Ulster Loyalism - Paramilitary and Vigilante Groups

Paramilitary and Vigilante Groups

Loyalist paramilitary and vigilante groups were active during The Troubles and, to a lesser extent, the Irish War of Independence (1919–22). The biggest and most active paramilitaries were the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), who also used the covername "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF).

During the Troubles, their goals were to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and defend Protestant loyalist areas from attack. However, most of their victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often chosen at random. Whenever they claimed responsibility for their attacks, loyalists usually claimed that those targeted were IRA members or IRA sympathizers. M. L. R. Smith wrote that "From the outset, the loyalist paramilitaries tended to regard all Catholics as potential rebels". Other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since the IRA drew most of its support from the Catholic community. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support; it was thought that 'fear of retaliation' among Catholics would cause the republicans among them to stop backing the IRA and to rein them in.

The modus operandi of loyalist paramilitaries involved assassinations, mass shootings, bombings and kidnappings. They used sub machine-guns, assault rifles, pistols, grenades (including homemade grenades), incendiary bombs, booby trap bombs and car bombs. Bomb attacks were usually made without warning. However, most of their operations involved gun attacks rather than bombings. In January 1994, the UDA drew up a 'doomsday plan', to be implemented should the British Army withdraw from Northern Ireland. It called for ethnic cleansing and re-partition, with the goal of making Northern Ireland wholly Protestant.

The UDA and LVF have had links with Neo-Nazi groups in Britain, including Combat 18, the British National Socialist Movement, and the British National Front. Since the 1990s, loyalist paramilitaries have been accused of racist attacks in loyalist areas, leading to accusations of widespread racism within loyalism. It has been speculated that rogue loyalist militants with far right beliefs may be carrying out the attacks.

In the table below, "operational" refers to the period when the group waged its paramilitary/vigilante campaign.

Umbrella groups

• Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) – 1966–1969
• Ulster Army Council (UAC) – 1973–1974
• Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee (ULCCC) – 1974–1976
• Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) – 1991–1998

Covernames

• Protestant Action Force (PAF) – commonly used by the UVF
• Protestant Action Group (PAG) – briefly used by the UVF in the 1970s
• Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group (LRDG) – briefly used by the UVF in the 1990s