uvf gusty spence funeral

[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. Tributes were paid to former leading loyalist paramilitary turned peacemaker Gusty Spence at his funeral in Belfast today. [40] However, Spence's ideas were abandoned as the UVF ceasefire fell apart that same year following the Ulster Workers' Council strike and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; the carnage of the latter had shocked and horrified Spence. LocationLa Habra, CA 90631 EmailGet a free estimate Call(562) 579-5980. 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." There were no paramilitary trappings as mourners carried the coffin of the loyalist leader. for a proxy bomb attack targeting a "peace-building" event in Belfast where Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was speaking. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos In the 1960s, he founded the Ulster Volunteer Force, which was responsible for hundreds of murders during the Troubles. [16] Because of his military experience, Spence was chosen as the military commander and public face of the UVF when the group was established. 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. [113] At other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since the IRA drew almost all of its support from the Catholic community. At the same time, he distanced himself from any policy of random murders of Catholics. [112] The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. [153], The UVF have been implicated in drug dealing in areas from where they draw their support. On 23 October 1972, the UVF carried out an armed raid against King's Park camp, a UDR/Territorial Army depot in Lurgan. [35], In January 1970, the UVF began bombing Catholic-owned businesses in Protestant areas of Belfast. He had risen through its ranks to become a sergeant in the military police and the regiments flag was draped across his coffin. A former leader of the UVF's political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party, described him as "one of the pivots on which a page of Irish history turned". The UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade carried out further attacks during this same period. It comprises high-ranking officers under a Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General. [18] Two days later, the government of Northern Ireland used the Special Powers Act to declare the UVF illegal. In May 1966, the UVF issued a statement, announcing that it was declaring war on the IRA. In 1990, the UVF joined the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) and indicated its acceptance of moves towards peace. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. "[23] It was led by Gusty Spence, formerly a soldier in the British Army. Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. ", "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? Birgen, Julia. [21] The shootings led to Spence's being sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum sentence of twenty years. [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. [146][147] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. Bates, employed as a barman at the Long Bar, was recruited into the Shankill Butchers gang in 1975 by its notorious ringleader, Lenny Murphy. [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. [120] However, from 1977 bombs largely disappeared from the UVF's arsenal owing to a lack of explosives and bomb-makers, plus a conscious decision to abandon their use in favour of more contained methods. [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. [41] On 17 May, two UVF units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades detonated four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan. 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. Gusty Spence, who died over the weekend, was a paramilitary godfather in Northern Ireland and one of the founding figures of the UVF, but was also among the first to recognise the need for peace. After his release December 1984, Spence was a key figure in developing UVF thinking and indirectly its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party. Slowly. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. It was during his time in the Maze prison that Spence began to talk politics and encouraged others to do the same. The group concluded a general acceptance of the need to decommission, though there was no conclusive proof of moves towards this end. Fire also engulfed the house next door, killing the elderly Protestant widow, Matilda Gould (77), who lived there. The chip shop has since been closed down. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. Sinn Fin's Gerry Kelly claimed that while Spence had been central to the development of loyalist paramilitarism, "he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife". [103], On 25 March 2022, the UVF was blamed[by whom?] 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! "[97], In June 2017, Gary Haggarty, former UVF commander for north Belfast and south-east Antrim, pleaded guilty to 200 charges, including five murders. The statement also included a warning that activities could "provoke another generation of loyalists toward armed resistance". Spence told Radio Ulster that the UVF had been "engaged in murder, attempted murder of civilians, attempted murder of police officers. In the 1960s, he founded the Ulster Volunteer Force, which was responsible for hundreds of murders during the Troubles. It set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. [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. Instead his coffin was adorned with the beret and regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, his former regiment. They shot dead John Scullion (28), a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. Spence grew increasingly frustrated with UVF leadership, and left the organization altogether in 1978. Since the ceasefire, the UVF has been involved in rioting, drug dealing, organised crime, loan-sharking and prostitution. [151] On 10 February 1976, following the sudden uptick of violence against Catholic civilians by loyalist militants, Irish cardinal William Conway and nine other Catholic bishops met with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his cabinet, asking them as to where the loyalist militants had acquired guns, to which Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees replied "Canada". Gusty Spence is regarded as one of the founders of loyalist paramilitarism, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [106][107] This uniform, based on those of the original UVF, was introduced in the early 1970s. Malcolm Sutton's Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland, part of the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), states that the UVF and RHC was responsible for at least 485 killings during the Troubles, and lists a further 256 loyalist killings that have not yet been attributed to a particular group. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [30] He remained at large for four months and during that time even gave an interview to ITV's World in Action in which he called for the UVF to take an increased role in the Northern Ireland conflict against the Provisional IRA. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade. He was the first RUC officer to be killed during the Troubles. Mark Davenport from the BBC has stated that he spoke to a drug dealer who told him that he paid Billy Wright protection money. [89][90] A dissident Republican was arrested for "the attempted murder of police officers in east Belfast" after shots were fired upon the police. [29] Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Accueil / Non class / gusty spence funeral; 15 Sep 0. gusty spence funeral . 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. There was to be much overlap in membership between the UCDC/UPV and the UVF.[22]. . She said: "Some people have said that in his later life, he changed to become committed to peace. Progress is being made, inch by inch. It was alleged that Colin Armstrong had links to both drugs and loyalist terrorists. Spence is regarded as the first terrorist godfather in Northern Ireland but also the man who took the first steps towards ending UVF violence. 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. After the Troubles began, an Orange-Canadian loyalist organization known as the Canadian Ulster Loyalist Association (CULA) sprang to life to provide the 'besieged' Protestants with the resources to arm themselves. [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. It began carrying out gun attacks to kill random Catholic civilians and using car bombs to attack Catholic-owned pubs. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. [44] In 1977, he publicly condemned the use of violence for political gain, on the grounds that it was counter-productive. The UVF's last major attack was the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, in which its members shot dead six Catholic civilians in a rural pub. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. [citation needed] The arms were divided between the UVF, the UDA (the largest loyalist group) and Ulster Resistance.[61]. 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. An article published by the newspaper fingered Wright as a drug lord and sectarian murderer. Get in touch with us now to get the service you need. On 7 May 1966, loyalists petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast. "Sunningdale pushed hard-liners into fatal outrages in 1974". of which I have been speaking. 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