south east antrim uda brigadier

He said there were about 2,000 members of the UDA in the south east Antrim . That same night Jackie McDonald's men raided the lower Shankill and ran those members of C Company that had remained loyal to Adair, who was still in prison, out of the city. The deposed brigadier's ex-2IC is also facing major money worries having been fined 20,000 by the UVF. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley . 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. Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. [4] The attack had been known in advance by security forces due to a tip-off from informants within Rathcoole; Adams and his co-passengers had survived in part because Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, acting on the informants information, had replaced much of the ammunition in the UDAs Rathcoole weapons dump with low-velocity bullets. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. Carson was described by UDA sources as a dear friend of Greggs and a junior member of the South-East Antrim Brigade. Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper Often called 'the Egyptian', Shoukri became known as 'the blingadier' for his extravagant lifestyle. Gregg was given a paramilitary funeral which was attended by thousands of mourners, including senior UDA members Jackie McDonald, Jim Gray, Sammy Duddy and Michael Stone. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade is one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Fisher is no longer the main man in South East Antrim, he has seen his close circle of trusted sidekicks dissolve. "They'll let Fisher take the fall before replacing him, they don't see any point in putting someone else in now only for him to be targeted.". Read about our approach to external linking. 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 Gregg was also characterised as a bully, a racketeer, and a sectarian bigot who took particular delight in carrying out vicious punishment attacks and randomly targeting Roman Catholics.. In November 2011, Stuart Gregg received 400,000 compensation for psychological trauma due to having witnessed his fathers murder. 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[38], Gregg was married with one son and two stepdaughters. . "Fisher can't make a decision, he's not allowed to make a decision and they're just keeping him there, partly because no one wants the job and they're waiting until the heat from the Task Force eases. [51], On 13 March 2017 Geordie Gilmore, formerly a commander in the brigade until being stood down in 2016 following a dispute over drug money,[52] was shot in the neck in Carrickfergus. 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 veteran loyalist, who was 'brigadier' of its South East Antrim unit, was kicked out of the organisation last week. Similarly, South East Antrim UDA which broke away from the Inner Council in 2007, is wholly independent of any other UDA faction. [3] He spent six months in jail for rioting in 1977. id="addMyFavs"> In May of that same year, Alan McCullough was himself killed by the UDA. [56] Two men from the Newtownards area were arrested in connection with the killing. Despite his reputation for gangsterism, Gregg's failed attack on Gerry Adams had afforded him legendary status and, under the direction of Jackie McDonald, the remaining UDA brigadiers concluded that Adair had to be removed. The The new Irish Sea Border: What does it mean? [48] Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton described the incident as a "power trip" by the brigade, and suggested that it was an attempt by the group to assert their dominance over the local community. He told them they had to pay money - ranging from 5,000 right up to 20,000 - to be allowed to stay in the area and avoid a UVF punishment attack. I know some comes in from Europe. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. Gary Fisher, a close associate of Tommy Kirkham, succeeded Gregg as brigadier. As head of a cash-rich organised crime gang, Fisher has amassed a considerable personal wealth, but even as brigadier his hands are tied when it comes to walking away. Will the Windsor Framework be enough for the DUP? [9] They were convicted for the attack the following year. The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of . Tu-Su 09:00-17:00, closed M. Located just inside the main entrance of Taipei City Hall, this is a good place to know the history and culture of Taipei City. "[11] In 2000 he helped to ensure that a proposal before the Inner Council to initiate the decommissioning of weapons was rejected. Former PSNI superintendent Ken Pennington said he considers them to be "a criminal cartel that have wrapped themselves in a flag". His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. [22] Around this time Gregg spearheaded an initiative to significantly increase recruitment into the South East Antrim Brigade. Spotlight's Gangland: The Murder of Glenn Quinn can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer. pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. What makes a serial killer and why are we fascinated by them? Charlie Strain, Hugh Cameron, Tommy Hollran and Mark Gourley, who is missing presumed murdered. A failure by the paramilitary group's south-east Antrim faction to back the move resulted in a . The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and is used to launder criminal cash. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. The juxtaposition of this initiative with the name of Gregg was condemned by the mother of a Catholic who had been killed by members of the South-East Antrim Brigade in 2000 as she argued "it's sickening to call it the Gregg initiative when he was a ruthless terrorist.Everyone goes on about Johnny Adair but they're all as bad as each other". Greggs 18-year-old son Stuart and another man were also in the vehicle but neither sustained injuries in the shooting attack. [50] Three arrests were made in the days immediately after the attack. He was in attendance along with ex-Labour NI Secretary of State Peter Mandelson and former MI6 operatives. Law enforcement agencies see the loosening of Fisher's control as an opportunity. [60], On 4 January police investigated SEA UDA graffiti sprayed on eleven properties. Dissident groups and LVF-linked mobsters have also moved in to claim a slice of the action. "Putting it bluntly they were either stood down, expelled or shot - that's the only way to get out.". That same night Jackie McDonalds forces invaded the lower Shankill and ran those members of C Company that had remained loyal to Adair, who was still in prison, out of the city. 2023 BBC. The South East Antrim UDA's tally of violence spanning two decades includes a roll call of unsolved murders. The brigade representatives refused to give any details about how many weapons or how much commercial explosives were destroyed during the day-long exercise. 