Six of the victims were abducted at random, then beaten and tortured before having their throats slashed. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. After his release December 1984, Spence was a key figure in developing UVF thinking and indirectly its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party. The widow of former PUP leader David Ervine, Jeanette, also attended. According to Billy Mitchell, Spence quizzed him and others sent to the Maze about why they were there, seeking an ideological answer to his question. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Mr Lynch had many unionist friends, "some even politicians". [32] He was returned to Crumlin Road gaol soon afterwards, where he shared a cell with William "Plum" Smith, one of the Red Hand Commandos whom he had met upon his initial release and who had since been jailed for attempted murder. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. She is committed to explaining your options. Notable mourners included Unionist politicians Dawn Purvis, Mike Nesbitt, Michael McGimpsey, Hugh Smyth and Brian Ervine, UVF chief John "Bunter" Graham and UDA South Belfast brigadier Jackie McDonald. Spence said loyalists offered "abject and true remorse" to the loved ones of all the innocent victims of the Troubles. This was a general strike in protest against the Sunningdale Agreement, which meant sharing political power with Irish nationalists and the Republic having more involvement in Northern Ireland. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. The report added that individuals, some current and some former members, in the group have, without the orders from above, continued to "localised recruitment", and although some continued to try and acquire weapons, including a senior member, most forms of crime had fallen, including shootings and assaults. During his time in prison Spence renounced violence and helped to convince a number of fellow inmates that the future of the UVF lay in a more political approach. [146][147] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. He was born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. In June, nine UVF members were convicted of the attacks. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. Find the perfect gusty spence funeral stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Loyalists were successful in importing arms into Northern Ireland. This gang was led by Lenny Murphy. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. An article published by the newspaper fingered Wright as a drug lord and sectarian murderer. THE self described "old UVF man", Mr Gusty Spence (64), gave a brief oration at the funeral of Mr Jim Lynch (72), a former officer commanding (OC) of the IRA, at Cootehill, Co Cavan, yesterday. [38] This came to a climax on 4 December, when the UVF bombed McGurk's Bar, a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast. We are heavily armed Protestants dedicated to this cause. In incidents carried out within days of each other in June 1966, Mr Spences gang killed two Catholic men, plus a Protestant pensioner who was murdered in a failed attempt to burn a neighbouring Catholic-owned bar. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. On 18 June 1994, UVF members machine-gunned a pub in the Loughinisland massacre in County Down, on the basis that its customers were watching the Republic of Ireland national football team playing in the World Cup on television and were therefore assumed to be Catholics. The damage from security service informers started in 1983 with "supergrass" Joseph Bennett's information, which led to the arrest of fourteen senior figures. A man committed to social and economic justice and equality and a man absolutely devoted and committed to his wife and family.. The UVF was also clashing with the UDA in the summer of 2000. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. "Overstating and Misjudging the Prospects of Civil War: The Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers in the Home Rule Crisis, 19121914." Officers from the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force also seized drugs, cash and expensive cars and jewellery in an operation carried out against the criminal activities of the UVF crime gang. [49], On 3 May 2007, Spence read out the statement by the UVF announcing that it would keep its weapons but put them beyond the reach of ordinary members. Speaking from his home in Belfast last night, Mr Spence said he had become acquainted with Mr Lynch three or four years ago. Augustus Andrew "Gusty" Spence (28 June 1933 [2] - 25 September 2011) was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. [30] As arranged, the car in which Spence was a passenger was stopped in Springmartin and Spence was taken away by UVF members. The statement also included a warning that activities could "provoke another generation of loyalists toward armed resistance". "He also sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Joe McCann, an IRA man, praising him as a soldier of Ireland.". [117] Members were trained in bomb-making, and the organisation developed home-made explosives. [30] Met by two members of the Red Hand Commando upon his release, Spence was informed of the need for a restructuring within the UVF and told not to return to prison. [18][19] Some members have also been found responsible for orchestrating a series of racist attacks. [74], On 3 May 2007, following recent negotiations between the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and with Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde, the UVF made a statement that they would transform to a "non-military, civilianised" organisation. Mr Spence was brought up in the Shankill, but was forced out in later years by loyalists opposed to his defence of the peace process and his opposition to continued paramilitary activity. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support; it was thought that terrorising the Catholic community and inflicting such a death toll on it would force the IRA to end its campaign. "He also sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Joe McCann, an IRA man, praising him as a soldier of Ireland.". [9] He was also associated loosely with prominent loyalists such as Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal and was advised by both men in 1959 when he launched a protest against Gerry Fitt at Belfast City Hall after Fitt had described Spence's regiment as "murderers" over allegations that they had killed civilians in Cyprus. The UVF launched further attacks in the Republic of Ireland during December 1972 and January 1973, when it detonated three car bombs in Dublin and one in Belturbet, County Cavan, killing a total of five civilians. [2] His brother Bobby, also a UVF member, died in October 1980 inside the Maze, a few months after the death of their brother Billy. Augustus Gusty Spence (78), was convicted for a sectarian murder in 1966 and was a figurehead of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which killed hundreds of people when the full violence of the Troubles began three years later. The UVF's leadership is based in Belfast and known as the Brigade Staff. [93] Much of the UVF's orchestration was carried out by its senior members in East Belfast, where many attacks on the PSNI and on residents of the Short Strand enclave took place. Former Ulster Volunteer Force leader Gusty Spence has died aged 78. 