Loyalist Volunteer Force
Encyclopedia
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a 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
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....

 group in Northern Ireland
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...

. It was formed by Billy Wright
Billy Wright (loyalist)
William Stephen "Billy" Wright was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the period of violent religious/political conflict known as "The Troubles". He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s...

 in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the...

 (UVF) was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The LVF is thus a UVF splinter group. It is outlawed as a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 organisation in the UK
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...

 and 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,...

. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 has designated it a terrorist organisation also. The LVF have killed 18 people: 13 of whom were civilians, 1 was a former Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 member, and 3 were UVF
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...

 volunteer
Volunteer (Ulster loyalist)
Volunteer, abbreviated Vol., is a title used by a number of Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisations to describe their members.-History of the term volunteer in Ireland:...

s. The LVF has also killed one of its own members.

Goals

In a document, the LVF outlined its goals as follows:
  • The use of the Ulster conflict as a crucible for far-reaching, fundamental and decisive change in the United Kingdom constitution.
  • To restore Ulster's right to self-determination.
  • To end Irish nationalist aggression against against Ulster in whatever form.
  • To end all forms of Irish interference in Ulster's internal affairs.
  • To thwart the creation and/or implementation of any All-Ireland/All-Island political super-structure regardless of the powers vested in such institutions.
  • To defeat the campaign of de-Britishisation and Gaelicaisation of Ulster's daily life.


They also published a magazine called Leading the Way.

Early days

Billy Wright
Billy Wright (loyalist)
William Stephen "Billy" Wright was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the period of violent religious/political conflict known as "The Troubles". He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s...

 was the leader of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), having taken over the command from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson
Robin Jackson
Robert John "Robin" Jackson, known as the Jackal was a Northern Irish loyalist who held the rank of brigadier in the Ulster Volunteer Force during the period of violent religious and political conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.From his home in the small village of Donaghcloney,...

 in the early 1990s upon the latter's "retirement". In October 1994, the UVF and other 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 groups called a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...

. Internal differences between Wright and the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast
Belfast
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...

 came to a head in July 1996, during the Drumcree parade dispute
Drumcree conflict
The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...

. The Orange Order was being stopped from marching through the mostly Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...

 and nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...

 Garvaghy area of Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

. There was a standoff at Drumcree Church
Drumcree Church
Drumcree Parish Church, officially The Church of the Ascension, is the parish church of Drumcree Church of Ireland parish. The church is within the townland of Drumcree, roughly 1.5 miles to the northeast of Portadown, County Armagh....

 between thousands of Orangemen and their supporters on one side, and the security forces on the other. Wright was angered that the parade was being blocked, and was often to be seen at Drumcree with Harold Gracey, head of the Portadown Orange Lodge.

In response to the standoff, Wright's brigade planned to take action. It smuggled homemade weaponry to Drumcree, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen. On 7 July, a day into the standoff, volunteers in Wright's brigade shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick near Aghagallon
Aghagallon
Aghagallon is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about three miles northeast of Lurgan. It is part of the Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of 824 in the 2001 Census....

. The man who killed McGoldrick said that he had planned, along with Billy Wright and Mark Fulton
Mark Fulton (loyalist)
Mark "Swinger" Fulton was a Northern Irish loyalist. He was the leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force , having taken over its command following the killing of the paramilitary organisation's founder, Billy Wright, in the Maze Prison in 1997 by members of the Irish National Liberation Army .Fulton...

, to kidnap three priests
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....

 from a parochial house
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

 in County Armagh and shoot them unless the march was allowed to continue. Allegedly, the brigade also planned to drive petrol tankers
Tank truck
A tank truck or road tanker is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquefied loads, dry bulk cargo or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which are also designed to carry liquefied loads...

 into the nationalist housing estates and then ignite them.

For breaking the ceasefire, Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid Ulster Brigade were stood down by the UVF leadership on 2 August 1996. Wright then took most of the Portadown unit with him and set up the LVF
LVF
LVF can refer to:* Loyalist Volunteer Force* Légion des Volontaires Français* Left ventricular failure...

.

Although behind many activities in the Mid-Ulster area –centred on the Lurgan
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

/Portadown area– including many attacks on civilians, Wright was finally charged with menacing behaviour and sentenced to eight years at the Maze prison
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....

