Billy Wright (loyalist)

Billy Wright (loyalist)

William Stephen "Billy" Wright (7 July 1960 – 27 December 1997) was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the period of violent religious-political conflict known as "The Troubles". He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s, having taken over from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson. According to the Northern Ireland security forces, he directed up to 20 sectarian killings, although he was never convicted in connection with any killing.

Wright attracted considerable media attention at the Drumcree standoff where he supported the Orange Order's right to march its traditional route through Irish nationalist areas in Portadown. In August 1996, in the wake of an unauthorised sectarian killing, Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership). He was expelled from the UVF and threatened with execution if he did not leave Northern Ireland, but he ignored the threats and defiantly formed the breakaway Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). He took a significant number of his followers with him, mainly from the officially-disbanded Portadown unit. While leader of the LVF, he was assassinated by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) inside the Maze Prison, where he had been sent eight months before for having threatened the life of a woman.

Owing to his uncompromising stance as an upholder of Ulster loyalism and opposition to the Northern Ireland peace process, Wright is regarded as a cult hero, icon, and martyr figure by hardline loyalists. His image adorns a number of murals in loyalist housing estates in Portadown and elsewhere throughout Northern Ireland; many of his devotees have tattoos bearing his likeness.