south east antrim uda brigadier

The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. . Wikizero - Ulster Volunteer Force . Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. [36] In May of that same year, Alan McCullough was himself killed by the UDA. But South East Antrim UDA boss Gary Fisher refused to sanction an attack on the UVF man, further weakening his standing with rank-and-file members within his own terror group. New IRA powerbase just 20 miles away so why didnt intelligence flag possible attack? A taxi driver by trade, he was lured to a meeting in the Monkstown estate in Newtownabbey by his supposed best friend - the former UVF commander in Mount Vernon - who was also expelled. South East Antrim UDA mural in Glengormley, North Belfast. The move, some say, does not signal a return to violence. Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. Read about our approach to external linking. The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and is used to launder criminal cash. Under Gregg, the South East Antrim Brigade was linked to the killing of UVF member Mark Quail during Adair's feud with the UVF in 2000[25][26] although according to the BBC the killing was not directly connected to Adair's issues with the UVF but rather stemmed from a pub dispute in north Belfast between members of the two paramilitary groups. On 8 February 2010, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the Brigade had completed decommissioning. Killing Rage The life and death of Eamon Collins. UDA. Dissident groups and LVF-linked mobsters have also moved in to claim a slice of the action. often in the company of Michael Stone, and had even picked up a conviction for violence at an Old Firm match. "The former brigadier was summoned to a UVF leadership meeting on the Shankill to talk about the missing money, but he cried off sick," said a UVF source. Simms' demise was the catalyst for the disintegration of Fisher's power base. In the last 12 months almost a dozen alleged South East Antrim members have been lifted and charged with drug offences by the National Crime Agency working alongside the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is the largest Ulster loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. ago. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. John Gregg (1957 - 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. From the 1990s until he was shot dead in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. These psychos were obviously baying for blood Mod blood, to be exact. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. Similarly, South East Antrim UDA which broke away from the Inner Council in 2007, is wholly independent of any other UDA faction. In response, graffiti appeared around the walls of Rathcoole in December, stating: Daft Dog and White beware. The South East Antrim UDA is believed to be responsible for seven unsolved murders in the same area dating back to 1998. [89] The UVF leader in East Belfast, who is popularly known as the "Beast of the East" and "Ugly Doris" also known as by real name Stephen Matthews, ordered the attack on Catholic homes and a church in the Catholic enclave of the Short Strand. [1][2] It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". Fri 14 Jan 2022 at 00:30. Each were accused of taxing drug dealers and stealing tens of thousands of pounds from UVF coffers. He cited former UFF chief Johnny Adair as one of the few to have got out with the skin on his back. A volley of shots was fired over his coffin by UDA gunmen outside his Rathcoole home. [52], On 29 May 2017 Colin Horner, a friend of Gilmore and former UDA member, was fatally shot in front of his three-year-old son at a busy shopping centre in Bangor, County Down. And until he was deposed, he was known for "telling tales" to the UVF's South East Antrim brigadier Den Elliott who was stood down last year for allegedly running unsanctioned rackets. On 8 December a bomb was found under Greggs car, apparently placed there by one of Adairs allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. On February 1 2003, Gregg and fellow UDA man Rab Carson had just returned to Northern Ireland after attending an Old Firm match in Glasgow when their taxi drove into . Read about our approach to external linking. Gregg when explaining his family background, revealed that his father, regarded as a quiet man, had trust in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army but joined the loyalist vigilante groups set up around the start of the Troubles ostensibly to protect the Protestant community from attacks by republicans. John Gregg (1957 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Will the Windsor Framework be enough for the DUP? The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. [1], Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. The UVF were seen to be trying to exploit the friction within the UDA and even erected new billboards of UVF gunmen and both groups flooded the estate with their own paramilitary flags in the run-up to the Twelfth. In 2019, Colin Horner was gunned down in front of his young son. Senior members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Loyalist Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando also attended. @caolan-mclaughlin-844507501 this is a UDA song ya muppet why u put f the uvf know yer history kid. Four men were convicted of his murder. Adams was hit five times in the attack but the taxi rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he received treatment and survived. The council released a statement expelling two figures within it, believed to be senior UDA figures Fisher and Kirkham, once a member of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), although they were not named. The coffin was draped in the Ulster flag and the flag of the UFF. His plan to flee to Scotland has also been put on hold after loyalists there were warned not to harbour him. The same year, Geordie Gilmore was also shot dead in broad daylight. The Reaper is coming for you" as a threat to "Mad Dog" Adair and his ally John White. