South East Antrim UDA crime boss Gary Fisher is facing an internal revolt with even his closest lieutenants saying his time is up. 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. Gregg and his team were apprehended almost immediately by a British Army patrol that opened fire on them before ramming their car. . He was interviewed on the basis of anonymity. [60], On 4 January police investigated SEA UDA graffiti sprayed on eleven properties. Tensions in South East Antrim between the UDA and the UVF were already high after a summer of incidents and disagreements. The gang is a standalone faction of the UDA. [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'. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) [17] According to the Workers' Party (Ireland), English was stood down by the UDA after he had expressed willingness to enter into dialogue with them. The coffin was draped in the Ulster flag and the flag of the UFF. Free. Tipperary Tim astounding 1928 Grand National winner at 100/1 & a proud resident of Glencairn ! 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. Gregg was jailed for 18 years; however, he only served half his sentence and was released in 1993. [24], Gregg was not close to Johnny Adair but sympathised with his uncompromising attitudes and his anti-UVF views. 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 . [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 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. Gary Fisher, a close associate of Tommy Kirkham, succeeded Gregg as brigadier. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. . They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors. [6] His deputy Rab Carson was killed in the same attack, with both men having just returned from Scotland where they were attending a Rangers F.C. . [5] The Guardian has identified it as "one of the most dangerous factions". 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. "And if they are a defender of anything, it is their own criminal interests.". Adair was returned to prison two days later. 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. . [2], Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. Fri 14 Jan 2022 at 00:30. The council released a statement expelling two figures within it, believed to be senior UDA figures Fisher and Kirkham, once a member of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), although they were not named. Old tensions resurfaced however, and after Adair's men fought with UVF supporters at the Shankill's Rex Bar, Adair launched a pogrom of the lower Shankill, forcing out all UVF members and their families and initiating a loyalist feud. Read about our approach to external linking. The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of . 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. 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. [8] Gregg, Colin Gray and Gerry Welsh were immediately arrested by the waiting British Army, who had doctored the bullets to reduce their lethality. "This isn't the end of it I wouldn't have thought. His gaunt appearance had people raising questions about his health. Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. "These people are completely ruthless, I believe that it would put my life in danger," he said. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. [7] Sometime after the Combined Loyalist Military Command of 1994 he succeeded Joe English, who had emerged as a leading figure in the Ulster Democratic Party, as so-called brigadier of the South-East Antrim UDA. [52] The South-east Antrim brigadier, who was not named in reports, stated that any brigade members attending Gilmore's funeral would be expelled. Convicted gunrunner Thomas Morgan, a one-time member of the UDA, has muscled in on the town's drug scene. The UDA member claimed the paramilitary group was heavily involved in serious crime in the south east Antrim area . Golden Brown The Stranglers: Iconic Songs & the story behind them. Themen: Politische Wochenschau, politische Theorie, Artikel und Berichte zu Themen rund um berwachung, Repression, Wirtschaft, Soziales, Befreiungsnationalismus, Antiimperialismus, Zeitgeschichte und Literaturhinweise Will the Windsor Framework be enough for the DUP? . 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. 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. [40] As of 2014, the South East Antrim Brigade is no longer considered part of the wider UDA and their brigadier does not attend meetings of the organisation's ruling Inner Council. 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. The deposed brigadier's ex-2IC is also facing major money worries having been fined 20,000 by the UVF. Martin Quinn is the brother of the murdered Glenn Quinn, who was beaten to . Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a hawk in loyalist circles. [29] The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. Senior members of the UDA group want to take out the UVF member who they think is a 'tout'. "The UDA is the biggest paramilitary group in Rathcoole, much bigger than the UVF, and there are some UDA men in the estate who would gladly do the job. A man described in court as the commander of the UDA in South East Antrim is one of four men charged with conspiring to supply cocaine. Greggs 18-year-old son Stuart and another man were also in the vehicle but neither sustained injuries in the shooting attack. Close pal Clifford 'Trigger' Irons is currently out on bail awaiting trial on drugs charges. as a threat to Mad Dog Adair and his ally John White. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. The views and opinions expressed in this documentary/ies and page are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. 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. 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). Representing the UVF was John 'Bunter' Graham and the organisation's 1st Battalion commander Harry Stockman. Tensions between the terror groups is already high, with the UVF trying to muscle in and exploit tensions within Fisher's gang to increase their authority in the Rathcoole estate. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. In response, graffiti appeared around the walls of Rathcoole in December, stating: Daft Dog and White beware. 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. [42] The process was confirmed as complete by the IICD and came in the last 24 hours of the commission's existence. DIE KOMMENDEN sind nationalpolitisch-strmungsbergreifend. [32], 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. Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper 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. 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. Simms' demise was the catalyst for the disintegration of Fisher's power base. [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. 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. [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. His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. His plan to flee to Scotland has also been put on hold after loyalists there were warned not to harbour him. 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. A large portion of the cash was taken from a UVF-controlled taxi firm in which he holds a silent 25 per cent share. 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. He later became part of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade. [1], On 14 March 1984, he severely wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an attack supposedly ordered as a response to the earlier killings of Ulster Unionist Party politicians Robert Bradford and Edgar Graham. [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. The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. [10] 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 that locals concerned about crime could have somewhere to go. On 8 December a bomb was found under Greggs car, apparently placed there by one of Adairs allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. 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. The same year, Geordie Gilmore was also shot dead in broad daylight. 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