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Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of his life. [31] Spence also took on responsibility for the restructuring, returning the UVF to the same command structure and organisational base that Edward Carson had utilised for the original UVF, with brigades, battalions, companies, platoons and sections. Spence is regarded as the first terrorist godfather in Northern Ireland but also the man who took the first steps towards ending UVF violence. Spence was initially held over the murder of the first victim of the Troubles, John Scullion, who was shot by the UVF in the Falls Road area of Belfast. UVF In 1961, Spence retired from the Royal Irish Rifles, which he had joined in 1957, on the grounds of ill health. [67] According to Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), the UVF killed 17 active and four former republican paramilitaries. Skip to navigation [n] Skip to content [c] Skip to footer [f] Search Search. [140][141], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. Tributes were paid to former leading loyalist paramilitary turned peacemaker Gusty Spence at his funeral in Belfast today. While republicans were the expressed target, the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian. "On behalf of Sinn Fein I would wish to extend my condolences to his family at this time.". 2023 BBC. Two UVF members, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, were accidentally killed by their own bomb while carrying out this attack. [22] Spence's involvement in the killings gave him legendary status among many young loyalists and he was claimed as an inspiration by the likes of Michael Stone. Augustus Spence was born in a Protestant area of Belfast, not far from Shankill Road. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [134] Like the IRA, the UVF also operated black taxi services,[135][136][137] a scheme believed to have generated 100,000 annually for the organisation. Reverend Chris Hudson, who helped broker contacts between loyalist paramilitaries and the Irish government, said that aspect of the statement was significant. This collection contains Gusty Spence's personal and business correspondence from 1959-1998, the bulk of which was written during Spence's time in prison (1966-1984). SENIOR UVF figures have warned loyalists will "wreck the place" and "the streets will be in flames" if any Brexit deal between the UK and EU does not . Both pubs were wrecked and a number of people were wounded. He had risen through its ranks to become a sergeant in the military police and the regiments flag was draped across his coffin. It comprises high-ranking officers under a Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General. Mharaigh na Bistir thart ar 23 Caitliceach agus 8 Protastnach, dream dlseoir sceapatacha a d'fhuadaigh, a chiapaigh agus . [80], In the twentieth IMC report, the group was said to be continuing to put its weapons "beyond reach", (in the group's own words) to downsize, and reduce the criminality of the group. When the Assets Recovery Agency won a High Court order to seize luxury homes belonging to ex-policeman Colin Robert Armstrong and his partner Geraldine Mallon in 2005, Alan McQuillan said "We have further alleged Armstrong has had links with the UVF and then the LVF following the split between those organisations." [27][28] Spence respected some Irish republican paramilitaries, who he felt also lived as soldiers, and to this end he wrote a sympathetic letter to the widow of Official IRA leader Joe McCann after he was killed in 1972. 2023 BBC. As a PUP representative he took a principal role in delivering the loyalist ceasefires of 1994. "The Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Cover-up and incompetence". [38] By this time Spence polarised opinion within the UVF, with some members fiercely loyal to a man they saw as a folk hero and others resenting his draconian leadership and increasing emphasis on politics, with one anonymous member even labelling him "a cunt in a cravat". Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said many nationalists would remember Spence as someone "who was central to the sectarianism that gave birth to the modern loyalist paramilitary". In 1971, these ramped up their activity against the British Army and RUC. The weapons were Palestine Liberation Organisation arms captured by the Israelis and sold to Armscor, the South African state-owned company which, in defiance of a 1977 United Nations arms embargo, set about making South Africa self-sufficient in military hardware. Gusty was a man of war, he was also a man of peace, she said. 28 September 2011 Gusty Spence announced the loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994 Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. [34] Spence was arrested along with around thirty other men at a UVF drinking club in Brennan Street; but after giving a false name, he was released. [40] Following Merlyn Rees' decision to legalise the UVF in 1974, Spence encouraged them to enter politics and supported the establishment of the Volunteer Political Party. [131] The UVF has also been involved in the extortion of legitimate businesses, although to a lesser extent than the UDA,[138] and was described in the fifth IMC report as being involved in organised crime. