Each were accused of taxing drug dealers and stealing tens of thousands of pounds from UVF coffers. 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. 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. John Gregg (1957 - 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. [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. Posted 2 years ago 2 years ago. "When we look at what they try and portray themselves to be, defenders of their area, I can't see how that ties in with dealing drugs in a community.". 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. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. And now it's emerged the UVF heavy has also given a separate list of UDA-linked dealers to the cops. Following the conclusion of the feud with Adair the UDA reconstituted its ceasefire in what they christened the Gregg initiative. Snoddy died from the illness in September 1988 and English . Both men, who lived on Ferris Avenue, had their houses burnt out during the attack. 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 . On 8 December a bomb was found under Greggs car, apparently placed there by one of Adairs allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. The attack is commemorated in the song South East Antrim Brigade by loyalist singer Rab C, many of whose compositions were about the brigade and its leading members. It's very difficult to deal with the issue of their control, because of the fear that they just instil into people.". UDA Brigadier for South East Antrim, Gregg - who became a loyalist icon when he shot Sinn Fin chief Gerry Adams - was gunned down in Belfast's docklands area nearly 20 years ago. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. 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. His gaunt appearance had people raising questions about his health. In late August, Adair had even managed to have Gregg stood down as Brigadier for not being militant enough and replaced by one of Adairs own associates. [34] A bomb attack on Adair's house on 8 January 2003 was blamed on Gregg by John White. [60], On 4 January police investigated SEA UDA graffiti sprayed on eleven properties. Senior members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Loyalist Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando also attended. Browns_right_foot 3 mo. "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. 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. [38], Gregg was married with one son and two stepdaughters. [14] 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". About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of . "It was very tragic, on the day of the funeral, to have a large police presence around the church," he said. [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. [37] In response to the criticism from the rest of the UDA leadership, Fisher withdrew the South East Antrim brigade from the UDA and reconstituted it as a separate movement. South East Antrim UDA crime boss Gary Fisher is facing an internal revolt with even his closest lieutenants saying his time is up. His 2IC (second-in-command) was also dismissed after being given a sickening . His assassination attempt had made him a loyalist hero and he quickly took over from English as brigadier. "[11] In 2000 he helped to ensure that a proposal before the Inner Council to initiate the decommissioning of weapons was rejected. Sources describe the UVF man, who has no convictions, as being well known for running off to tell tales to the terror group's Shankill boss Bunter Graham on a regular basis. A mortally wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. 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. The violence, on the Castlemara estate in the town, saw up to 150 loyalists confront each other as members of the 'mainstream' UDA flooded the area in a show of strength against the . Gregg took this as a threat and, after complaining to senior figures in the West Belfast UDA, ordered the three men to be kneecapped. 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. [9] They were convicted for the attack the following year. [52] The South-east Antrim brigadier, who was not named in reports, stated that any brigade members attending Gilmore's funeral would be expelled. [26], 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. [45] As of 2014 Fisher was still identified by the Irish Independent as Brigadier, with the brigade reported as being in the process of rearming. Carson was described by UDA sources as a dear friend of Greggs and a junior member of the South-East Antrim Brigade. Nowadays, pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. Under Gregg, drug-dealing became a major problem in brigade areas, particularly Rathcoole, with Gregg himself said to have a leading role in the illicit trade. Security sources say that with more than 2,000 members, the South East Antrim UDA is one of Northern Ireland's largest paramilitary gangs. [63] At least one journalist was warned of a possible under car booby trap. A UDA/UFF South-East Antrim Brigade mural in Newtownabbey. Carrickfergus is a town that once inspired a classic Irish folk song about longing. During the course of the melee a Shankill Protestant Boys member managed to gouge out Greggs eye, although it is also claimed that Gregg lost his eye due to a fight with republicans at the same parade. [33], Gregg's killing proved to be the undoing of Adair. Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. [15] A senior police source once described him as a man driven by "pure and absolute bigotry". The veteran loyalist, who was 'brigadier' of its South East Antrim unit, was kicked out of the organisation last week. 