Billy McFarland
Encyclopedia
William "Billy" McFarland, also known as "the Mexican", is a Northern Irish
loyalist
paramilitary. A leading figure in the Ulster Defence Association
(UDA), he has served as head of the North Antrim
and Londonderry
Brigade of the group.
. McFarland's brigade published its own magazine Warrior that spoke out against gangsterism and drug dealing and which also invited readers to send in their own ideas for the future of Northern Ireland which the magazine would then publish, something of a departure for the usually dogmatic UDA. In 1996, following the collapse of the IRA ceasefire, McFarland announced through the pages of Warrior his conversion to the Ulster nationalism
previously advocated by the late South Belfast brigadier John McMichael
. He called for the United Kingdom
to be radically altered into a "British family of nations" in which Northern Ireland, Scotland
, Wales
and England
would all become fully self-governing and only loosely linked. Acknowledging that his independent "Ulster" would face the problem of an "Irish minority" McFarland argued that those who did not accept the new arrangement would be expected to move to the Republic of Ireland
.
McFarland's brigade were responsible for the Castlerock killings of 25 March 1993 in which four Catholics were killed. The Greysteel massacre
of 30 October 1993 also happened within McFarland's brigade area and he was widely suspected of having ordered the attack, although suspcion also fell on West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair
who, even at this stage, was seeking to extend his influence beyond his own area. Although McFarland's brigade was fairly active during this period, Adair had little respect for his fellow brigadier, considering him to be a "redneck
" due to his rural origins. Adair was also critical of McFarland for the latter's alleged paranoia over the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as that group was highly active in McFarland's area of command.
In early 1994 the UDA's Inner Council, which was in charge of directing operations, was made up of its six brigadiers - McFarland, Adair, Alex Kerr
of the South Belfast Brigade, Tom Reid for North Belfast, Gary Matthews for East Belfast, and Joe English
for Southeast Antrim
who served as chairman. English was an advocate of a Combined Loyalist Military Command
(CLMC) ceasefire and sought to win support from his fellow brigadiers. Whilst Reid and Matthews were supportive of this initiative and Adair wholly opposed, McFarland represented, along with Kerr, a middle ground that, whilst largely sympathetic to English also felt that Adair's main argument, that a recent upturn in UDA activity was defeating the Provisional IRA, had some merit.
(who had regained his former office of South Belfast brigadier) and John Gregg
, McFarland was unenthusiastic about the Belfast Agreement
, with the three especially irked by the prospect of Sinn Féin
entering the proposed power-sharing executive. Surprisingly however Johnny Adair, under the influence of John White
, became for a time a follower of the Northern Ireland peace process
and in December 1999, after a meeting with Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
chairman General John de Chastelain
, announced that he felt the UDA should unilaterally decommission part of its arsenal. McFarland criticised the proposal and the Inner Council vote produced a three votes to three tie. At a second meeting the following day, called at Adair's behest, the West Belfast brigadier did not attend but rather sent John White to read out a statement in which Adair attacked the other five brigadiers, denouncing McFarland as "a dinosaur with no forward thinking". McFarland then refused to attend a press conference that Adair had called to announce the decommissioning, talling White "I'm going back to Jurassic Park".
McFarland was one of those to caution against any UDA involvement in the feud between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Loyalist Volunteer Force
(LVF) and he feared that Johnny Adair's open support of the LVF would provoke an unwanted war between the UVF and the UDA. Nonetheless he was not keen to antagonise the widely feared Adair and so, along with Gregg, McDonald and North Belfast brigadier Jimbo Simpson
, attended Adair's "Loyalist Day of Culture" on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000. Unbeknownst to McFarland and the others Adair would use this day to launch his assault on the UVF with members of Adair's C Company attacking UVF's Rex Bar stronghold before forcing UVF members and their families out of the lower Shankill and initiating a loyalist feud
between the UVF and the West Belfast brigade
. McFarland had known that trouble was brewing as soon as the UDA march began that day as a west Belfast band asked to march with his brigade but he refused after noticing an LVF flag amongst their banners.
Despite the earlier troubles McFarland, after a request from John White, accompanied the other four brigadiers to publicly meet and greet Adair on the Shankill after he had been released from Maghaberry on 15 May 2002. McFarland later stated that he didn't want to go but had only agreed after the other brigadiers accepted White's argument that it was important to show unity publicly after a series of press reports about splits in the UDA. In the subsequent fall-out McFarland backed Jackie McDonald
in his moves against Adair.
before being subsequently claimed that McFarland faced replacement by an anonymous figure as the UDA wished to end the practice of making its leaders public. Ultimately neither story proved ture, not least because Knight had left the UDA, and McFarland remained as brigadier. Indeed in 2006 McFarland was one of three leading UDA men, the others being Jackie McDonald and Ihab Shoukri, to meet with Martin McAleese
in Belfast to discuss decommissioning.
