south east antrim uda brigadier

. [10], Gregg played the bass drum in the UDA-affiliated flute band Cloughfern Young Conquerors, a loyalist flute band which police claimed regularly caused trouble at Orange Order parades. (I.R.A) History & Background. Read about our approach to external linking. A failure by the paramilitary group's south-east Antrim faction to back the move resulted in a . "He's already under enough heat from the cops. "These people are completely ruthless, I believe that it would put my life in danger," he said. 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. [51], On 13 March 2017 Geordie Gilmore, formerly a commander in the brigade until being stood down in 2016 following a dispute over drug money,[52] was shot in the neck in Carrickfergus. [29] In response, graffiti appeared around the walls of Rathcoole in December, stating: "Daft Dog and White beware. [6] The Irish News described the brigade as 'powerful' and at one time being 'the most bloody and murderous gang operating within the paramilitary organisation'. Gary Fisher became brigadier following the murder in 2003 of his predecessor John 'Grug' Gregg, but he is known to be looking for a way out of the organisation. Representing the UVF was John 'Bunter' Graham and the organisation's 1st Battalion commander Harry Stockman. Carrickfergus is a town that once inspired a classic Irish folk song about longing. Old tensions resurfaced however, and after Adairs men fought with UVF supporters at the Shankills Rex Bar, Adair launched a pogrom of the lower Shankill, forcing out all UVF members and their families and initiating a loyalist feud.[22]. Spotlight made contact with a former senior PSNI officer who was at the forefront of policing efforts against the gang. [11] In late August 1997 this band was one of a number of similar flute bands to travel to Derry for the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry march through the city centre. Both men, who lived on Ferris Avenue, had their houses burnt out during the attack. In 2000 he helped to ensure that a proposal before the Inner Council to initiate the decommissioning of weapons was rejected. Four men were convicted 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. The deposed brigadier's ex-2IC is also facing major money worries having been fined 20,000 by the UVF. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. A UDA member originally from the Woodvale Road had moved to Rathcoole where he had been beaten up after it emerged that he was a friend of Joe English, the former brigadier who had been exiled from the estate by Gregg for his anti-drugs stance. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, We need government and we need it now Mary Lou McDonald. A large portion of the cash was taken from a UVF-controlled taxi firm in which he holds a silent 25 per cent share. Despite the continuing activity of his brigade, and his own earlier maiming, Gregg shared the reluctance of other brigadiers about what he saw as a coming war between the UVF and West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair. The gang's boss in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast was another expelled. [38], Gregg was married with one son and two stepdaughters. often in the company of Michael Stone, and had even picked up a conviction for violence at an Old Firm match. [84] 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. Gregg was also characterised as a bully, a racketeer, and a sectarian bigot who took particular delight in carrying out vicious punishment attacks and randomly targeting Roman Catholics.. He later became part of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade. - Free Online Library", "New UDA brigadier link to McColgan and Quail murders", "UDA expels south east Antrim brigade chiefs By Brian Rowan Thursday", PM praises Northern Ireland decommissioning moves, Three more Northern Ireland terrorist groups lay down their arms, UDA Brigade deny being involved in gang attack, "A rebel UDA unit is re-arming in a grim warning to rival drug dealers", "UDA blamed for Larne, County Antrim, 'rampage', "UDA 'on a power trip', says senior police officer after attacks in Antrim", "UDA's Larne mob attack was aimed at brothers who stood up to terror gang", "Larne disorder: Third man is arrested after two are released", "Killer of leading loyalist George Gilmore remains at large", "High-profile loyalist George Gilmore dies after gun attack", "Man arrested in Carrickfergus over murder of loyalist George Gilmore", "Man shot in front of son in Northern Ireland 'victim of UDA internal feud' | UK news", "Police make another arrest over Colin Horner murder", "UDA link revealed as pair jailed over inept effort to buy guns on 'dark net', "Baby narrowly escapes attack on Ards homes by 'South East Antrim UDA', "Newtownards 'South East Antrim UFF' graffiti condemned", "Colin Horner killing: Drama as four men are jailed for life - Belfast News Letter", "Loyalist terrorist group issues threats against two journalists in Belfast", "Police warn politicians about loyalist paramilitary threats", "Loyalist paramilitaries threaten politicians in North", "Loyalists threat against Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life journalist condemned", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UDA_South_East_Antrim_Brigade&oldid=1135430778, This page was last edited on 24 January 2023, at 16:49. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. MEDIA SCRUTINY: Press coverage is heaping pressure on Gary Fisher. [21] Nonetheless he was not keen to antagonise Adair and so, along with McFarland, McDonald and Jimbo Simpson, accepted his invitation to attend a "Loyalist Day of Culture" organised by Adair on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000. Gregg played the bass drum in the UDA-affiliated flute band Cloughfern Young Conquerors, a loyalist flute band which police claimed regularly caused trouble at Orange Order parades. Since his release, Shoukri had resumed his position as 'brigadier' of the north Belfast UDA while his brother Andre was in prison. "The UDA is the biggest paramilitary group in Rathcoole, much bigger than the UVF, and there are some UDA men in the estate who would gladly do the job. [62], On 8 May 2020 a number of journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers were warned by the PSNI about imminent attacks against journalists by the South East Antrim UDA. [10] He called on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to establish an auxiliary police "clinic" on the estate, which had no permanent police building, so that locals concerned about crime could have somewhere to go. FEARS of a new loyalist feud have emerged after a fanatical UDA faction accused a UVF chief of touting to cops. Tensions in South East Antrim between the UDA and the UVF were already high after a summer of incidents and disagreements. [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 UDAs Rathcoole weapons dump with low-velocity bullets. UDA boss Gary Fisher plots his exit strategy. "[11] In 2000 he helped to ensure that a proposal before the Inner Council to initiate the decommissioning of weapons was rejected. 