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 the late 1990s. The most violent was one in 2002, which split the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), one of the main loyalist organisations in Northern Ireland.

Within Northern Ireland, the two dominant communities, unionism and nationalism, both have fringe groups largely based in working-class urban centres in areas such as Belfast, who justify and participate in the use of violence. Their defenders justify the violence, by arguing that they are 'defending' their community. Opponents accuse them of mindless counter-productive terrorism and of major involvement in the drugs trade in Northern Ireland. Major loyalist paramilitary groups include Red Hand Commandos, the UDA, Ulster Freedom Fighters, though such groups often use 'cover' names when carrying out violent acts and murders.

The UDA in particular has a history of internal feuds, dating back to that which blighted its formation in 1972-73 between Tommy Herron and Charles Harding Smith. After Herron's murder Harding Smith would go on to feud with Andy Tyrie, although Tyrie established his leadership of the UDA before being forced out by another feud in 1988. The loyalist feud of 2002 arose after former prisoner Johnny Adair and former politician John White were expelled from the UDA. Many members of the 'C' company stood by Adair and White, while the rest of the organisation were involved with attacks on these groups and vice versa. There were four murders; the first victim being a nephew of a leading loyalist opposed to Adair, Jonathon Stewart, killed at a party on December 26, 2002. Roy Green was killed in retaliation. The last victims were John 'Grug' Gregg (famous for a failed attempt on the life of Gerry Adams) and Robert Carson, another Loyalist.

In July 2005 another one broke out between the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force, leading to the deaths of at least four people. In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission reported that this feud had come to an end.

External links

* [http://www.terrorismanswers.com/groups/uvf.html Explanation of the Loyalist Paramilitaries]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/northern_ireland/understanding/default.stm BBC explanation of the situation in Northern Ireland]