The
Orange Volunteers (
OV) are an
Ulster loyalistUlster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. Some individuals claim that Ulster loyalists are working-class unionists willing to use violence in order to achieve their aims...
and
Protestant fundamentalistFundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian fundamentalism or fundamentalist evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to liberal...
paramilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status...
group in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The OV emerged during the 1998
Drumcree conflictThe Drumcree conflict is an ongoing conflict over parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents...
when the
Royal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary GC was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary , the Belfast Borough Police Force and the Londonderry Borough Police Force...
and
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
prevented members of the
PortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It has an estimated population of 32,000, and is situated on the River Bann, in the north of County Armagh. It is within of the Craigavon Borough Council area....
Orange OrderThe Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order or the Orange Lodge, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Ireland and Scotland with lodges throughout the Commonwealth and the United States...
and their supporters from returning to the town centre down the Garvaghy road. However there is evidence to suggest that they had been actively recruiting and training members since as early as 1985.
The
Orange Volunteers (
OV) are an
Ulster loyalistUlster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. Some individuals claim that Ulster loyalists are working-class unionists willing to use violence in order to achieve their aims...
and
Protestant fundamentalistFundamentalist Christianity, also known as Christian fundamentalism or fundamentalist evangelicalism, is a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to liberal...
paramilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status...
group in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Origins
The OV emerged during the 1998
Drumcree conflictThe Drumcree conflict is an ongoing conflict over parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents...
when the
Royal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary GC was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary , the Belfast Borough Police Force and the Londonderry Borough Police Force...
and
British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
prevented members of the
PortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It has an estimated population of 32,000, and is situated on the River Bann, in the north of County Armagh. It is within of the Craigavon Borough Council area....
Orange OrderThe Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order or the Orange Lodge, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Ireland and Scotland with lodges throughout the Commonwealth and the United States...
and their supporters from returning to the town centre down the Garvaghy road. However there is evidence to suggest that they had been actively recruiting and training members since as early as 1985. The group is believed to be made up of dissident Loyalists who disapprove of the
Northern Ireland peace processThe 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 also of the more militant members of the Orange Order, including former members of the
Loyalist Volunteer ForceThe Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright when the Mid-Ulster brigade of the UVF, which he commanded, was stood down by that organisation's leadership in Belfast. Wright subsequently broke away from the UVF to form a new rival...
and
Ulster Defence AssociationThe Ulster Defence Association is a loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Its main objective has been to reject unification of Ireland. The UDA is outlawed as a proscribed terrorist group in the United Kingdom....
.
David ErvineDavid Ervine was a Northern Irish politician and the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party .-Biography:David Ervine was raised in a staunchly Protestant working-class area of east Belfast...
, at the time a leading member of the
Progressive Unionist PartyThe Progressive Unionist Party is a small loyalist political party from Northern Ireland. They were formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast becoming the PUP in 1979...
, described the group as little more than a gang of Protestant fundamentalists and drug-dealers.
Activities
They are known for attacks on
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
churches and businesses in Northern Ireland, in an attempt to prevent political settlements with
nationalistsIrish nationalism comprises political and social movements and sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and a sense of pride in Ireland and the Irish people...
. One of its first actions was a synchronised attack on 11 Catholic churches, justified by its then-leader, Clifford Peeples, because they were "bastions of the
AntichristThe Antichrist, according to Christianity, is one who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ while resembling him in a deceptive manner. "Antichrist" is the English translation of the original Koine Greek ἀντίχριστος, pronounced än-tē'-khrē-stos. It is made up of two root...
." However Peeples denies being a bigot saying that he despises Roman Catholicism, but individual Catholics he likes and loves. Several
pipe bombA 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...
attacks were attributed to them. It has been reported that they have enough guns and explosives to maintain a ten year campaign. It is thought the group can call on up to 300 Active members. The organisation has six battalions- one in each county - with a command structure based on the British Army.
Police crackdown
In a series of police raids aimed at dissident loyalists in Autumn 1999, eight arrests were made, weapons, pipe bombs and ammunition were recovered and a search of
StoneyfordStoneyford, historically known as Aghnalough , is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is between Glenavy and Milltown, about 5 miles north of Lisburn. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 318 people...
Orange Hall in County Antrim uncovered military files containing the personal details of over 300
republicansIrish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
from South Armagh and
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
. Peeples and another loyalist were arrested by the RUC after their car was stopped on the outskirts of
DungannonDungannon is a town in County Tyrone in 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...
and two hand grenades and a pipe bomb were discovered. In 2001 he was jailed for ten years for possession of the weapons. He was released in 2004 and became the minister of a
PentecostalPentecostalism is a renewal movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by speaking in tongues. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, a Greek term describing the Jewish Feast of...
church on the Shankill Road in Belfast. Four other members of the group were convicted of a range of terrorist offences, including possession of an automatic rifle, in December 2000.
In a statement the OV declared that innocent Catholics had nothing to fear from them, and they will only go after legitimate targets. However, some of their attacks have contradicted this. Most groups attacks are thought to be on people who, at the very least, are or were fringe members of Republican paramilitaries, and they have also targeted Sinn Féin members
The group declared a
ceasefireA 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.-World War I:On December 24, 1914,...
in 2000. In February 2001, the group called off its ceasefire with a "back to war" statement.
Subsequent activities
In November 2008 the Orange Volunteers said they were was responsible for an arson attack which destroyed a clubhouse at the
Edendork St. Malachy'sEdendork St. Malachy's is a GAA Club based in Edendork, in the town of Dungannon in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Many believe this club should disband and amalgamate with the larger more established club of Dungannon, the town in which most of the current players live in.Their clubhouse was...
GAA club near Dungannon, County Tyrone, claiming it was in retaliation for recent attacks on Orange Halls. Later that month,
Sinn FeinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
claimed that the group was responsible was a pipe bomb planted near to the home of one of their councillors in
CookstownCookstown may refer to either of the following:*Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland*Cookstown, Ontario, Canada*Cookstown, New Jersey, United States...
, County Tyrone. In December 2008, Sinn Féin minister
Conor MurphyConor Murphy Conor Murphy Conor Murphy (born 10 July 1963, Newry, County Armagh and since May 8, 2007, the Minister for Regional Development in the Northern Ireland Executive. In 1998, Murphy was first elected as a Sinn Féin candidate to the Northern Ireland Assembly and has been reelected in 2003...
claimed to have been told by the
Police Service of Northern IrelandThe Police Service of Northern Ireland GC is the police service that covers Northern Ireland...
of a recent attempt on his life by the group in the
NewryNewry is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth in Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down: Newry was included entirely in the latter by the Local Government Act 1898...
, Co. Down area. Following the
Massereene Barracks shootingThe 2009 Massereene Barracks shooting occurred on 7 March 2009, when two unarmed soldiers of the 38 Engineer Regiment were shot dead outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim town, Northern Ireland. Two other soldiers and two civilian delivery men were also shot and wounded during the attack...
in March 2009, the Orange Volunteers claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb which caused a security alert at a Sinn Féin office in Cookstown, County Tyrone.
In July 2009 after many attacks on Orange Halls, the North and South East Antrim Orange Volunteers threatened further attacks if attacks on Orange Halls and other Protestant buildings did not stop. In mid-August 2009 after more orange hall attacks more Catholic and Nationalist owned buisnesses including an
Ancient Order of HiberniansThe Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...
hall were attacked and had their windows broken. The Orange Volunteers claimed responsibility.
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