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His own earliest memory of the Troubles was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association marches in Derry, a movement to which Gregg and his family were strongly opposed. ago. I know some comes in from Europe. SouthEast Antrim UDA crime boss Gary Fisher is facing an internal revolt with even his closest lieutenants saying his time is up. Under Gregg the South-East Antrim Brigade were prepared to ignore the terms of the loyalist ceasefire, such as on 25 April 1997 when he dispatched a five-man team to Carrickfergus to set fire to a Catholic church in retaliation for a similar attack on a Protestant church in East Belfast (this earlier attack had actually been organised by dissident loyalists seeking to provoke the UDA into returning to violence). [31] Carson was described by UDA sources as a "dear friend" of Gregg's and a junior member of the South-East Antrim Brigade. Money drives the South East Antrim UDA's criminal interests, made off the backs of communities who are ruthlessly subjected to a code of silence. The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and is used to launder criminal cash. [6] When asked by the BBC in prison if he regretted anything about the shooting, his reply was, "Only that I didn't succeed. Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. The same year, Geordie Gilmore was also shot dead in broad daylight. Tommy Lyttle inherited 'Bertie Scott' from a man called Alan Snoddy, the UDA commander or Brigadier in South-East Antrim, a figure who kept a very low public profile. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. [48] Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton described the incident as a "power trip" by the brigade, and suggested that it was an attempt by the group to assert their dominance over the local community. Will the Windsor Framework be enough for the DUP? This followed in summer 2002 when a community centre was taken over for this purpose although Greggs UDA objected and daubed the building with the word tout. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley . 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. That same night Jackie McDonalds forces invaded the lower Shankill and ran those members of C Company that had remained loyal to Adair, who was still in prison, out of the city. He told them they had to pay money - ranging from 5,000 right up to 20,000 - to be allowed to stay in the area and avoid a UVF punishment attack. [63], The threats were condemned by Peter Vandermeersch of Independent News & Media and Seamus Dooley, assistant General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and by Amnesty International UK. 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. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. [3], Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, "BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | John "Grug" Gregg", "Loyalists on brink of war as UDA chief is shot dead | UK news", "Assassin is kicked out of top UDA post | UK news", "Retaliation inevitable - Just a matter of when", "UDA leaders son gets record payout UTV News", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Gregg_(loyalist)&oldid=1118219468, This page was last edited on 25 October 2022, at 19:42. "The UDA in Rathcoole couldn't figure out why all the UVF dealers were being left alone while their guys were getting caught left, right and centre. games. 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. He's crossed a line and there are figures in the UDA who won't forget.". [18], Despite the continuing activity of his brigade, and his own earlier maiming, Gregg shared the reluctance of other brigadiers about what he saw as a coming war between the UVF and West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair. UDA feud erupts. Sources have told us the crime boss is a man under intense pressure. "[1], 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. 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. 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. He was aware that (another UDA Brigadier) had arranged a trip to London for us to speak to people in England, where we would attempt to reorganise and motivate units in . [2] Since 2007 the South East Antrim Brigade has operated independently of the UDA following a fall-out. DIE KOMMENDEN sind nationalpolitisch-strmungsbergreifend. 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. "There was an old joke going round the Rathcoole estate that when (name removed) is on the phone he's either talking to Den Elliott or the peelers," the source added. 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. [32], When the taxi stopped at traffic lights close to the motorway, it was rammed by another taxi which had been hijacked earlier on the Shankill Road. A mortally wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. [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. "The South East Antrim UDA were part of the UDA inner council," explained Jim McDowell, a former editor of the Sunday World newspaper. The Sunday World also understands Fisher has become increasingly paranoid, believing there is an informant who is passing information about his movements to the PSNI. Adair was returned to prison two days later. Adair ignored the expulsion, erecting West Belfast UDA Business as Usual banners on the Shankill Road, whilst continuing his struggles with the remaining brigadiers, Gregg in particular. Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors. [40] As of 2014, the South East Antrim Brigade is no longer considered part of the wider UDA and their brigadier does not attend meetings of the organisation's ruling Inner Council. It has brought the town under close scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. 2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. 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