south east antrim uda brigadier
2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley . UDA members turned out in force yesterday for the funeral of Mr Robert Carson, who was gunned down alongside the east Antrim UDA "brigadier", Mr John Gregg, in Belfast's docks area at the weekend. [18] English would soon re-emerge as part of the Ulster Democratic Party. 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. Carrickfergus is a town that once inspired a classic Irish folk song about longing. 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. 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. 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. [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. Free. The gang's boss in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast was another expelled. 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. . [1], Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. [8] 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] On 8 December a bomb was found under Gregg's car, apparently placed there by one of Adair's allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. 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. "Some middle-ranking UDA men in the estate wanted him to be shot dead because touting on fellow loyalists to the police is as bad as it gets," said the source. [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. Snoddy died from the illness in September 1988 and English immediately succeeded him. "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. [9] They were convicted for the attack the following year. [2] Since 2007 the South East Antrim Brigade has operated independently of the UDA following a fall-out. UDA feud erupts. Snoddy died from the illness in September 1988 and English . From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. His 2IC (second-in-command) was also dismissed after being given a sickening baseball bat beating by other masked UVF members. His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. [3] A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole , Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley and Whitewell, all . "When we look at what they try and portray themselves to be, defenders of their area, I can't see how that ties in with dealing drugs in a community.". [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. 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. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. The UDA member claimed the paramilitary group was heavily involved in serious crime in the south east Antrim area . Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. A mortally wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. He told author Ian S. Wood that he had only supported the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire in an effort to ensure the release of imprisoned friends. "Putting it bluntly they were either stood down, expelled or shot - that's the only way to get out.". It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles". John Gregg (UDA) The man who shot Gerry Adam? 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. [6] The Irish News described the brigade as 'powerful' and at one time being 'the most bloody and murderous gang operating within the paramilitary organisation'. [47] A Police Service of Northern Ireland officer was injured during the disturbance. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, Former minister Nichola Mallon says Windsor Framework receiving positive welcome from businesses, Senior police officer referred to watchdog over alleged rape comments, Over 150 Presbyterian members sign letter criticising incoming moderators comments on ordination of women, Hancock hugely disappointed and sad after WhatsApp messages sent to newspaper. [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. [15] English was a strong advocate of political means and pushed for the UDA to call a ceasefire in the early 1990s, a position that was anathema, at that point, to Adair. 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. He is currently recovering at his mother's home in the Rathcoole estate after last week's beating. Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, Statistical breakdown of deaths in the Troubles of Northern Ireland 1969 2001, Irish National Liberation Army ( I.N.L.A ), Irish Republican Army. 25.03753 121.56381. He's crossed a line and there are figures in the UDA who won't forget.". [6] When asked by the BBC in prison if he regretted anything about the shooting, his reply was, "Only that I didn't succeed. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. Gregg and his team were apprehended almost immediately by a British Army patrol that opened fire on them before ramming their car. ago. A rebel UDA unit is re-arming in a grim warning to rival drug dealers. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. It has brought the town under close scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. A lengthy internal investigation into the former 'brigadier' led by convicted UVF bomber and provost marshal Jackie Anderson found that he stole at least 250,000 over the past five years. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. 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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. His assassination attempt had made him a loyalist hero and he quickly took over from English as brigadier. [22], Gregg initially remained aloof from the struggle and instead concentrated on his anti-Catholic campaign. [21] Nonetheless he was not keen to antagonise Adair and so, along with McFarland, McDonald and Jimbo Simpson, accepted his invitation to attend a "Loyalist Day of Culture" organised by Adair on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. [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. Formed in 1971 from a number of loyalist vigilante groups, the UDA's stated aims were to protect unionist communities from attacks by republican paramilitaries, but it went on to kill hundreds of people during the Troubles using a cover name - the Ulster Freedom Fighters. . The Reaper is coming for you. [30] This briefly occurred in late August when one of Adair's allies took command of the brigade, although this proved short-lived. [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. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. Under Gregg, drug-dealing became a major problem in brigade areas, particularly Rathcoole, with Gregg himself said to have a leading role in the illicit trade. Four men were convicted of his murder. Spotlight's Gangland: The Murder of Glenn Quinn can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer. "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. When the taxi stopped at traffic lights close to the motorway, it was rammed by another taxi which had been hijacked earlier on the Shankill Road. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. Here, reporter Jennifer O'Leary writes about how the group continues strike fear into communities. . [33] This was followed by two pipe bombs being thrown at Gregg's house and shots being fired at that of his friend Tommy Kirkham. [31] Gregg was back in command by October, at which point he was one of the brigadiers who passed the resolution expelling Adair from the UDA for his involvement in the attempted murder of Jim Gray.[32]. [36] Adair would be removed from his position of power soon afterwards in a show of strength by the mainstream UDA under the command of Jackie McDonald. [69] The decommissioning was completed five weeks before a government amnesty deadline beyond which any weapons found could have been used as evidence for a prosecution. She was killed in 2005 and her remains hidden by the son of a veteran member of the Red Hand Commando - a UVF-affiliated group. Brawls between the two had been frequent and tensions had been growing between the UDA and UVF, leading to a drink-fuelled pitched battle between the two groups at the train station. [49] The targets of the attack were reported locally as being two brothers who had been involved in a scuffle with three UDA members the night before. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. Convicted gunrunner Thomas Morgan, a one-time member of the UDA, has muscled in on the town's drug scene. "But he's only delaying the inevitable and will eventually have to account for the 250,000 that's disappeared.". Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. 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. Martin Quinn says the family has been threatened by the South East Antrim UDA for speaking out, Security sources say the South East Antrim UDA has over 2,000 members, Police intelligence says the South East Antrim UDA is involved in the supply of drugs, Rev Philip McAlister officiated at the funeral of Geordie Gilmore, a BBC Spotlight programme on the murder of Glenn Quinn.
