"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. John Gregg (UDA) The man who shot Gerry Adam? A volley of shots was fired over his coffin by UDA gunmen outside his Rathcoole home. It's believed he fears sparking a new intra-loyalist feud, piling even more pressure on the faction which has been facing a police crackdown. 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. [15] A senior police source once described him as a man driven by "pure and absolute bigotry". The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of senior paramilitary veterans with Fisher forced to toe the line. Catholic workman Gary Moore was killed in Monkstown in 2000 in another killing attributed to Greggs unit. Free. [6] When asked by the BBC in prison if he regretted anything about the shooting, his reply was, "Only that I didn't succeed. Police confirmed that they were treating it as part of the existing feud. UDA boss Gary Fisher plots his exit strategy. This came within a few days of a 1m allocation to a conflict transformation project in loyalist areas. 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). He cited former UFF chief Johnny Adair as one of the few to have got out with the skin on his back. The veteran loyalist, who was 'brigadier' of its South East Antrim unit, was kicked out of the organisation last week. 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. 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. Gary Fisher, a close associate of Tommy Kirkham, succeeded Gregg as brigadier. [63] At least one journalist was warned of a possible under car booby trap. UDA feud erupts. Rev Philip McAlister officiated at his funeral. [25], By September 2002, Adair had even circulated stories to contacts in the media that Gregg was under death threat from the UDA. The newspaper also reported that the group refused to decommission its weapons. He complained to senior figures in West Belfast before ordering that the three men be kneecapped. [50] Three arrests were made in the days immediately after the attack. A mortally-wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. 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. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. 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. 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It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. His gaunt appearance had people raising questions about his health. On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". Fisher is no longer the main man in South East Antrim, he has seen his close circle of trusted sidekicks dissolve. 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. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. [58], On 11 December 2018 handguns bought on the 'dark net' by two Co Antrim men linked to a loyalist feud may have been destined for use by the South East Antrim UDA. The south Belfast, south-east Antrim and east Belfast brigadiers . 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). "And if they are a defender of anything, it is their own criminal interests.". [33], In November 2011, Stuart Gregg received 400,000 compensation for psychological trauma due to having witnessed his father's murder. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. His own earliest memory of the Troubles was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association marches in Derry, a movement to which Gregg and his family were strongly opposed. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade is one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). 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. [42] The process was confirmed as complete by the IICD and came in the last 24 hours of the commission's existence. [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. "I think that the powers that be know exactly which individuals are involved. 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. 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. [55] Gilmore had been targeted in an unsuccessful crossbow attack the previous August. One of those was alleged Carrickfergus UDA commander Clifford Irons who was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. In the later 1980s Snoddy took ill with cancer and many of his duties as brigadier were filled by his ally Joe English. [10] 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 Reaper is coming for you" as a threat to "Mad Dog" Adair and his ally John White. A UDA member originally from the Woodvale Road had moved to Rathcoole where he had been beaten up after it emerged that he was a friend of Joe English, the former brigadier who had been exiled from the estate by Gregg for his anti-drugs stance. [11], As brigadier Joe English enjoyed, theoretically, more power than his predecessor, as Andy Tyrie had been removed from the UDA leadership and replaced by a collective leadership of the movement's six brigadiers, including English. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. His 2IC (second-in-command) was also dismissed after being given a sickening baseball bat beating by other masked UVF members. Tommy Lyttle inherited 'Bertie Scott' from a man called Alan Snoddy, the UDA commander or Brigadier in South-East Antrim, a figure who kept a very low public profile. "He was lucky to be let out alive, he knows it, but he's the exception rather than the rule.". [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'. [1][2] It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. 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. "Drugs is the big one. The Belfast Telegraph called the move "a familiar loyalist pattern of events. Gregg and his team were apprehended almost immediately by a British Army patrol that opened fire on them before ramming their car. To the rest of us, an attack on a UDA brigadier is an attack on the whole organisation. Adair was returned to prison two days later. 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. [19] In late August 1997, the brigade became involved in simmering tensions with fellow loyalist paramilitaries in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Cloughfern Young Conquerors, a flute band attached to the brigade, had been to Derry for the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry march through the city centre when at the train station they met members of the Shankill Protestant Boys, a UVF-affiliated band. 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. 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. 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. [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. The move, some say, does not signal a return to violence. [2], Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. It's very difficult to deal with the issue of their control, because of the fear that they just instil into people.". Law enforcement agencies see the loosening of Fisher's control as an opportunity. 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. In return for ending criminality they have been promised 5m of funding for projects in loyalist areas from the 50m Fresh Start package to end paramilitarism. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. 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 gang is a standalone faction of the UDA. 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. 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. [47] A Police Service of Northern Ireland officer was injured during the disturbance. [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. Senior members of the UDA group want to take out the UVF member who they think is a 'tout'. There is a belief in the organisation that the Task Force is building a case against Fisher and senior figures in SEA are content to leave him in place. And until he was deposed, he was known for "telling tales" to the UVF's South East Antrim brigadier Den Elliott who was stood down last year for allegedly running unsanctioned rackets. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. [20] This followed in summer 2002 when a community centre was taken over for this purpose although Gregg's UDA objected and daubed the building with the word "tout". 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. [34] A bomb attack on Adair's house on 8 January 2003 was blamed on Gregg by John White. Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. [14] Later in the year, English was forced to confront Adair about rumours that Adair was considering attending an Inner Council meeting armed in order to eliminate the other five brigadiers and assume sole control of the UDA. [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. . Despite his reputation for gangsterism, Greggs 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. "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.". 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. 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. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. "And the blunder of the Housing Executive staff being threatened did him no favours either in the area.". [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. [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. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. 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