south east antrim uda brigadier

In a move that was not universally popular in the region, Fisher allowed the Shoukris and their ally Alan McClean to live under South East Antrim Brigade protection and even attend meetings of the brigade's commanders. [55] Gilmore had been targeted in an unsuccessful crossbow attack the previous August. He spent six months in jail for rioting in 1977. [20], Although the UDA was officially on ceasefire, the South East Antrim Brigade remained active in late 1998 and early 1999, undertaking a series of pipe bomb attacks on Catholic properties. He managed to avoid being beaten in return for tricking his ex-UVF 2IC friend into attending the Monkstown meeting during which he was attacked. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. "It is notoriously difficult to leave," a senior loyalist source told us. And one-time trusted lieutenant Colin Simms is in disgrace after being linked with the murder in Carrick a year ago of Glenn Quinn. [37] In response to the criticism from the rest of the UDA leadership, Fisher withdrew the South East Antrim brigade from the UDA and reconstituted it as a separate movement. Such was the ferocity of the attack the victim urinated himself while pleading for his life. A large portion of the cash was taken from a UVF-controlled taxi firm in which he holds a silent 25 per cent share. Will the Windsor Framework be enough for the DUP? Nonetheless he was not keen to antagonise Adair and so, along with McFarland, McDonald and Jimbo Simpson, accepted his invitation to attended a Loyalist Day of Culture organised by Adair on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000. [9] Gregg's fearsome reputation earned him the nickname "the Reaper" and he bore a tattoo of the Grim Reaper on his back as a tribute. 'Break the silence about who killed my brother', Cannabis factory uncovered in UDA searches, House of alleged senior UDA member seized, Angry protests erupt over Greek rail disaster, India PM Modi urges G20 to overcome divisions, Aboriginal spears taken in 1770 to return to Sydney, How 10% of Nigerian registered voters delivered victory, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, 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. Gregg had been a regular visitor to Ibrox Park for a number of years,[11] often in the company of Michael Stone, and had even picked up a conviction for violence at an Old Firm match. [27], However, in late 2002 a UDA member originally from the Woodvale Road who had moved to Rathcoole was attacked after it emerged that he was a friend of Joe English, the former brigadier who had since been exiled from the area by Gregg for his anti-drugs stance. [23] As a result of the attack, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack. [43] Accusations that the brigade has remained active continued, however, and in 2009, the mother of Jason Ballard, a 20-year-old Greenisland native subjected to a vicious beating at his home, claimed that the attack had been carried out by the South East Antrim Brigade, although they denied any involvement in the attack. In October 2002, Gregg was one of the brigadiers who passed the resolution expelling Adair from the UDA for his involvement in the non-fatal shooting of Jim Gray. [3] He later became part of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade. DIE KOMMENDEN sind nationalpolitisch-strmungsbergreifend. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. [60], On 4 January police investigated SEA UDA graffiti sprayed on eleven properties. [15] A senior police source once described him as a man driven by "pure and absolute bigotry". In the later 1980s Snoddy took ill with cancer and many of his duties as brigadier were filled by his ally Joe English. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. [14] Throughout 1999 his brigade continued to be active, undertaking a pipe bomb campaign against Catholic homes whilst on 12 May members of his brigade shot and wounded a Catholic builder in Carrickfergus under the cover name "Protestant Liberation Force". The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of . The gang's boss in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast was another expelled. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDAs South East Antrim Brigade. DCI John Caldwell: The New IRA threat after Omagh shooting, The Firm: Inside Lurgan and Portadowns cross-community crime gang. UDA feud erupts. The attack is commemorated in the song South East Antrim Brigade by loyalist singer Rab C, many of whose compositions were about the brigade and its leading members. The main target proved to be Danny OConnor, a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) representative on initially Larne Borough Council and then the Northern Ireland Assembly, whose home and office were attacked at least twelve times by Greggs men between 2000 and 2002. His organisation has come under intense scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force and he is known to be anxious to get out of the crime business before he is scooped. "He was lucky to be let out alive, he knows it, but he's the exception rather than the rule.". It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. [44] In 2010, the Independent Monitoring Commission confirmed that the split between the Fisher faction of the brigade and the wider UDA had not ended. Protestant Trevor Lowry (aged 49) was beaten to death in Glengormley by UDA members under Greggs command on 11 April 2001 after he was mistaken for a Catholic. id="addMyFavs"> MEDIA SCRUTINY: Press coverage is heaping pressure on Gary Fisher. