The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of its members came from the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade, which Wright had previously commanded.
In a two-year period from August 1996, the LVF waged a paramilitary campaign in opposition to Irish republicanism and the Northern Ireland peace process. During this time it killed at least 14 people in gun and bomb attacks, almost all of them Catholic civilians killed at random. The LVF called off its campaign in August 1998 and decommissioned some of its weapons, but in the early 2000s a loyalist feud led to several killings.
Since then, the LVF has been largely inactive, but its members are believed to have been involved in rioting and organized crime. In 2015, the security forces stated that the LVF "exists only as a criminal group" in Mid-Ulster and Antrim."Government's paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland assessment in short". BBC News. 20 October 2015.
The LVF is designated a terrorist group by the United Kingdom and United States. updated from
Goals In a document, the LVF outlined its goals as follows: The use of the Ulster conflict as a crucible for far-reaching, fundamental and decisive change in the United Kingdom constitution. To restore Ulster's right to self-determination. To end Irish nationalist aggression against Ulster in whatever form. To end all forms of Irish interference in Ulster's internal affairs. To thwart the creation and/or implementation of any All-Ireland/All-Island political super-structure regardless of the powers vested in such institutions. To defeat the campaign of de-Britishisation and Gaelicisation of Ulster's daily life."Quis Separabit? Loyalist transformation and the strategic environment". Chapter Seven. Academia.edu. Lindsey Harris. Papers by Lyndsey Harris.. Retrieved 9 September 2011. Document is held in the Linen Hall Library, Belfast.
There is also a Christian fundamentalist element within the LVF.
Its leader, Billy Wright, was a born again Christian and former preacher. Professor Peter Shirlow, of Queen's University Belfast, noted that many LVF members believed that Irish nationalism/republicanism and Catholicism were interlinked. They believed that Ulster Protestants were a persecuted people and Ulster was their "God-given land", which must be defended from these "dark and satanic forces".Shirlow, Peter. Landscapes of Defence. Chapter 5: Fundamentalist Loyalism. Routledge, 2014. p. 91
The LVF published a magazine called Leading the Way.
History
Early days Billy Wright was the leader of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), having taken over the command from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson in the early 1990s upon the latter's retirement. In October 1994, the UVF and other loyalist paramilitary groups called a ceasefire with Irish Republican groups.
Internal differences between Wright and the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast came to a head in July 1996, during the Drumcree parade dispute. The Orange Order was being stopped from marching through the Catholic Garvaghy area of Portadown. There was a standoff at Drumcree Church between thousands of Orangemen and their supporters on one side, and security forces on the other. Wright was angered that the march was being blocked, and was often seen at Drumcree with Harold Gracey, head of the Portadown Orange Lodge.McKay, Susan. Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People - Portadown . Blackstaff Press (2000).
Wright's brigade smuggled homemade weaponry to Drumcree, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen. On 7 July, a day into the standoff, members of Wright's brigade"Murder was 'present' for terror leader" The Telegraph, 8 January 2003. Retrieved 24 July 2009 shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick near Aghagallon. The man who killed McGoldrick said he had also planned, along with Billy Wright and Mark Fulton, to kidnap three priests from a parochial house in County Armagh and shoot them unless the march was allowed to continue.The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry Report (23 May 2011), p. 76 Allegedly, the brigade also planned to drive petrol tankers into the Catholic area and blow them up.Coogan, Tim. The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1995 and the Search for Peace. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Page 517. After four days of loyalist protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, the police reversed their decision and allowed the march to continue.
For breaking the ceasefire, Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were "stood down" by the UVF leadership on 2 August 1996."UVF disbands unit linked to taxi murder" The Independent, 3 August 1996. Retrieved 18 October 2009
Wright and his unit left the UVF and formed the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). He personally chose its codename of "Covenant", which was used to claim LVF attacks.. Retrieved 25 June 2012
Although behind many attacks in the Mid-Ulster area, especially in Portadown and Lurgan, Wright was arrested in January 1997 on charges of issuing death threats and perverting the course of justice. He was convicted in March 1997 and sentenced to eight years in the Maze Prison. There he demanded a separate wing for LVF prisoners. The authorities agreed and the wing became a gathering point for loyalists opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process, including many men from Belfast and north Down.
Death of Billy Wright On 27 December 1997, Wright was assassinated by three Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners inside the Maze Prison: Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, John Glennon and John Kennaway. The three were imprisoned in the same block as Wright. He was shot as he travelled in a prison van. After killing Wright, the three surrendered to prison guards. They also delivered a statement: "Billy Wright was executed [...] for directing and waging his campaign of terror against the nationalist people from his prison cell".
