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Andrew Samuel Duddy (25 August 1945 – 17 October 2007), known as Sammy, was a Northern Irish author, having joined the
Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
(UDA) shortly after its formation in 1971. He later became a leading member of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which provided political advice to that organisation.


Early years

Duddy was born in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Northern Ireland, and grew up in a large Ulster Protestant family in the "Hammer" area of the city, located in the lower Shankill Road. He had eight siblings. His father was originally from
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
but had settled in Belfast and served in the B Specials during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Duddy was born shortly after the war ended.Wood, Ian S. (2006). ''Crimes of loyalty: a history of the UDA''. Edinburgh University Press. p.3 He attended a local secondary modern school where he displayed a talent for writing, and would often compose valentines for his classmates in return for Dinky cars or pens. At the age of 15, Duddy was apprenticed to a letterpress printer. His father held the same occupation.


Role in loyalism

Duddy was initially known in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
for his
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
act, performing in the city's clubs and pubs as "Samantha". His costume consisted of a long, black wig, fishnet tights, prosthetic breasts and heavy make-up.H. McDonald & J. Cusack, ''UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror'', Dublin, Penguin Ireland, 2004, pp. 366–367 He once performed for British troops on tour. At the outbreak of the violent religious and political conflict known as "the Troubles" in the late 1960s, he became involved in
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 Cr ...
vigilante groups. He joined the paramilitary organisation, the
Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
(UDA) in 1971, the year it was formed. By that point living in the Westland estate, a loyalist enclave in north Belfast close to the republican Ardoyne and Newington areas, he was sworn in as a UDA member at a ceremony in the Westland community centre at which he had to swear allegiance to the movement on a Bible in the presence of a UDA colonel. Known as a "court jester" by his associates,Taylor, Peter (1999): ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.84 he never took much of an active military role in the UDA, although he was considered "handy with his fists". On one occasion during the
Ulster Workers' Council Strike The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by Unionism in Ireland, unionists who were against the Sunningdale Ag ...
in May 1974, he physically barred Reverend
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
from entering the
Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Un ...
headquarters where an important meeting was being held by the Ulster Workers' Council Co-Ordinating Committee and chaired by Glenn Barr.Taylor, pp.134–135 In the course of the general strike, which effectively brought Northern Ireland to a standstill, he was among those who manned the many street barricades that were set up. On the first full day of the strike he had assisted in the hijacking of a bakery van. Duddy and the others, however, paid the driver for the loaves of bread he was in the process of delivering.Wood, p.41 Duddy, who was known as a literate and well-spoken individual from his involvement in the Westland housing association, was in the early 1970s employed by then UDA leader Andy Tyrie to work as part of his staff at the UDA headquarters at 254A Shankill Road. He rose to prominence within the organisation in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he served as the UDA's
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
officer along with Hester Dunn. At that time the UDA was legal, and would remain so until 1992. Duddy went on to serve as the editor of UDA magazine ''Ulster'' for a time and in 1983 published a book of his poetry entitled ''Concrete Whirlpools of the Mind'' which received praise for its sensitive treatment of the problems for young working-class men drawn into violence. To avoid any possible implication in the Kincora Boys' Home scandal, Duddy ended the drag act in 1981 under orders from Tyrie, who also told him to grow a
moustache A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the human nose, nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French language, French, and i ...
and drop his voice. He was briefly a suspect in the UDA killing of Catholic lawyer, Pat Finucane in 1989; UDA brigadier Ken Barrett was later convicted of the shooting. From 1989 to 1990, he spent 11 months in jail on remand following his arrest during the John Stevens inquiry into collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and the
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 ...
and
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. He was charged with possession of classified security force documents which had been passed to the UDA and contained the names of republicans which the UDA used to target
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
members. The charges against him were dropped in October 1990 and he was released. Duddy retired from active loyalism in the 1990s, but was recalled by the UPRG to help rebuild their image after the collapse of the
Ulster Democratic Party The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small Ulster loyalism, loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulst ...
and the split from
Johnny Adair John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is a Northern Irish loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Th ...
and John White. He was the North Belfast representative for the UPRG. At the height of the fall-out in 2002, his home in Rathcoole, north Belfast, was hit with a pipe bomb. That same year, shots were fired through his front door by masked gunmen; although he was unharmed, his seven-year-old pet chihuahua dog "Bambi" died within an hour after being hit by gunfire. Another dog, "Pepsi" was injured in the attack but survived. According to Johnny Adair, Duddy never got over the loss of "Bambi".


Death

He died at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on 17 October 2007, aged 62, after suffering a massive heart attack. Frankie Gallagher, a spokesman for the UPRG, stated, following Duddy's death: "He came out of retirement to pursue a peaceful path for his community and in pursuit of that he has given his life. It's a massive, massive loss for his community." A Sammy Duddy Memorial Flute Band was established in his memory in February 2012. His name was also given to the Sammy Duddy Conflict Transformation Centre, the headquarters of the North Belfast UPRG on York Road.


References


External links


Sammy Duddy
– BBC Panorama
The End of an IRA
– BBC
Obituary
– Telegraph
Obituary
– The Independent

– The Guardian

– Ireland.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Duddy, Sammy 1945 births 2007 deaths Drag queens from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast Male poets from Northern Ireland Politicians from Northern Ireland Ulster Defence Association members 20th-century poets from Northern Ireland 20th-century male writers from Northern Ireland 20th-century LGBTQ people from Northern Ireland