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. Senior members of South East Antrim UDA want to take out the UVF man who they believe gave up their drug dealers. [23] 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. "The vast majority of it comes in from down south, from one of the well-known crime gangs down there. [65], On 25 November 2020 the Belfast Telegraph reported that the South East Antrim UDA had passed on a threat against one of their journalists. [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. The South East Antrim UDA's tally of violence spanning two decades includes a roll call of unsolved murders. The UDA member claimed the paramilitary group was heavily involved in serious crime in the south east Antrim area . However, in the second half of 2002 he was dragged into the conflict after Adair made him a target in his own attempts to take full control of the UDA. However, some communities in Northern Ireland still live in fear of violent loyalist paramilitary gangs and risk brutal consequences for doing or saying anything that gang members perceive as offensive. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles". A volley of shots was fired over his coffin by UDA gunmen outside his Rathcoole home. 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 "it's sickening to call it the Gregg initiative when he was a ruthless terrorist.Everyone goes on about Johnny Adair but they're all as bad as each other". "Some had to take out loans to buy their safety from this thug and then it turns out he's touting on the UDA's dealers to the cops at the same time.". Convicted gunrunner Thomas Morgan, a one-time member of the UDA, has muscled in on the town's drug scene. Catholic workman Gary Moore was killed in Monkstown in 2000 in another killing attributed to Greggs unit. The deposed brigadier's ex-2IC is also facing major money worries having been fined 20,000 by the UVF. [61], On 16 January 2019 four men were jailed for life for their involvement in the May 2017 UDA loyalist feud killing of 35-year-old father-of-two Colin Horner. The UDA structure was divided into six geographical areas during the late 1980s (Londonderry, South-East Antrim, North Belfast, East Belfast, West Belfast and South Belfast). Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. 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. [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]. [16], Having witnessed demographic shifts in Glengormley and Crumlin, traditionally loyalist majority towns that had come to have nationalist majorities on account of loyalists moving out of Belfast, he determined that the same thing would not happen in Carrickfergus and Larne and so launched a campaign of pipe bomb and arson attacks on Catholic homes there (despite these towns having very small Catholic populations). "But he's only delaying the inevitable and will eventually have to account for the 250,000 that's disappeared.". November 22 2014 04:33 PM. "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. [27], However, in late 2002 a UDA member originally from the Woodvale Road who had moved to Rathcoole was attacked after it emerged that he was a friend of Joe English, the former brigadier who had since been exiled from the area by Gregg for his anti-drugs stance. [30] This briefly occurred in late August when one of Adair's allies took command of the brigade, although this proved short-lived. They have also asked for an end to historic prosecutions for UVF killings that took place before 2010. games. [13] The two clashed frequently and, in 1993, Adair even threatened to kill English after English had suggested that the UDA should not claim the murder of Marie Teresa Dowds de Mogollon, which Adair's top hitman Stephen McKeag had perpetrated. [46], In March 2014 the South East Antrim Brigade was widely reported as being behind a "rampage" in which up to 100 people, some of them wearing masks, attacked a number of residential properties in Larne. Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. "The South East Antrim UDA were part of the UDA inner council," explained Jim McDowell, a former editor of the Sunday World newspaper. Gregg was the most senior UDA member killed since South Belfast brigadier John McMichael was blown up by the IRA in 1987. [49] The targets of the attack were reported locally as being two brothers who had been involved in a scuffle with three UDA members the night before. The brigade representatives refused to give any details about how many weapons or how much commercial explosives were destroyed during the day-long exercise. [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. [4] A newer mural in the Cloughfern area of Newtownabbey and flags have updated the areas to include Ballycarry, Ballyclare, the rural hinterland of Ballymena called 'Braidside' and despite not being in County Antrim, the town of Newtownards. 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. [3] He later became part of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade. As a result of the attack, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack. "Over the last 12 months the paramilitary cops (Paramilitary Crime Task Force) have been hitting the South East Antrim over and over again," said a source. However in the second half of 2002 he was dragged into the conflict after Adair made him a target in his own attempts to take full control of the UDA. Wikizero - Ulster Volunteer Force . His role in the murder was covered up for years by his father's best friend - the deposed UVF South East Antrim commander. Tensions in South East Antrim between the UDA and the UVF were already high after a summer of incidents and disagreements. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDAs South East Antrim Brigade. "Drugs is the big one. DCI John Caldwell: The New IRA threat after Omagh shooting, The Firm: Inside Lurgan and Portadowns cross-community crime gang. In 2019, Colin Horner was gunned down in front of his young son. [20] On 4 September Langhammer's car was blown up outside his Whiteabbey home by Gregg's men, although Langhammer himself was asleep at the time and no one was injured. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. "Fisher can't make a decision, he's not allowed to make a decision and they're just keeping him there, partly because no one wants the job and they're waiting until the heat from the Task Force eases. 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. [2], Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. 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. Widely known as a man with a fearsome . Senior members of the UDA group want to take out the UVF member who they think is a 'tout'. pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. Gregg was married with one son and two stepdaughters. Central role played at UFF parade by veteran crime lord's two underbosses hints at changing of the guard. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. His organisation has come under intense scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force and he is known to be anxious to get out of the crime business before he is scooped. From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. 25.03753 121.56381. . [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. Free. Amongst the Brigade's most notorious attacks during the Troubles was the attempted killing of Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in 1984. A man described in court as the commander of the UDA in South East Antrim is one of four men charged with conspiring to supply cocaine. "When Gary was in complete control, there would have been no suggestion of any leaks, it was a tight, tight operation. The internal clean-up of the UVF's South East Antrim unit came after its leaders promised to morph into an old boys organisation during a meeting with senior government officials. A UDA/UFF South-East Antrim Brigade mural in Newtownabbey On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". 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. [4] Gregg, at the time the head of the UDA group in Rathcoole, was in charge of a three-man hit team that pulled up alongside Adams' car near Belfast City Hall and opened fire injuring Adams and his three fellow passengers, who nonetheless escaped to seek treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. UDA members turned out in force yesterday for the funeral of Mr Robert Carson, who was gunned down alongside the east Antrim UDA "brigadier", Mr John Gregg, in Belfast's docks area at the weekend. In the later 1980s Snoddy took ill with cancer and many of his duties as brigadier were filled by his ally Joe English. "He's already under enough heat from the cops. A Northern Ireland group, which includes representatives of loyalist paramilitaries, recently withdrew its support for the Good Friday Agreement. (I.R.A) History & Background. The new Irish Sea Border: What does it mean? . match. [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. [22] Around this time Gregg spearheaded an initiative to significantly increase recruitment into the South East Antrim Brigade. as a threat to Mad Dog Adair and his ally John White. Fri 14 Jan 2022 at 00:30. "And the blunder of the Housing Executive staff being threatened did him no favours either in the area.". Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) [37], In 2007, the UDA's inner council expelled the Brigadier in the South East Antrim area and his political adviser after a long-running stand-off between the mainstream UDA and the South East Antrim Brigade. [8] Gregg, Colin Gray and Gerry Welsh were immediately arrested by the waiting British Army, who had doctored the bullets to reduce their lethality. Gregg's 18-year-old son Stuart and another man were also in the vehicle but neither sustained injuries in the shooting 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. Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a hawk in loyalist circles. Sources in Carrickfergus say that while he retains the . Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. The coffin was draped in the Ulster flag and the flag of the UFF. 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. Senior members of the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando also attended. [10] The attack is commemorated in the song South East Antrim Brigade by loyalist singer Rab C, many of whose compositions were about the brigade and its leading members. [33], In November 2011, Stuart Gregg received 400,000 compensation for psychological trauma due to having witnessed his father's murder. In 2000 he helped to ensure that a proposal before the Inner Council to initiate the decommissioning of weapons was rejected. Themen: Politische Wochenschau, politische Theorie, Artikel und Berichte zu Themen rund um berwachung, Repression, Wirtschaft, Soziales, Befreiungsnationalismus, Antiimperialismus, Zeitgeschichte und Literaturhinweise Such was the ferocity of the attack the victim urinated himself while pleading for his life. 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. Senior members of South East Antrim UDA want to take out . However, one major obstacle to overcome before any deal can be agreed is the recovery of the body of missing murder victim Lisa Dorrian. 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.. [23] As a result of the attack, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack. 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. [28] In response, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack in a move Gregg saw as a threat. 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. 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. 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