. There he demanded a separate wing for the LVF prisoners. The authorities agreed and the wing became a gathering point for members of loyalist paramilitaries, including many from Belfast and north Down
North Down
North Down can refer to:*North Down Borough Council in Northern Ireland.*North Down in Northern Ireland.*North Down in Northern Ireland....

.

Death of Billy Wright

On the morning of 27 December 1997, Wright was assassinated by the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....

 (INLA) inside Maze Prison. The operation was undertaken by three INLA volunteers – Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, John Glennon and John Kennaway – armed with two pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

s. The three were imprisoned in the same block as Wright. He was shot as he travelled in a prison van (alongside another LVF prisoner and two guards) from one part of the prison to another. After killing Wright, the three volunteers handed themselves over to prison guards. They also handed over a statement:
Billy Wright was executed for one reason, and one reason only, and that was for directing and waging his campaign of terror against the nationalist people from his prison cell in Long Kesh.


That night, LVF gunmen opened fire on the dance hall of the Glengannon Hotel, near Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

. The hotel was owned by Catholics and about 400 teenagers were attending a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 there. Three civilians were wounded and one, a former Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 volunteer, was killed. Police believed that the disco itself was the intended target, rather than the ex-volunteer. Witnesses said it was "an attempt at mass-murder".

Some loyalists believed that prison authorities colluded with the INLA in Wright's killing. The INLA strongly denied these rumours, and published a detailed account of the assassination in the March/April 1999 issue of The Starry Plough
The Starry Plough (newspaper)
The Starry Plough is the official newspaper of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. It states on its website: "The Starry Plough is the only paper that stands firmly against British rule and the destruction of capitalism in Ireland." The paper also focuses on socialist solidarity issues around the...

newspaper.

Good Friday Agreement and ceasefire

In March 1998, during the negotiations for the Good Friday Agreement, the LVF issued a statement expressing support for the stance of the anti-agreement Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...

, saying the party's leader, Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...

, had got it "absolutely right". Members of the DUP - including prominent member of parliament Rev. William McCrea - appeared on public platforms with LVF leaders, including Billy Wright.

In May 1998 it called a ceasefire and urged people to vote no in the referendum on the Agreement. The Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...

 accepted its ceasefire in November, making LVF prisoners eligible for the early release scheme under the Good Friday Agreement. Later, it handed over a small amount of weapons to the 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:...

.

The decommissioned weapons were as follows:
  • 4 Sub-Machine Guns.
  • 2 Rifles.
  • 2 Pistols.
  • 1 Sawn-off shotgun & 31 Shotgun shells.
  • 2 Pipe Bombs


Also destroyed were
  • 348 rounds of ball ammunition.
  • 5 electrical bomb detonators.
  • 2 weapons stocks.
  • 5 assorted magazines


The destruction of some of the LVF arms were recorded via video. However, since the weapons were decommissioned in mid-1998 the LVF has killed four people.

Post-ceasefire activities

In early 2000, an LVF-UVF feud began and there were a number of tit-for-tat killings. This led the Secretary of State to declare on 12 October 2001 that the government no longer recognised their ceasefire.

After its ceasefire, the LVF continued supporting the Orangemen in their protest at Drumcree. In July 2000, it was revealed that members of neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....

 group Combat 18
Combat 18
Combat 18 is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour. It originated in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to other countries. Members of Combat 18 have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites, and other C18 members...

 were travelling from England to join the protest. They were given shelter by LVF volunteers in Portadown and Tandragee. Combat 18 had opposed the LVF's ceasefire, but this trip was said to mark a "healing of the rift".

In 2002, Wright's successor as LVF leader, Mark Fulton
Mark Fulton (loyalist)
Mark "Swinger" Fulton was a Northern Irish loyalist. He was the leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force , having taken over its command following the killing of the paramilitary organisation's founder, Billy Wright, in the Maze Prison in 1997 by members of the Irish National Liberation Army .Fulton...

, was found hanged in Maghaberry prison
Maghaberry (HM Prison)
HMP Maghaberry was built on the site of a World War II airfield near Lisburn, Northern Ireland that was used as a transit base for the United States Army Air Force....

. It is believed he committed suicide.

In July 2005 the IRA declared it had ended its armed campaign and would disarm. In September 2005 weapons inspectors declared that the IRA had fully disarmed. In response, on 30 October that year, the LVF stated that it was standing-down.