That night, LVF gunmen opened fire on the dance hall of the Glengannon Hotel, near Dungannon.Provos in crisis talks to try to restrain hardliners Irish News, 29 December 1997 The hotel was owned by Catholics and about 400 teenagers were attending a disco there. Three civilians were wounded and one, a former Provisional IRA volunteer, was killed. Police believed that the disco was the intended target, rather than the ex-volunteer. Witnesses said it was "an attempt at mass-murder".
Some believed that prison authorities colluded with the INLA in Wright's killing. The INLA strongly denied these rumours. It published a detailed account of the assassination in the March/April 1999 issue of The Starry Plough newspaper.
Good Friday Agreement and ceasefire In March 1998, during the negotiations for the Good Friday Agreement, the LVF issued a statement backing the anti-agreement Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), saying the party's leader, Ian Paisley, had got it "absolutely right".Air services to return to normal after strike deal Irish News, 9 March 1998 DUP Member of Parliament Willie McCrea appeared on public platforms with LVF leaders.The gospel-singing MP BBC Northern Ireland, 22 September 2000
In May 1998 the LVF called a ceasefire and urged people to vote 'No' in the referendum on the Agreement. The Northern Ireland Office accepted its ceasefire in November, making LVF prisoners eligible for early release under the Agreement. Later, it handed over a small amount of weapons to the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. The decommissioned weapons were as follows: 4 sub-machine guns 2 rifles 2 pistols 1 sawn-off shotgun 2 pipe bombs Various ammunition and detonators
The destruction of some of the LVF arms were recorded by video. However, since the weapons were decommissioned in mid-1998, the LVF has killed four people.
Post-ceasefire activities In early 2000, an LVF-UVF feud began, and there were several tit-for-tat killings. The Secretary of State declared on 12 October 2001 that the government no longer recognised their ceasefire.
After its ceasefire, the LVF continued supporting the Orangemen in their protests at Drumcree. In July 2000, it was revealed that members of neo-Nazi group Combat 18 were travelling from England to join the protest. They were given shelter by LVF volunteers in Portadown and Tandragee. Combat 18 had opposed the LVF's ceasefire, but this trip was said to mark a "healing of the rift".
In 2002, Wright's successor as LVF leader, Mark Fulton, was found hanged in Maghaberry prison. It is believed that he committed suicide.
In July 2005 the Provisional IRA declared it had ended its armed campaign and would disarm. In September 2005 weapons inspectors declared that the IRA had indeed fully disarmed. In response, on 30 October that year, the LVF stated that it was standing down.
In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission confirmed that the LVF-UVF feud was over. But, it said that the LVF's involvement with organised crime and drug trafficking continued, describing it as a "deeply criminal organisation". The twentieth IMC report stated that the group was small and without political purpose. Most of its violence was "more criminal than paramilitary" in nature. LVF members who continued violent activity were said to do so "for personal gain" and associated with the organisation at large only when it was helpful to do so. The report added that simple aggressive police work could damage the group's continuance. Independent Monitoring Commission
Timeline of attacks According to the Conflict Archive on the Internet's Sutton Database, the LVF have killed 19 people,CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths: Organisation responsible for the death who included: 14 civilians (12 Catholics and 2 Protestants) 3 UVF members 1 former Provisional IRA member 1 of its own members
Two further killings of Catholics were claimed by the LVF, but the RUC believed that UDA members were responsible.
The following is a timeline of attacks and attempted attacks that have been claimed by, or blamed on, the LVF.
1996 7 July: in Aghagallon, the LVF shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick (31) in his car. The gunmen then set it on fire. This attack was believed to be related to the Drumcree conflict; at the time, the Orange Order was being stopped from marching through the Catholic area of Portadown in their annual 'celebration'.A Chronology of the Conflict: 1996 - Conflict Archive on the Internet Members of the group smuggled home-made weaponry to the protests at Drumcree church, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen. 10 July: The LVF was responsible for hijacking a postal van and planting a hoax bomb during rioting in Portadown. 25 October: LVF members carried out a failed armed robbery at the home of an Ulster Bank manager in Newcastle County Down.
1997 3 January: Three men (James Buchanan, Jonathan Birney and Andrew Doran) accused of drug dealing by the UDA were kneecapped by members of the LVF. This was apparently an effort to punish them but prevent them being killed by other loyalist paramilitaries.Judgment: The Queen v William James Fulton and Muriel Gibson 6 January: The LVF shot and injured a man in the Glandore Terrace estate, Portadown. UDA member Derek Wray had been the original intended target. 20 January: The LVF was believed to be behind a bomb that exploded under a van owned by a Catholic in Larne, County Antrim.A Chronology of the Conflict: 1997 - Conflict Archive on the Internet 8 March: The LVF carried out firebomb attacks on Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) offices in Banbridge and Newcastle, County Down. The attacks were believed to be a response to the NITB's marketing of the whole of Ireland as a tourist destination together with Bord Fáilte (the tourist board of the Republic of Ireland).