In 2009 McFarland was at the centre of reports about a split in the UDA over the issue of decommissioing. The Belfast brigadiers met with General de Chastelaine in a separate meeting to one conducted with McFarland. This came after the Ulster Political Research Group
in McFarland's area announced unilaterally that it was abandonig its previous support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland
and the Northern Ireland Assembly
. McFarland subsequently told the other brigadiers at an Inner Council meeting that he could not deliver decommissioning as the strength of feeling within his brigade was too set against the move.
During Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Republic of Ireland
in 2011 McFarland was part of a delegation of UDA brigadiers who laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Dublin.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitary. A leading figure in the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
(UDA), he has served as head of the North Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
and Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
Brigade of the group.
Early years
McFarland joined the UDA in the 1970s and for a time was active in a series of bomb attacks on Catholic-owned businesses in the North Antrim and Londonderry area, activities for which he was eventually imprisoned. Around this time he was given the nickname "the Mexican" on account of his swarthy appearance and his thick black moustache.Brigadier
Following his release from prison, McFarland, who also maintained legitimate business interests in the construction industry, was appointed brigadier for the North Antrim and Londonderry area, a brigade that was only sporadically active compared to those in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. McFarland's brigade published its own magazine Warrior that spoke out against gangsterism and drug dealing and which also invited readers to send in their own ideas for the future of Northern Ireland which the magazine would then publish, something of a departure for the usually dogmatic UDA. In 1996, following the collapse of the IRA ceasefire, McFarland announced through the pages of Warrior his conversion to the Ulster nationalism
Ulster nationalism
Ulster nationalism is the name given to a school of thought in Northern Irish politics that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without becoming part of the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovereign state separate from England, Scotland and Wales...
previously advocated by the late South Belfast brigadier John McMichael
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
. He called for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to be radically altered into a "British family of nations" in which Northern Ireland, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
would all become fully self-governing and only loosely linked. Acknowledging that his independent "Ulster" would face the problem of an "Irish minority" McFarland argued that those who did not accept the new arrangement would be expected to move to the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
McFarland's brigade were responsible for the Castlerock killings of 25 March 1993 in which four Catholics were killed. The Greysteel massacre
Greysteel massacre
The Greysteel massacre took place on the evening of 30 October 1993 in Greysteel, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Three members of the Ulster Defence Association , a loyalist paramilitary group, attacked a crowded pub with firearms, killing eight civilians and wounding thirteen...
of 30 October 1993 also happened within McFarland's brigade area and he was widely suspected of having ordered the attack, although suspcion also fell on West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair
Johnny Adair
Jonathan Adair, better known as Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair is the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" . This was a cover name used by the Ulster Defence Association , an Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation...
who, even at this stage, was seeking to extend his influence beyond his own area. Although McFarland's brigade was fairly active during this period, Adair had little respect for his fellow brigadier, considering him to be a "redneck
Redneck
Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States...
" due to his rural origins. Adair was also critical of McFarland for the latter's alleged paranoia over the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as that group was highly active in McFarland's area of command.
In early 1994 the UDA's Inner Council, which was in charge of directing operations, was made up of its six brigadiers - McFarland, Adair, Alex Kerr
Alex Kerr (loyalist)
Alex Kerr is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary. Kerr was a brigadier in the Ulster Defence Association before becoming one of the two founders of the Loyalist Volunteer Force . He is no longer active in loyalism....
of the South Belfast Brigade, Tom Reid for North Belfast, Gary Matthews for East Belfast, and Joe English
Joe English (loyalist)
Joe English is a former Ulster loyalist activist. English was a leading figure in both the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Democratic Party and was instrumental in the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process. He is a native of the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, Northern...
for Southeast Antrim
UDA South East Antrim Brigade
The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was one of the six paramilitaries of the Ulster Defence Association . It operated in County Antrim, mainly in Newtownabbey, Larne and Antrim. The Guardian has identified it as "one of the most dangerous factions"...
who served as chairman. English was an advocate of a Combined Loyalist Military Command
Combined Loyalist Military Command
The Combined Loyalist Military Command was an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee....
(CLMC) ceasefire and sought to win support from his fellow brigadiers. Whilst Reid and Matthews were supportive of this initiative and Adair wholly opposed, McFarland represented, along with Kerr, a middle ground that, whilst largely sympathetic to English also felt that Adair's main argument, that a recent upturn in UDA activity was defeating the Provisional IRA, had some merit.
Power struggle
Along with fellow brigadiers and Inner Council members Jackie McDonaldJackie McDonald
John "Jackie" McDonald is a senior Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association brigadier for South Belfast, having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael's killing by the Provisional IRA in December 1987...
(who had regained his former office of South Belfast brigadier) and John Gregg
John Gregg (UDA)
John Gregg was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist organisation in Northern Ireland. From the 1990s until his shooting death by rival associates, he served as brigadier of its South East Antrim Brigade...
