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Ulster Volunteer Force (1966)
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the List of designated terrorist organizations, terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitaries – particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. The vast majority (m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. Sometimes described as an Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric or Irregular warfare, irregular war or a low-intensity conflict, the Troubles were a political and nationalistic struggle fueled by historical events, with a strong Ethnic conflict, ethnic and sectarian dimension, fought over the Partition of Ireland, status of Northern Ireland. Unionism in Ireland, Unionists and Ulster loyalism, loyalists, who for Plantation of Ulster, historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Hand Commando
The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The Red Hand Commando carried out shootings and bombings, primarily targeting Catholic civilians.''The Milwaukee Journal'', 13 August 1974 As well as allowing other loyalist groupings to claim attacks in their name, the organisation has also allegedly used the cover names Red Branch, "Red Branch Knights" and "Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group".''Sunday Life'', 7 May 1995 It is named after the Red Hand of Ulster, and is unique among loyalist paramilitaries for its use of an Irish language motto, ''Lámh Dearg Abú'', meaning 'red hand to victory'. Writing in early 1973, Martin Dillon characterized t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in the Second Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. In 1968 the Royal Ulster Rifles was amalgamated with the other regiments of the North Irish Brigade, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's), and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers to create the Royal Irish Rangers. History Early years The regiment's history dates backs to the reign of King George III. In 1793 the British Army expanded to meet the commitments of the war with the French First Republic. As part of that expansion it raised two new regiments of foot, the 83rd and the 86th. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, the 83rd and 86th were amalgamated into a single regiment, nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gusty Spence
Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933 . '' Conflict Archive on the Internet'' (CAIN). Retrieved 5 April 2011. – 25 September 2011) was a leader of the paramilitary (UVF) and a leading in |
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definition, not a military, it is usually equivalent to a light infantry or special forces in terms of strength, firepower, and organizational structure. Paramilitaries use combat-capable kit/equipment (such as Internal security vehicle, internal security/SWAT vehicles), or even actual military equipment (such as Long gun, long guns and Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers; usually military surplus resources), skills (such as battlefield medicine and bomb disposal), and tactics (such as urban warfare and close-quarters combat) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such as law enforcement, coast guard, or search and rescue. A paramilitary may fall under the command of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner, who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Since the formation of the in 1923, it has been a predominantly Police firearm use by country#Unarmed police forces, unarmed force, and more than three-quarters of the service do not routinely carry firearms. As of June 2025, the police service had 14,525 sworn members (including 302 sworn Reserve members) and 3,669 civilian staff. Operationally, the is organised into four geographical regions: the East, North/West, South and Dublin Metropolitan regions, in turn broken into divisions, districts and sub-districts. The service is the main law enforcement and security agency in the state, acting at local and national levels. Its roles include cri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Royal Ulster Constabulary GC'', pp. 5, 17, 27, 93, 134, 271; Pen & Sword Books; following the partition of Ireland. At its peak the force had around 8,500 officers, with a further 4,500 who were members of the RUC Reserve. The RUC policed Northern Ireland from the aftermath of the Irish War of Independence until after the turn of the 21st century and played a major role in the Troubles between the 1960s and the 1990s. Due to the threat from the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), who saw the RUC as enforcing British rule, the force was heavily armed and militarised. Officers routinely carried submachine guns and assault rifles, travelled in armoured vehicles, and were based in heavily fortified police stations.Weitzer, Ronald. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright (loyalist), 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 UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, Mid-Ulster Brigade, which Wright had 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 Irish Catholic, 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 force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Nationalism
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 cultural nationalism based on the principles of Self-determination, national self-determination and popular sovereignty.Sa'adah 2003, 17–20.Smith 1999, 30. Irish nationalists during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries such as the Society of United Irishmen, United Irishmen in the 1790s, Young Irelanders in the 1840s, the Fenian Brotherhood during the 1880s, Fianna Fáil in the 1920s, and Sinn Féin styled themselves in various ways after French left-wing Radicalism (historical)#France, radicalism and republicanism. Irish nationalism celebrates the culture of Ireland, especially the Irish language, literature, music, and sports. It grew more potent during the period in which all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both widely supported and iconoclastic. The Modern era, modern emergence of nationalism, democracy, and Classical radicalism, radicalism provided a basis for the movement, with groups forming across the island in hopes of independence. Parliamentary defeats provoked uprisings and armed campaigns, quashed by British forces. The Easter Rising, an attempted coup that took place in the midst of the First World War, provided popular support for the movement. An Irish republic was declared in 1916 and officialized following the Irish War of Independence. The Irish Civil War, beginning in 1922 and spurred by the Partition of Ireland, partition of the island, then occurred. Republican action, including armed cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish People's Liberation Organization
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish socialist republican paramilitary organisation formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials. It developed a reputation for intra-republican and sectarian violence as well as criminality, before being forcibly disbanded by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1992. Some of the IPLO's most notable attacks during its short existence were: *the Orange Cross shooting in which IPLO gunmen killed a member of the Red Hand Commando and injured an Ulster Defence Regiment soldier; * the 1991 Donegall Arms shooting when they fired indiscriminately on a Protestant-owned pub, killing two Protestant civilians and injuring four others; and * the assassination of outspoken loyalist politician and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member George Seawright in November 1987. On 1 May 1990 the IPLO became a proscri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