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley . "They will extort, they will assault, they will hold back their community in order to sustain their own business," he said. John Gregg (1957 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. "Several UDA men told their bosses they wanted him shot dead while others wanted his knees done but they've been ordered by Fisher to leave him alone, for now. Following his release from prison, Gregg returned to Rathcoole where he again became an important figure, taking a central role in the illegal drug trade, with his Rathcoole stronghold a centre of narcotics.Sometime after the Combined Loyalist Military Command of 1994 he succeeded Joe English, who had emerged as a leading figure in the Ulster Democratic Party, as brigadier of the South-East Antrim UDA. Amongst the Brigade's most notorious attacks during the Troubles was the attempted killing of Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in 1984. He was in attendance along with ex-Labour NI Secretary of State Peter Mandelson and former MI6 operatives. Spotlight's Gangland: The Murder of Glenn Quinn can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer. The juxtaposition of this initiative with the name of Gregg was condemned by the mother of a Catholic who had been killed by members of the South-East Antrim Brigade in 2000 as she argued: its sickening to call it the Gregg initiative when he was a ruthless terrorist.Everyone goes on about Johnny Adair but theyre all as bad as each other. Greggs killing proved to be the undoing of Adair. Brawls between the two had been frequent and tensions had been growing between the UDA and UVF leading to a drink-fuelled pitched battle between the two groups at the train station. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. Throughout 1999 his brigade continued to be active, undertaking a pipe bomb campaign against Catholic homes whilst on 12 May members of his brigade shot and wounded a Catholic builder in Carrickfergus under the cover name Protestant Liberation Force. [27] On 8 December a bomb was found under Gregg's car, apparently placed there by one of Adair's allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. He moved from the SEA power base in the Rathcoole estate to the sleepy backwater of Greenisland as his grip on SEA weakened. [12] As the oldest member, English usually chaired the meetings of this Inner Council, although he often struggled to control UDA West Belfast Brigade brigadier Johnny Adair. South East Antrim brigade Den' Allo Allo' Elliott. Tu-Su 09:00-17:00, closed M. Located just inside the main entrance of Taipei City Hall, this is a good place to know the history and culture of Taipei City. The secretive mobster has seen his one-time iron-clad grip on the UDA crime gang loosen in recent months, leaving him Brigadier in name only. [3] He later became part of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade. John Gregg (1957 - 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. "All you have to do is look at history, there are very few commanders or brigadiers who were simply allowed to leave. [17] Protestant Trevor Lowry (aged 49) was beaten to death in Glengormley by UDA members under Gregg's command on 11 April 2001 after he was mistaken for a Catholic. His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. "He's already under enough heat from the cops. 1 February 2003, along with another UDA member, Robert Rab Carson, Gregg was shot dead on Nelson Street, in the old Sailortown district near the Belfast docks, while travelling in a red Toyota taxi after returning from Glasgow where he regularly went to watch Rangers F.C. Gregg was married with one son and two stepdaughters. A bomb attack on Adairs house on 8 January 2003 was blamed on Gregg by White, although Adair himself was returned to prison two days later after a dossier detailing his drug-dealing and racketeering activities was shown to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Murphy. The The deal was discussed at a February meeting in London at the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of senior paramilitary veterans with Fisher forced to toe the line. They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors. What makes a serial killer and why are we fascinated by them? [31] Gregg was back in command by October, at which point he was one of the brigadiers who passed the resolution expelling Adair from the UDA for his involvement in the attempted murder of Jim Gray.[32]. This came within a few days of a 1m allocation to a conflict transformation project in loyalist areas. He managed to avoid being beaten in return for tricking his ex-UVF 2IC friend into attending the Monkstown meeting during which he was attacked. "Drugs is the big one. "And if they are a defender of anything, it is their own criminal interests.". Three men were acquitted of his murder. In October 2002, Gregg was one of the brigadiers who passed the resolution expelling Adair from the UDA for his involvement in the non-fatal shooting of Jim Gray. Members of the loyalist flute band, Cloughfern Young Conquerors dressed in uniform accompanied the coffin. [28] Soon after two pipe bombs were thrown at Gregg's house, and his friend Tommy Kirkham's house was shot at. The gang is a standalone faction of the UDA. During the course of the melee a Shankill Protestant Boys member managed to gouge out Gregg's eye,[12] although it is also claimed that Gregg lost his eye due to a fight with republicans at the same parade. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. A lengthy internal investigation into the former 'brigadier' led by convicted UVF bomber and provost marshal Jackie Anderson found that he stole at least 250,000 over the past five years. His 2IC (second-in-command) was also dismissed after being given a sickening . "The vast majority of it comes in from down south, from one of the well-known crime gangs down there. Members of this brigade were believed to be behind the killings of Catholic postman Danny McColgan, Protestant teenager Gavin Brett and Trevor Lowry (the latter kicked to death in the mistaken belief he was a Catholic), and a spate of pipe bomb attacks on the homes of Catholics. Brawls between the two had been frequent and tensions had been growing between the UDA and UVF leading to a drink-fuelled pitched battle between the two groups at the train station. [4] The attack had been known in advance by security forces due to a tip-off from informants within Rathcoole; Adams and his co-passengers had survived in part because Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, acting on the informants' information, had replaced much of the ammunition in the UDA's Rathcoole weapons dump with low-velocity bullets. . [17] According to the Workers' Party (Ireland), English was stood down by the UDA after he had expressed willingness to enter into dialogue with them. The UVF man who is accused of touting - who we can't identify for legal reasons - went around the Rathcoole estate and other loyalist areas close by demanding cash payments from alleged drug dealers recently. A mortally-wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association and are heavily involved in the drug trade. Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Whiskey fungus forces Jack Daniels to stop construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, UN to ignore remarks of India guru's fictional country, India court panel to probe Adani fraud allegations. [66], In July 2021, Doug Beattie, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, told the BBC that the South East Antrim UDA had threatened to kill him twice. 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