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. [6] However, this proved short-lived. It has brought the town under close scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. [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. This has trigged UDA fury - the terror group has been facing an onslaught from crimebusters in South East Antrim while the UVF in the same area have been left relatively untouched. 2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. Money drives the South East Antrim UDA's criminal interests, made off the backs of communities who are ruthlessly subjected to a code of silence. UDA. 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. [2], Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. Each were accused of taxing drug dealers and stealing tens of thousands of pounds from UVF coffers. often in the company of Michael Stone, and had even picked up a conviction for violence at an Old Firm match. [22], Gregg initially remained aloof from the struggle and instead concentrated on his anti-Catholic campaign. He cited former UFF chief Johnny Adair as one of the few to have got out with the skin on his back. 25.043611 121.5625. "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.". Carrickfergus is a town that once inspired a classic Irish folk song about longing. [1] Gregg was also characterised as "a bully, a racketeer, and a sectarian bigot who took particular delight in carrying out vicious punishment attacks and randomly targeting Roman Catholics. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. [34], Gregg was given a paramilitary funeral which was attended by thousands of mourners, including senior UDA members Jackie McDonald, Jim Gray, Sammy Duddy and Michael Stone. [46], In March 2014 the South East Antrim Brigade was widely reported as being behind a "rampage" in which up to 100 people, some of them wearing masks, attacked a number of residential properties in Larne. "There was an old joke going round the Rathcoole estate that when (name removed) is on the phone he's either talking to Den Elliott or the peelers," the source added. However in the second half of 2002 he was dragged into the conflict after Adair made him a target in his own attempts to take full control of the UDA. 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. [13] The two clashed frequently and, in 1993, Adair even threatened to kill English after English had suggested that the UDA should not claim the murder of Marie Teresa Dowds de Mogollon, which Adair's top hitman Stephen McKeag had perpetrated. [11] Each geographical area was commanded by a UDA 'Brigadier' and sometimes also had a designated 'Military Commander', 'Intelligence Officer' and 'Quartermaster'. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association and are heavily involved in the drug trade. [43] The decommissioning was completed at the same time as that of the republican Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). The ex-UVF leader has been warned to return the money, with a portion also invested in hot food takeaways and some hidden at safe houses in the Rathcoole estate. [25], By September 2002, Adair had even circulated stories to contacts in the media that Gregg was under death threat from the UDA. [61], On 16 January 2019 four men were jailed for life for their involvement in the May 2017 UDA loyalist feud killing of 35-year-old father-of-two Colin Horner. 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). It is unclear when South East Antrim was first designated as a brigade area although its first recognised leader was Alan Snoddy and he held title of Brigadier by at least 1979. [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". 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. They have a number of supply lines. The UDA was only proscribed - or declared illegal - in 1992 and, as the Troubles ended, the group began to fracture. "Some families had no involvement in drugs at all but still had to pay to escape being put out, or even worse. These psychos were obviously baying for blood Mod blood, to be exact. [19], In late 2001, Gregg's reign of terror in Rathcoole, where drug dealing, knee-capping and savage beatings were the norm, was challenged by local British Labour Party Councillor Mark Langhammer, who also objected to Gregg's close links to neo-Nazi groups in Great Britain. [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. [84] fifty skinheads appeared from nowhere, many of them wearing Chelsea and Rangers football scarves and covered in Loyalist and swastika tattoos. [62], On 8 May 2020 a number of journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers were warned by the PSNI about imminent attacks against journalists by the South East Antrim UDA. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. Greggs 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. Under Gregg the South-East Antrim Brigade were prepared to ignore the terms of the loyalist ceasefire, such as on 25 April 1997 when he dispatched a five-man team to Carrickfergus to set fire to a Catholic church in retaliation for a similar attack on a Protestant church in East Belfast (this earlier attack had actually been organised by dissident loyalists seeking to provoke the UDA into returning to violence). [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. However, this proved short-lived. Much of this activity was inspired by Greggs personal hatred of Catholics. [52], On 29 May 2017 Colin Horner, a friend of Gilmore and former UDA member, was fatally shot in front of his three-year-old son at a busy shopping centre in Bangor, County Down. However, some communities in Northern Ireland still live in fear of violent loyalist paramilitary gangs and risk brutal consequences for doing or saying anything that gang members perceive as offensive. Rev Philip McAlister officiated at his funeral. "The South East Antrim UDA were part of the UDA inner council," explained Jim McDowell, a former editor of the Sunday World newspaper. Along with Jackie McDonald and Billy McFarland, fellow brigadiers on the UDAs Inner Council, Gregg was lacking in enthusiasm for the Belfast Agreement when it appeared in 1998. "Over the last 12 months the paramilitary cops (Paramilitary Crime Task Force) have been hitting the South East Antrim over and over again," said a source. Sources in South East Antrim have told us Fisher has been trying to engineer an exit strategy with enough money to sustain a life away from the UDA. Belfast Books Thanks for promoting my book mate. The UDA member claimed the paramilitary group was heavily involved in serious crime in the south east Antrim area . From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. When the loyalist arrived he was surrounded by four masked UVF members who beat him with baseball bats, breaking several bones. [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. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. A volley of shots was fired over his coffin by UDA gunmen outside his Rathcoole home. Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547 and former MI6 operatives [ 56 ] men... 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