In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission
Independent Monitoring Commission
The Independent Monitoring Commission was an organization founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003...

 confirmed that the LVF-UVF feud was over but said that the LVF's involvement with organised crime and drug trafficking continued, describing it as a "deeply criminal organisation". The twentieth IMC report stated that the group was small and without political purpose. Most of its violence was "more criminal than paramilitary" in nature. LVF members who continued violent activity were said to do so "for personal gain" and only associated with the organisation at large when it was helpful to do so. The report added that simple aggressive police work could damage the group's continuance.

Timeline of attacks

According to the Conflict Archive on the Internet
Conflict Archive on the Internet
CAIN is a database containing information about Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the Present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within the University of Ulster at its Magee campus...

's Sutton Database, the LVF have killed 18 people, which included:
  • 13 civilians (11 Catholics and 2 Protestants)
  • 3 Ulster Volunteer Force members
  • 1 former Provisional IRA
    Provisional Irish Republican Army
    The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

     member
  • 1 of its own (LVF) members


Two further killings of Catholics were claimed by the LVF, but the RUC believed that UDA/UFF volunteers were responsible.

The following is a timeline of attacks and attempted attacks that have been claimed by, or blamed on, the LVF:

1996

  • 7 July: In Aghagallon
    Aghagallon
    Aghagallon is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about three miles northeast of Lurgan. It is part of the Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of 824 in the 2001 Census....

    , the LVF shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick (31) while he sat in his car. The gunmen then set the car alight. This was believed to be a response to the Drumcree parade dispute
    Drumcree conflict
    The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...

    ; that the Orange Order was being stopped from marching through the nationalist Garvaghy area of Portadown. Members of the group smuggled homemade weaponry to Drumcree, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen.

1997

  • 20 January: The LVF was blamed for exploding a bomb under a van owned by a Catholic in Larne
    Larne
    Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...

    .
  • 8 March: The LVF carried out firebomb attacks on Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) offices in Banbridge
    Banbridge
    Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...

     and Newcastle
    Newcastle, County Down
    Newcastle is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,444 people recorded in the 2001 Census. The seaside resort lies on the Irish Sea coast at the base of Slieve Donard, one of the Mourne Mountains, and is known for its sandy beach and the Royal County Down Golf Club...

    , County Down. The attacks were believed to be a response to the marketing of the whole of Ireland as a tourist destination by the NITB alongside Bord Fáilte (the tourist board in the Republic of Ireland).
  • 12 May: The LVF kidnapped Catholic civilian Seán Brown (61) after he left Bellaghy
    Bellaghy
    Bellaghy , is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north of Magherafelt. At the centre of the village lies the junction of three main roads leading to Magherafelt, Portglenone and Toome. It had a population of 1,063 people in the...

     GAA
    Gaelic Athletic Association
    The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

     club. He was beaten, shot dead and his body found the next day by a burt-out car on Moneynick Road near Randalstown
    Randalstown
    Randalstown is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Antrim and Toome. It had a population of 4,956 people in the 2001 Census. It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate...

    .
  • 14 May: The LVF was blamed for trying to kill a Catholic taxi driver in Millford
    Milford, County Armagh
    Milford or Millford is a small village about one mile southwest of Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area and had a population of 301 in the 2001 Census.- Name :...

    . He escaped when the gun jammed.
  • 24 May: The LVF claimed responsibility for planting a bomb in Dundalk
    Dundalk
    Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

    , Republic of Ireland. The time bomb was planted in an alleyway on Clanbrassil Street, the town's main shopping street. However, it only partially exploded and was then defused by Gardaí (Irish police). The LVF warned that further "no-warning bomb attacks" would take place "as long as Dublin interferes in Ulster affairs".
  • 2 July: The LVF threatened to kill Catholic civilians if the Drumcree parade planned for 6 July was not allowed to proceed along the nationalist Garvaghy Road.
  • 15 July: The LVF was blamed for shooting dead Catholic civilian Bernadette Martin (18) in Aghalee
    Aghalee
    Aghalee is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is three miles from the southeast corner of Lough Neagh on the main road between Lurgan and Antrim and about 13 kilometres west of Lisburn. The village lies on the steep wooded slopes of Friary Glen and is beside the now disused Lagan...