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. Wikizero - Ulster Volunteer Force . "He'll take the hit, he's like a deer in the headlights, there's nowhere for him to go. The 47-year-old had no connections to any paramilitary gang, but was beaten to death in his home in January 2020 after being threatened by the group. [4] Gregg, at the time the head of the UDA group in Rathcoole, was in charge of a three-man hit team that pulled up alongside Adams' car near Belfast City Hall and opened fire injuring Adams and his three fellow passengers, who nonetheless escaped to seek treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. In the last 12 months almost a dozen alleged South East Antrim members have been lifted and charged with drug offences by the National Crime Agency working alongside the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. Each were accused of taxing drug dealers and stealing tens of thousands of pounds from UVF coffers. [3] A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley and Whitewell, all of which are part of Newtownabbey, as well as Carrickfergus, the Shore Road, Greenisland, Ballymena, Whitehead, Antrim and Larne. [52] The South-east Antrim brigadier, who was not named in reports, stated that any brigade members attending Gilmore's funeral would be expelled. He said there were about 2,000 members of the UDA in the south east Antrim . "The vast majority of it comes in from down south, from one of the well-known crime gangs down there. 2023 BBC. [18] Catholic workman Gary Moore was killed in Monkstown in 2000 in another killing attributed to Gregg's unit. "Drugs is the big one. [67], Threats against journalists and politicians, Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, "Drugs seized in searches linked to South East Antrim UDA", "South East Antrim UDA: 'A criminal cartel wrapped in a flag', "UDA member speaks out about threats and criminality - BBC News", "UDA rebels decommission and condemn McDaid killing", "EXECUTED: Fourth feud killing in four days as loyalist assassins murder UVF man in his flat. . [63][64] Patsy McGlone, Stephen Farry, Steve Aiken and Doug Beattie also condemned the attacks and were subsequently warned by the PSNI of threats from the South East Antrim UDA. John Gregg (1957 - 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. [29] In response, graffiti appeared around the walls of Rathcoole in December, stating: "Daft Dog and White beware. Under Gregg, the South East Antrim Brigade was linked to the killing of UVF member Mark Quail during Adair's feud with the UVF in 2000[25][26] although according to the BBC the killing was not directly connected to Adair's issues with the UVF but rather stemmed from a pub dispute in north Belfast between members of the two paramilitary groups. [37], In 2007, the UDA's inner council expelled the Brigadier in the South East Antrim area and his political adviser after a long-running stand-off between the mainstream UDA and the South East Antrim Brigade. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. [6] When asked by the BBC in prison if he regretted anything about the shooting, his reply was, "Only that I didn't succeed. On February 1 2003, Gregg and fellow UDA man Rab Carson had just returned to Northern Ireland after attending an Old Firm match in Glasgow when their taxi drove into . ago. Browns_right_foot 3 mo. In 2019, Colin Horner was gunned down in front of his young son. The secretive mobster looks gaunt and has been described as 'haunted', Fisher is losing his grip on the crime gang. [16], Having witnessed demographic shifts in Glengormley and Crumlin, traditionally loyalist majority towns that had come to have nationalist majorities on account of loyalists moving out of Belfast, he determined that the same thing would not happen in Carrickfergus and Larne and so launched a campaign of pipe bomb and arson attacks on Catholic homes there (despite these towns having very small Catholic populations). John Gregg (1957 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. "The South East Antrim UDA were part of the UDA inner council," explained Jim McDowell, a former editor of the Sunday World newspaper. "Several UDA men told their bosses they wanted him shot dead while others wanted his knees done but they've been ordered by Fisher to leave him alone, for now. He called on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to establish an auxiliary police clinic on the estate, which had no permanent police building, so as locals concerned about crime could have somewhere to go. I know some comes in from Europe. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. Afterwards a lone piper led the cortege to Carnmoney Cemetery where he was buried. Belfast Books Thanks for promoting my book mate. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, We need government and we need it now Mary Lou McDonald. From the 1990s until he was shot dead in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. Stream Rab C - South East Antrim(loyalist) by Mugs1911 on desktop and mobile. "The former brigadier was summoned to a UVF leadership meeting on the Shankill to talk about the missing money, but he cried off sick," said a UVF source. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. Much of this activity was inspired by Greggs personal hatred of Catholics. The Sunday World also understands Fisher has become increasingly paranoid, believing there is an informant who is passing information about his movements to the PSNI. 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"[1], Following his release from prison, Gregg returned to Rathcoole, where he again became an important figure, taking a central role in the illegal drug trade, with his Rathcoole stronghold a centre of narcotics. The brigade representatives refused to give any details about how many weapons or how much commercial explosives were destroyed during the day-long exercise. Members of the Cloughfern Young Conquerors dressed in uniform accompanied the coffin. Adams was hit five times in the attack but the taxi rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he received treatment and survived. These were carried out under the Red Hand Defenders cover name, with some attacks also blamed on the Orange Volunteers who were active in similar attacks at the time. His plan to flee to Scotland has also been put on hold after loyalists there were warned not to harbour him. The UVF man who is accused of touting - who we can't identify for legal reasons - went around the Rathcoole estate and other loyalist areas close by demanding cash payments from alleged drug dealers recently. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. [10], Gregg played the bass drum in the UDA-affiliated flute band Cloughfern Young Conquerors, a loyalist flute band which police claimed regularly caused trouble at Orange Order parades. He will have run the crime gang . Gregg when explaining his family background, revealed that his father, regarded as a quiet man, had trust in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army but joined the loyalist vigilante groups set up around the start of the Troubles ostensibly to protect the Protestant community from attacks by republicans. [12] As the oldest member, English usually chaired the meetings of this Inner Council, although he often struggled to control UDA West Belfast Brigade brigadier Johnny Adair. Greggs killing proved to be the undoing of Adair. . Gregg when explaining his family background, revealed that his father, regarded as a quiet man, had trust in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army but joined the loyalist vigilante groups set up around the start of the Troubles ostensibly to protect the Protestant community from attacks by republicans. As the band prepared to take the train home that evening they met members of the Shankill Protestant Boys, another band in town for the parade that was affiliated to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper In late August 1997 this band was one of a number of similar flute bands to travel to Derry for the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry march through the city centre. [35] Members of Adair's C Company shot and killed Gregg the following month. [63], The threats were condemned by Peter Vandermeersch of Independent News & Media and Seamus Dooley, assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and by Amnesty International UK. Gregg's movements were known to C Company member Alan McCullough who, receiving instruction from Adair (then in HMP Maghaberry), arranged for a hit team to kill Gregg and his associate as the taxi took them from the port of Belfast. "Some had to take out loans to buy their safety from this thug and then it turns out he's touting on the UDA's dealers to the cops at the same time.". [34] A bomb attack on Adair's house on 8 January 2003 was blamed on Gregg by John White. Killing Rage The life and death of Eamon Collins. He complained to senior figures in West Belfast before ordering that the three men be kneecapped. Gary Fisher became brigadier following the murder in 2003 of his predecessor John 'Grug' Gregg, but he is known to be looking for a way out of the organisation. This followed in summer 2002 when a community centre was taken over for this purpose although Greggs UDA objected and daubed the building with the word tout. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 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In late August, Adair had even managed to have Gregg stood down as Brigadier for "not being militant enough" and replaced by one of Adair's own associates. SoundCloud . His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. It used the name Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) to claim responsibility for attacks and, because the two claimed to be separate organisations, the UDA was able to . 2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. [66], In July 2021, Doug Beattie, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, told the BBC that the South East Antrim UDA had threatened to kill him twice. On 4 September Langhammers car was blown up outside his Whiteabbey home by Greggs men, although Langhammer himself was asleep at the time and no one was injured. Former PSNI superintendent Ken Pennington said he considers them to be "a criminal cartel that have wrapped themselves in a flag". 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