Robert Seymour (c. 1955 – 15 June 1988) was a Northern Irish

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

and a leading member of the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...

(UVF). He served as the paramilitary organisation's East

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

commander before being shot dead by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish re ...

in an alley behind his video shop in Woodstock Road, east Belfast. His killing was in retaliation for the UVF bombing of a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

pub in which three Catholics died. In 1983, Seymour was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1981 murder of leading IRA member James "Skipper" Burns. Seymour cycled to Burns' home in Rodney Parade, off the Donegall Road, and shot him to death as he lay sleeping beside his girlfriend. Seymour's conviction was overturned in the Appeal Court after the judge found the testimony of

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ...

Joe Bennett "unbelievable". Until 2011, Seymour's image featured on a large mural painted on a gable in

Ballymacarrett Road Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret () is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast. The townland is in County Down and the electoral ward is part of the Titanic district electoral area of Belfast City Council. The ward was create ...

, east Belfast. He had become a local legend after the killing of Burns.

Ulster Volunteer Force

Robert Seymour was born around 1955 in Belfast. He was raised in a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

family in staunchly

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a u ...

east Belfast.CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths – 1988
/ref> On an unknown date he joined the illegal paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He rose in the ranks of its Belfast Brigade, acquiring a reputation as a hitman, and eventually he became the UVF East Belfast commander. The ''Los Angeles Times'' alleged that he was number three in the hierarchy of the UVF command.ireland "Bomb at Northern Ireland 'Fun Run' Kills 5 Soldiers, Hurts 10". ''Los Angeles Times''. 16 June 1988
Retrieved 24 February 2012 Never having married, Seymour was described by journalists Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald as having been a "quiet single man".Cusack, Jim & McDonald, Henry (1997). ''UVF''. Poolbeg. p.192 He was known by the nicknames of "Squeak" and "Bobby Blood". Late at night on 23 February 1981 he cycled across Belfast to the home of leading

member James "Skipper" Burns in Rodney Parade, Donegall Road, close to the Falls Road. After breaking into the house whilst Burns and his girlfriend were out, he waited downstairs until the couple returned and went to bed. Seymour then climbed the stairs and shot Burns dead as he lay sleeping beside his girlfriend, using a pistol with a silencer. Burns' girlfriend never woke during the attack and Seymour was able to leave the house undetected. However, as it had started to snow, Seymour, fearing that his bicycle would leave tracks which would ultimately lead the security forces back to him, carried the bicycle on his back along the Donegall Road, across the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

until he reached the loyalist Village area. This feat, along with the shooting of such a high-ranking IRA member in the

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

stronghold of west Belfast, made him a local legend and loyalist folk hero. In 1983, Seymour and UVF battalion commander John Wilson were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment on the evidence of

Joe Bennett. Seymour was given a total of four life sentences for murder.Bruce, Steve (1992). ''The Red Hand: Protestant Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland''. Oxford University Press. p. 114 However, their convictions were overturned in the Appeal Court after the judge found Bennett's testimony to have been "unbelievable". According to Bennett, the UVF had targeted Burns because they believed he was Gerry Adams' second-in-command. Wilson had allegedly described the killing as a "good job well done" and then added "Gerry Adams will be next".Sharrock, David & Devenport, Mark. ''Man of war, man of peace: the unauthorised biography of Gerry Adams''. Macmillan. p. 220Hurley, Mark Joseph (1990). ''Blood on the Shamrock: an American ponders Northern Ireland'', 1968–1990. P. Lang. p. 146 Seymour was later arrested and imprisoned for arms offences. He was released in 1987.

Death

On 15 June 1988, two masked Provisional IRA gunmen from the Markets and Ormeau Road areas entered the video shop he owned in Woodstock Road, East Belfast. Seymour made an attempt to escape by running out the back door; however, he was cornered by the gunmen in an alley behind his shop and shot dead.''The Irish Emigrant – 19 June 1988''. Liam Ferrie. 23 May 2003.Cusack, Jim & McDonald, Henry (1997). ''UVF''. Poolbeg. p. 250McKittrick, David (2001). ''Lost Lives: the stories of the men, women, and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles''. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 1130; The IRA claimed his killing was in retaliation for the bombing of an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

pub in which three Catholics died. Later that same day the IRA blew up six British soldiers who were travelling in an unmarked van in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

. At his funeral oration, Seymour was described as an "exemplary Volunteer". Part of it went as follows:

A young man who dedicated his life to his country has given all that any Soldier could give... At the going down of the sun and in the morning/We will remember them.Bartlett, Thomas & Keith Jeffrey. ''A military history of Ireland''. Cambridge University Press. p. 455

The UVF retaliated the following month by fatally shooting IRA volunteer Brendan "Ruby" Davison at his home in the Markets area of South Belfast on 25 July 1988 after receiving intelligence which revealed he had been Seymour's assassin. The UVF gunmen were wearing stolen

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

(RUC) uniforms when they carried out the attack.Jim Cusack. "Sinn Fein's indoctrination lives on in our brave new world", ''Irish Independent''. 20 March 2005. Until 2011, Seymour's image featured alongside three other UVF members on an oversized gable mural. The mural stood for over 10 years at the junction of

and Frazer Pass in east Belfast before being painted over. Seymour also features on the mural which replaced the original. In Frazer Pass there is a memorial plaque set inside a railed enclosure dedicated to Seymour, and he is also commemorated in many loyalist ballads and videos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Robert 1950s births 1988 deaths Ulster Volunteer Force members Paramilitaries from Belfast People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland People murdered in Belfast Date of birth missing 1988 murders in the United Kingdom