    . She was shot four times in the head as she slept in her Protestant boyfriend's home.
  • 24 July: The LVF was blamed for kidnapping Catholic civilian James Morgan (16) in Newcastle, County Down. He was tortured, beaten to death with a hammer, and his body doused in petrol and set alight. His burnt and mutilated body was found three days later in a waterlogged ditch used for the disposal of animal carcasses near Clough
    Clough
    Clough is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits about 3 miles from Dundrum on the A2 road between Newcastle and Belfast. It had a population of 255 people in the 2001 Census...

    . Norman Coopey (26) was charged and convicted of the killing.
  • 5 August: The LVF claimed responsibility for trying to kill a Catholic taxi driver in Lurgan
    Lurgan
    Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

    . He escaped when the gun jammed.
  • 12 August: Twenty-seven LVF prisoners in the Maze Prison began a riot which caused severe damage to C and D wings of H-Block 6.
  • 14 August: The LVF was blamed for attacks on four homes belonging to current and former prison officers in Mid Ulster.
  • 17 November: The LVF claimed responsibility for planting four small bombs in Dundalk. The Gardaí removed the "suspicious devices" for examination.
  • 5 December: The LVF was blamed for shooting dead Catholic civilian Gerry Devlin (36) as he entered a GAA club in Glengormley
    Glengormley
    Glengormley or Glengormly is the name of a townland and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Glengormley is within the urban area called Newtownabbey and the wider Newtownabbey Borough.-Location:...

    .
  • 27 December: The LVF claimed responsibility for a gun attack on the dance hall of the Catholic-owned Glengannon Hotel near Dungannon
    Dungannon
    Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

    . Catholic civilian Seamus Dillon (45) was killed and three others were wounded. This was believed to be revenge for the killing of Billy Wright earlier that day. The LVF said: "This attack and future attacks lay squarely at the feet of republicans. For too long the Protestant people have watched their very faith, culture and identity being slowly eroded away".
  • 31 December: The LVF claimed responsibility for a gun attack on the Clifton Tavern on Cliftonville Road, Belfast. Catholic civilian Edmund Treanor (31) was killed and five others were wounded. The RUC believed that UDA/UFF volunteers took part in the attack.

1998

  • 10 January: The LVF claimed responsibility for shooting dead Catholic civilian Terry Enright (28) outside a nightclub on Talbot Street, Belfast. He was a cross-community worker who helped steer young people away from violence. The LVF said it was revenge for the killing of Billy Wright.
  • 18 January: The LVF kidnapped and shot dead Catholic civilian Fergal McCusker (28) in Maghera. His body was found behind a youth center off Tircane Road.
  • 19 January: The LVF claimed responsibility for shooting dead Catholic taxi driver Larry Brennan (52) as he sat in his car on Ormeau Road, Belfast. The RUC believed that UDA/UFF volunteers took part in the attack.
  • 23 January: The LVF shot dead Catholic construction worker Liam Conway (39) on Hesketh Road, Belfast.
  • 24 January: The LVF claimed responsibility for shooting dead Catholic taxi driver John McColgan (33) in Belfast. He had picked up a number of men on the Anderstown Road, who told him to drive to Upper Glen Road. They then shot him and drove off in the taxi, leaving his body on the road.
  • 25 January: The LVF claimed responsibility for shooting and wounding a Catholic civilian in Lurgan. The man was sitting in the cab of a lorry when a lone gunman shot at him several times.
  • 27 January: The LVF was blamed for trying to kill a Catholic taxi driver in North Belfast. He escaped when the gun jammed.
  • 27 January: The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) announced that the LVF had issued death threats against a number of Catholic cross-community workers in the Mid Ulster area.
  • 4 February: The LVF admitted firing a shot at a Protestant man in Lurgan and warned him to leave the area.
  • 23 February: The LVF claimed responsibility for planting a small car bomb outside a Garda
    Garda
    Garda may refer to:* An Garda Síochána, the national police of the Republic of Ireland* Lake Garda, a lake in northern Italy.* Garda , a commune on the shores of the Italian Lake Garda in the province of Verona....

     station in Dromad, County Louth
    County Louth
    County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

    , 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,...

    . It was spotted and defused by the security forces. The LVF threatened further attacks in the Republic.
  • 3 March: The LVF was blamed for shooting dead a Catholic and Protestant civilian–Damian Trainor and Philip Allen–in the Railway Bar, Poyntzpass
    Poyntzpass
    Poyntzpass is a village on the border between County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1987 people....