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. [75] This was to take effect from midnight. [142] Its main benefactors have been in central Scotland,[143] Liverpool,[144] Preston[144] and the Toronto area of Canada. [2] He rose to the rank of Provost Sergeant (battalion police). So when her husband had first made contact with Mr Spence "it was like talking to someone we had always known". Get in touch with us now to get the service you need. In the 1960s, he founded the Ulster Volunteer Force, which was responsible for hundreds of murders during the Troubles. On the basis of that, we as a federation have called for the respecification of the UVF [stating that its ceasefire is over]. [30] There were bombings on 30 March, 4 April, 20 April, 24 April and 26 April. [2], In August 2000, Spence was caught up in moves by Johnny Adair's "C" Company of the UDA to take control of the Shankill by forcing out the UVF and other opponents. At the same time, he distanced himself from any policy of random murders of Catholics. Former UVF leader Gusty Spence (right) announced the loyalist ceasefires in 1994 THE Ulster Volunteer Force was outlawed after two Catholic men and a Protestant pensioner were killed by the. There was to be much overlap in membership between the UCDC/UPV and the UVF.[22]. of which I have been speaking. [21] The shootings led to Spence's being sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum sentence of twenty years. [51] The couple had three daughters, Elizabeth (born 1954), Sandra (1956) and Catherine (1960). (2006) "Neglected Intelligence: How the British Government Failed to Quell the Ulster Volunteer Force, 19121914. On 23 October 1972, the UVF carried out an armed raid against King's Park camp, a UDR/Territorial Army depot in Lurgan. Brian Ervine said: "His contribution to the peace is incalculable and without him, probably the paramilitaries would still be at war. During 1970, 42 Catholic-owned licensed premises in Protestant areas were bombed. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. ", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47. Sun 25 Sep 2011 13.46 EDT. [76][77][78], In January 2008, the UVF was accused of involvement in vigilante action against alleged criminals in Belfast. [2] He was sent to Crumlin Road Prison. [10] Spence then found employment at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where he worked as a stager (builder of the scaffolding in which the ships are constructed), a skilled job that commanded respect amongst working class Protestants and ensured for Spence a higher status within the Shankill. [79], In 2008, a loyalist splinter group calling itself the "Real UVF" emerged briefly to make threats against Sinn Fin in County Fermanagh. "However he did dedicate himself to peace and reconciliation for much of his later life so he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife," he added. In keeping with his wishes,. Sinn Fin's Gerry Kelly claimed that while Spence had been central to the development of loyalist paramilitarism, "he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife". A number of friends and family members spoke at the service at St Michael's Church of Ireland on the Shankill Road. [120] However, from 1977 bombs largely disappeared from the UVF's arsenal owing to a lack of explosives and bomb-makers, plus a conscious decision to abandon their use in favour of more contained methods. [21] This occurred despite Spence having been officially expelled from the Orange Order following his conviction. [20], In October 1966, Spence was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Ward, although Spence has always claimed he was innocent. Eight people were shot dead and hundreds were injured. [45], In 1974, hardliners staged a coup and took over the Brigade Staff. 2023 BBC. This development came soon after the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast had stood down Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade, on 2 August 1996, for the killing of a Catholic taxi driver near Lurgan during Drumcree disturbances. Almost 10 years later in October 1994, he was chosen to announce to the world that the main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UVF and the UDA, were declaring ceasefires in response to an IRA cessation. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. This was a large, three-day riot between Irish nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). [13][14][15][16][17] The other main loyalist paramilitary group during the conflict was the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which had a much larger membership. In February, it began to target critics of militant loyalism the homes of MPs Austin Currie, Sheelagh Murnaghan, Richard Ferguson and Anne Dickson were attacked with improvised bombs. [36] Catholic churches were also attacked. The charges were dropped but later in 1966 he was given life for the murder of Peter Ward, who had called in to a Shankill Road bar with Catholic workmates and was shot dead as he left. During the service, mourners were told there is a campaign to have overturned the conviction for which Gusty Spence served a jail sentence, the killing of 18-year-old Belfast Catholic Peter Ward in 1966. [125], The UVF has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group. In 1972, five Toronto businessmen shipped weapons in grain container ships out of Halifax, bound for ports in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which were destined for loyalist militants. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. It began carrying out gun attacks to kill random Catholic civilians and using car bombs to attack Catholic-owned pubs. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Mr Spence argued for a ceasefire with republicans from as early as the mid-1970s and played a key role in encouraging young loyalists he met in prison to think of the reasons for their involvement in violence. Since the ceasefire, the UVF has been involved in rioting, drug dealing, organised crime, loan-sharking and prostitution. Spence said loyalists offered "abject and true remorse" to the loved ones of all the innocent victims of the Troubles. Berenice also assists in shipping across the state, country or around the world. Almost 10 years later in October 1994, he was chosen to announce to the world that the main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UVF and the UDA, were declaring ceasefires in response to an IRA cessation. Spence grew increasingly frustrated with UVF leadership, and left the organization altogether in 1978. [17], He was entrusted by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) to read out their 13 October 1994 statement that announced the loyalist ceasefire. The no-warning car bombings had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades. [19] On 26 June, the same gang shot dead Catholic civilian Peter Ward (18) and wounded two others as they left a pub on Malvern Street in the lower Shankill. What's he waiting for? Along with the newly formed Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF started an armed campaign against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland. 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