, McFarland was unenthusiastic about the Belfast Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
, with the three especially irked by the prospect of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
entering the proposed power-sharing executive. Surprisingly however Johnny Adair, under the influence of John White
John White (loyalist)
John White is a former leading loyalist in Northern Ireland. He was sometimes known by the nickname 'Coco'. White was a leading figure in the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association and, following a prison sentence for murder, entered politics as a central figure in the Ulster Democratic...
, became for a time a follower of the Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
and in December 1999, after a meeting with Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland, as part of the peace process.-Legislation and organisation:...
chairman General John de Chastelain
John de Chastelain
Alfred John Gardyne Drummond de Chastelain is a retired Canadian soldier and diplomat.De Chastelain was born in Romania and educated in England and in Scotland before his family immigrated to Canada in 1954...
, announced that he felt the UDA should unilaterally decommission part of its arsenal. McFarland criticised the proposal and the Inner Council vote produced a three votes to three tie. At a second meeting the following day, called at Adair's behest, the West Belfast brigadier did not attend but rather sent John White to read out a statement in which Adair attacked the other five brigadiers, denouncing McFarland as "a dinosaur with no forward thinking". McFarland then refused to attend a press conference that Adair had called to announce the decommissioning, talling White "I'm going back to Jurassic Park".
McFarland was one of those to caution against any UDA involvement in the feud between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Loyalist Volunteer Force
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...
(LVF) and he feared that Johnny Adair's open support of the LVF would provoke an unwanted war between the UVF and the UDA. Nonetheless he was not keen to antagonise the widely feared Adair and so, along with Gregg, McDonald and North Belfast brigadier Jimbo Simpson
Jimbo Simpson
James "Jimbo" Simpson, also known as the Bacardi Brigadier, is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. He is most noted for his time as Brigadier of the North Belfast Ulster Defence Association...
, attended Adair's "Loyalist Day of Culture" on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000. Unbeknownst to McFarland and the others Adair would use this day to launch his assault on the UVF with members of Adair's C Company attacking UVF's Rex Bar stronghold before forcing UVF members and their families out of the lower Shankill and initiating a loyalist feud
Loyalist feud
A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups since they were founded shortly before and after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles broke out in the late 1960s...
between the UVF and the West Belfast brigade
UDA West Belfast Brigade
The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association based in the western quarter of Belfast in the Greater Shankill area...
. McFarland had known that trouble was brewing as soon as the UDA march began that day as a west Belfast band asked to march with his brigade but he refused after noticing an LVF flag amongst their banners.
Despite the earlier troubles McFarland, after a request from John White, accompanied the other four brigadiers to publicly meet and greet Adair on the Shankill after he had been released from Maghaberry on 15 May 2002. McFarland later stated that he didn't want to go but had only agreed after the other brigadiers accepted White's argument that it was important to show unity publicly after a series of press reports about splits in the UDA. In the subsequent fall-out McFarland backed Jackie McDonald
Jackie McDonald
John "Jackie" McDonald is a senior Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association brigadier for South Belfast, having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael's killing by the Provisional IRA in December 1987...
in his moves against Adair.
Subsequent activity
During February 2003 various reports appeared in the press regarding McFarland's status as brigadier. It was firstly claimed that McFarland was to be replaced as brigadier by Torrens KnightTorrens Knight
Torrens Knight is a Northern Ireland loyalist and alleged police informer, who belonged to the "North Antrim & Londonderry Brigade" of the Ulster Defence Association . He was part of the UDA unit that carried out the Greysteel massacre where eight people lost their lives...
before being subsequently claimed that McFarland faced replacement by an anonymous figure as the UDA wished to end the practice of making its leaders public. Ultimately neither story proved ture, not least because Knight had left the UDA, and McFarland remained as brigadier. Indeed in 2006 McFarland was one of three leading UDA men, the others being Jackie McDonald and Ihab Shoukri, to meet with Martin McAleese
Martin McAleese
Martin McAleese is a member of Seanad Éireann and the husband of the former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.-Early life and education:He played with the Antrim Minors and was captain of the team in 1969. He trained and worked as an accountant and then qualified as a dentist.He practiced as a...
in Belfast to discuss decommissioning.
In 2009 McFarland was at the centre of reports about a split in the UDA over the issue of decommissioing. The Belfast brigadiers met with General de Chastelaine in a separate meeting to one conducted with McFarland. This came after the Ulster Political Research Group
Ulster Political Research Group
The Ulster Political Research Group is an advisory body connected to the Ulster Defence Association , providing advice to them on political matters...
in McFarland's area announced unilaterally that it was abandonig its previous support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
and the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. McFarland subsequently told the other brigadiers at an Inner Council meeting that he could not deliver decommissioning as the strength of feeling within his brigade was too set against the move.
During Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Republic of Ireland
Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Republic of Ireland
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh made a state visit to the Republic of Ireland from 17 May to 20 May 2011, at the invitation of the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese....
in 2011 McFarland was part of a delegation of UDA brigadiers who laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in Dublin.