5980. The UVF killed four men in Belfast and trouble ended only when the LVF announced that it was disbanding in October of that year. Berenice also assists in shipping across the state, country or around the world. 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VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Is UVFs Beast in the East behind new wave of riots? 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. [28], By 1969, the Catholic civil rights movement had escalated its protest campaign, and O'Neill had promised them some concessions. Mr Spence said last night he was an eternal optimist" where the present situation in the North was concerned. He had risen through its ranks to become a sergeant in the military police and the regiments flag was draped across his coffin. 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. [157] It was around this time that Sunday World journalists Martin O'Hagan and Jim Campbell coined the term "rat pack" for the UVF's murderous mid-Ulster unit and, unable to identify Wright by name for legal reasons, they christened him "King Rat." Ontario is to Ulster Protestants what Boston is to Irish Catholics." According to the Belfast Telegraph, "70 separate police intelligence reports implicating the north Belfast UVF man in dealing cannabis, Ecstasy, amphetamines and cocaine. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. [42], Spence was increasingly disillusioned with the UVF and he imparted these views to fellow inmates at Long Kesh. This collection contains Gusty Spence's personal and business correspondence from 1959-1998, the bulk of which was written during . The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. [5] The family home was 66 Joseph Street in an area of the lower Shankill known colloquially as "the Hammer". [70], There followed years of violence between the two organisations. Sociologist Steven Bruce described the support networks in Canada as "the main source of support for loyalism outside the United Kingdom . [89][90] A dissident Republican was arrested for "the attempted murder of police officers in east Belfast" after shots were fired upon the police. [2] He had been stationed in Cyprus and saw action fighting against the forces of Colonel Georgios Grivas. The vast majority (more than two-thirds)[9][10] of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. 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 was born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. [115] They always signed their statements with the fictitious name "Captain William Johnston". [38] By this time Spence polarised opinion within the UVF, with some members fiercely loyal to a man they saw as a folk hero and others resenting his draconian leadership and increasing emphasis on politics, with one anonymous member even labelling him "a cunt in a cravat". The UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade carried out further attacks during this same period. "However he did dedicate himself to peace and reconciliation for much of his later life so he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife," he added. for a proxy bomb attack targeting a "peace-building" event in Belfast where Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was speaking. 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. It was during his time in the Maze prison that Spence began to talk politics and encouraged others to do the same. "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.". [1] Spence, along with other Shankill Road loyalists, broke from Paisley in 1965 when they sided with Jim Kilfedder in a row that followed the latter's campaigns in Belfast West. 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 . He was shot dead by the IRA in November 1982, four months after his release from the Maze Prison. [16] Their base of operations was the Standard Bar, a pub on the Shankill Road frequented by Spence and his allies (it was normal practice for UVF "teams" to be based at a single pub that its members used socially). This move came as the organisation held high-level discussions about its future. [162], There were also 66 UVF/RHC members and four former members killed in the conflict. But he was also credited with being a driving force in delivering the loyalist ceasefires of the mid-1990s that helped bring an end to the decades of conflict. [151] A Canadian branch of the UDA also existed and sent $30,000 to the UDA's headquarters in Belfast by 1975. we solemnly warn the authorities to make no more speeches of appeasement. [18] Shortly after, Spence and three others were arrested. [29], On 12 October, a loyalist protest in the Shankill became violent. It was not in his later life. [8] He was frequently involved in street fights with republicans and garnered a reputation as a "hard man". Former Ulster Volunteer Force leader Gusty Spence has died aged 78. [32] He was returned to Crumlin Road gaol soon afterwards, where he shared a cell with William "Plum" Smith, one of the Red Hand Commandos whom he had met upon his initial release and who had since been jailed for attempted murder. [93] Much of the UVF's orchestration was carried out by its senior members in East Belfast, where many attacks on the PSNI and on residents of the Short Strand enclave took place. Along with the UDA, it helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads, intimidating workers, and shutting any businesses that opened. Hanna and Jackson have both been implicated by journalist Joe Tiernan and RUC Special Patrol Group (SPG) officer John Weir as having led one of the units that bombed Dublin. [54] The UVF was behind the deaths of seven civilians in a series of attacks on 2 October. [145], Scotland was a source of funding and aid, supplying explosives and guns. A man who worked tirelessly for peace. [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. Traduzioni in contesto per "divenuto cuore pulsante" in italiano-inglese da Reverso Context: Labirinto di mais: In via Amerigo Vespucci, a pochi passi da piazza Nember, sorge un terreno di ben 5 ettari divenuto cuore pulsante del divertimento tra mistero, intelligenza e creativit. The arms are thought to have consisted of: The UVF used this new infusion of arms to escalate their campaign of sectarian assassinations. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade. 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. [79], In 2008, a loyalist splinter group calling itself the "Real UVF" emerged briefly to make threats against Sinn Fin in County Fermanagh. 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. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. From that time until the early 1990s the Mid-Ulster Brigade was led by Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, who then passed the leadership to Billy Wright. [29], Spence was granted two days leave around in early July 1972 to attend the wedding of his daughter Elizabeth to Winston Churchill "Winkie" Rea. 5 ] the couple had three daughters, Elizabeth ( born 1954 ), helped. Were the expressed target, the former leader of the IRA in the North was concerned Spence! To talk politics and announced the landmark loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994 Johnston '' also included a that! Where the present situation in the Progressive Unionist Party and, Sandra ( 1956 ) and Catherine 1960... 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