    . The two were close friends.
  • 5 March: The LVF was blamed for a gun attack on a house in a mainly-Protestant area of Antrim
    Antrim, County Antrim
    Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...

    . It was owned by a Protestant woman with a Catholic husband. The woman and her daughter were wounded.
  • 8 March: The LVF issued threats against Protestant churchmen, business leaders and politicians whom it claimed were "colluding" with the peace process.
  • 17 March: The LVF claimed responsibility for an attempted bomb attack on St Comgall's parish centre in Larne
    Larne
    Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...

    . The building was packed with people celebrating Saint Patrick's Day
    Saint Patrick's Day
    Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...

     when two men threw a bomb through the door. The bomb failed to explode and was defused.
  • 21 April: The LVF shot dead Catholic civilian Adrian Lamph (29) at his workplace in Portadown
    Portadown
    Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

    . He was the first victim of the conflict since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
  • 25 April: The LVF was blamed for shooting dead Catholic civilian Ciaran Heffron (22) in Crumlin
    Crumlin, County Antrim
    Crumlin is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is at the head of a wooded glen on the Camlin River, near Lough Neagh, and west of Belfast city centre. It had a population of over 4,259 people in the 2001 Census...

    .
  • 15 May: The LVF announced an "unequivocal ceasefire" which it hoped would encourage people to vote against the Good Friday Agreement.
  • 2 July: The LVF was blamed for setting fire to ten Catholic churches in Northern Ireland. Churches were burnt over a ten-hour period in Crumlin
    Crumlin, County Antrim
    Crumlin is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is at the head of a wooded glen on the Camlin River, near Lough Neagh, and west of Belfast city centre. It had a population of over 4,259 people in the 2001 Census...

    , Lisburn
    Lisburn
    DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...

    , Dromore
    Dromore, County Down
    Dromore is a small market town in the Banbridge District of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is south-west of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast – Dublin road. The 2001 Census recorded a population of 4,968 people....

    , Castlewellan
    Castlewellan
    Castlewellan is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,392 people in the 2001 Census....

    , Banbridge
    Banbridge
    Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...

    , Laurencetown, Tandragee and Dungannon
    Dungannon
    Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

    . The attacks were believed to be a response to the banning of the Orange Order's Drumcree march. The LVF was also blamed for petrol bombing the homes of two Catholics in Derry
    Derry
    Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

    .
  • 15 July: A package addressed to a Dublin hotel, which was believed to have been sent by the LVF, exploded while it was being examined at the Garda Technical Bureau
    Garda Technical Bureau
    The Garda Technical Bureau is the longest established Specialist unit in An Garda Síochána. The Bureau comprises eight Sections each providing a specialist service to An Garda Síochána:#Fingerprinting#Ballistics#Photography#Mapping...

     in Dublin. Two were injured in the blast.
  • 8 August: The LVF issued a statement saying that its "war is over".

1999

  • 26 March: The LVF warned that there would be a great strain on its ceasefire if the Provisional IRA did not begin decommissioning.
  • 5 June: LVF volunteer were blamed for killing Protestant civilian Elizabeth O'Neill (59) in Portadown when they threw a pipe bomb
    Pipe bomb
    A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...

     through the window of her house. She was married to a Catholic man. On 8 June 1999 the LVF denied responsibility.

2000

  • 10 January: LVF volunteers shot dead UVF volunteer Richard Jameson
    Richard Jameson (loyalist)
    Richard Jameson , was a Northern Irish businessman and loyalist, who served as the leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade...

     (46) on Derrylettiff Road near Portadown. He was also a member of the Orange Order. This killing was part of a loyalist feud.
  • 26 May: LVF volunteer shot dead UVF volunteer Martin Taylor (35) on Silverstream Park, Belfast. Part of a loyalist feud.

2001

  • 11 April: LVF volunteers shot dead UVF volunteer Grahame Marks (37) at his home in Tandragee. He was also a member of the Orange Order. This killing was part of a loyalist feud.

Further reading

  • Eighth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission
    Independent Monitoring Commission
    The Independent Monitoring Commission was an organization founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003...

    , 1 February 2006
  • Chris Anderson, "The Billy Boy - The Life And Death Of LVF Leader Billy Wright" (ISBN 1-84018-639-9)
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