Samuel McClelland
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Bo" McClelland was a Northern Irish
loyalist
paramilitary who served as the Chief of Staff on the Ulster Volunteer Force
's Brigade Staff (UVF) from 1966 until his internment in late 1973.
for murder in October 1966, Spence remained de jure leader of the group but needed a stand-in leader on the outside. He chose McClelland for this role, and appointed him Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General of the Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership) largely because he respected him for his Korean War
military service, Spence also being a former British Army
soldier. McClelland had lied about his age in order to enlist in the Royal Ulster Rifles
.
Like Spence, McClelland was also a native of the Shankill Road and had a reputation as a disciplinarian. He sought to continue Spence's work by keeping together the few UVF members left and slowly adding to their number. In keeping with Spence's ideals, he sought to lead the UVF as if it was a regular army and based their internal structure loosely on that of the British Army in which both men had served. Nonetheless, the late 1960s were characterised by UVF inertia, in part because as Officer Commander McClelland had little personal power and had to enact policies that he received from Spence when he visited him in prison.
and under his leadership the two groups co-operated on the Shankill. McClelland was even "commissioned" as an officer of Tara, although he was not completely comfortable within its ranks given the group's inistence on emphasising a Gaelic
cultural mission alongside loyalism. The relationship deteriorated in early 1971 when a number of people, including an unnnamed unionist politician, contacted McClelland to inform him of Tara leader William McGrath
's homosexuality and to claim that McGrath had only started the movement in order to "pick up" young men. McClelland confronted McGrath about the allegations and at a stormy meeting he burnt the Tara ledger containing the names of his UVF members and left their headquarters. By this time it had also become clear that Tara had little weaponry to speak of and few independent members and as such the link had become largely pointless anyway.
rather than McClelland whilst he had been succeeded as Officer Commander by Tommy West.
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 who served as the Chief of Staff on the Ulster Volunteer Force
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...
's Brigade Staff (UVF) from 1966 until his internment in late 1973.
UVF leadership
Following the imprisonment of UVF leader Gusty SpenceGusty Spence
Augustus Andrew "Gusty" Spence was a leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force and a leading loyalist politician. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade but later renounced violence and joined the Progressive Unionist...
for murder in October 1966, Spence remained de jure leader of the group but needed a stand-in leader on the outside. He chose McClelland for this role, and appointed him Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General of the Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership) largely because he respected him for his Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
military service, Spence also being a former British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldier. McClelland had lied about his age in order to enlist in the Royal Ulster Rifles
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Ulster Rifles was a British Army infantry regiment. It saw service in the Second Boer War, Great War, the Second World War and the Korean War, before being amalgamated into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1968.-History:...
.
Like Spence, McClelland was also a native of the Shankill Road and had a reputation as a disciplinarian. He sought to continue Spence's work by keeping together the few UVF members left and slowly adding to their number. In keeping with Spence's ideals, he sought to lead the UVF as if it was a regular army and based their internal structure loosely on that of the British Army in which both men had served. Nonetheless, the late 1960s were characterised by UVF inertia, in part because as Officer Commander McClelland had little personal power and had to enact policies that he received from Spence when he visited him in prison.
Tara
McClelland did seek to bring the UVF closer to the loyalist movement, TaraTara (Northern Ireland)
Tara was a loyalist movement in Northern Ireland that espoused a brand of evangelical Protestantism.The group was first formed in 1966 by William McGrath from an independent Orange lodge that he controlled. It was intended as an outlet for virulent anti-Catholicism...
and under his leadership the two groups co-operated on the Shankill. McClelland was even "commissioned" as an officer of Tara, although he was not completely comfortable within its ranks given the group's inistence on emphasising a Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
cultural mission alongside loyalism. The relationship deteriorated in early 1971 when a number of people, including an unnnamed unionist politician, contacted McClelland to inform him of Tara leader William McGrath
William McGrath (loyalist)
William McGrath was a loyalist from Northern Ireland who founded the far-right organisation Tara in the 1960s, having also been prominent in the Orange Order until his expulsion due to his paedophilia...
's homosexuality and to claim that McGrath had only started the movement in order to "pick up" young men. McClelland confronted McGrath about the allegations and at a stormy meeting he burnt the Tara ledger containing the names of his UVF members and left their headquarters. By this time it had also become clear that Tara had little weaponry to speak of and few independent members and as such the link had become largely pointless anyway.
Later years
McClelland was interned in late 1973 along with a number of other leading figures in the UVF. By this point, however, de facto leadership of the UVF lay with Jim HannaJim Hanna (loyalist)
James Andrew "Jim" Hanna, also known as Red Setter, was a senior member of the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force until he was shot dead by fellow members, for being an alleged informer. Journalists Joe Tiernan and Kevin Myers described him as having...
rather than McClelland whilst he had been succeeded as Officer Commander by Tommy West.