Ulster Volunteer Force

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British soldier. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994, although sporadic attacks continued until it officially ended its armed campaign in May 2007.

The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism – particularly republican paramilitaries, and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The vast majority (more than two-thirds) of its 481 known victims were Catholic civilians. During the conflict, its deadliest attack in Northern Ireland was the McGurk's Bar bombing, which killed fifteen civilians. The group also carried out some attacks in the Republic of Ireland, the most deadly of which were the Dublin and Monaghan bombings which killed 33 civilians, the highest number of deaths in a single day during the conflict. The no-warning car bombings had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster Brigades. The Mid-Ulster Brigade was also responsible for the Miami Showband ambush, in which three members of the popular Irish cabaret band The Miami Showband were shot dead at a bogus military vehicle checkpoint outside Newry by gunmen dressed in British Army uniforms. Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack.

The group is a designated terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and a proscribed organisation in the Republic of Ireland.