The Ulster Young Militants (UYM) are considered to be the youth wing of 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), an

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

paramilitary group in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Commonly known as the Young Militants or UYM, the group formed in 1974 when

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 t ...

were at their height.CAIN
/ref> Their motto is " terrae filius",

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Sons of the Land". Their numbers are unknown, but are mainly concentrated in the

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 ...

area, particularly east and south Belfast. They are often associated with the far-right and radical right.'Loyalism and the far right: The National Front, Tartan gangs and Combat 18'
''Belfast Telegraph'', 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025

Development

The UYM had its origins in the "Tartan Gangs" of the early 1970s, unofficial loyalist street gangs who gained their name from the

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

scarves and flash of tartan they wore on their denim jackets.Taylor, p.81 The tartan was said to commemorate the

1971 Scottish soldiers' killings The 1971 Scottish soldiers killings took place in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. On 10 March 1971, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot dead three off-duty British soldiers of the 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers. The ...

by the

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 ...

.McDonald & Cusack, p. 26 Author Ian S. Wood has also suggested that the fashion may have been inspired by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity, as a band in the 1970s. One of many 70s acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles", they were called the "tartan teen sensations fro ...

although it has been noted elsewhere that the Bay City Rollers did not take off until 1974 (by which time the Tartan Gangs were well established) and the band's following tended more towards the teenage girl market. The main activities of the Tartan Gangs were the intimidation of

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

families in loyalist areas of Belfast and, on weekends, attacks on Catholic youths and businesses in Belfast city centre. Michael Stone, ''None Shall Divide Us'', John Blake Publishing, 2003, p. 23 These gangs included "The Shankill Young Tartan", "Ardcarn Boot Boys", "Ballybeen Riot Squad" and the "Young Newton" from the

Ballymacarrett Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret () is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The townland is in the civil parish of Knockbreda (civil parish), Knockbreda in the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Castler ...

area of East Belfast. In the

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

area, the Tartan Gang quickly came under UDA control and served as their youth movement, although elsewhere in the city they remained independent and during a series of riots in the east in 1972 they proved notoriously difficult for the UDA leadership to control. In East Belfast, some Tartan Gang members known to

John McKeague John Dunlop McKeagueWD Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968–1993'', The Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 222 (1930 – 29 January 1982) was a Northern Irish loyalist and one of the founding members of the paramili ...

formed the basis of the

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 r ...

when he established that group in 1972. 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 ...

of 1974, Tartan Gangs roamed the streets of Belfast, ensuring compliance with the stoppage called by the

Ulster Workers' Council The Ulster Workers' Council was a loyalist workers' organisation set up in Northern Ireland in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW). It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially fa ...

. The Tartans would form the first of three major youth subcultures that formed the basis of the UYM, the others being

skinhead A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youth in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide i ...

s in the early 1980s and "

spide "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * Julie Burchill descri ...

s" in the 1990s. Although the exact date of formal establishment of the UYM as an official group attached to the UDA is unknown it is estimated to have been around 1974. The group was initially restricted to 16-year-olds although demand for membership became so high following the

Combined Loyalist Military Command The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for Ulster loyalism, loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Commit ...

ceasefire of 1994 that the age limit was dropped to fourteen. Many prominent loyalists are believed to have been members of the UYM before joining the UDA, including

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 Gregg, whilst Jim Gray,Jim Gray
/ref> Billy "Twister" McQuistonTaylor, pp.90-91 and Michael Stone were Tartan Gang members. Adair and a number of friends, including Sam McCrory, joined the UYM as a group in 1987. UYM Flag

In 2021 following the

Irish Sea border The Irish Sea border is an informal term for the trade border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. It was specified by the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit withdrawal agreement (February 2020), was refined by the Joint Commi ...

protests in South and North Belfast, the UYM allegedly re-emerged. After five nights of

rioting A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

and the breaking open the gates of the Belfast

peace wall The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neigh ...

, a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

message appeared showing the UYM being encouraged to work with the YCV to march through West Belfast, a Catholic area of the city.

Activities

The UYM attached to the

UDA West Belfast Brigade The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), based in the western quarter of Belfast, in the Greater Shankill area. Initially a battalion, the West Belfast Brigade emer ...

soared in number under Johnny Adair and in 2000 they played a leading role in helping to drive

Ulster Volunteer Force 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 North ...

members and supporters out of the Lower Shankill as part of a

loyalist feud Sporadic feuds erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles began in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved conflicts between and within the ...

between the two paramilitary groups. Their involvement was such that Jack McKee, a

born-again Christian To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

preacher noted for his anti-paramilitary activity, reported that in secondary schools around the Shankill some pupils had to be let out at different times and from different gates depending on whether they were members of the UYM or the Young Citizen Volunteers. Later, members have been involved in rioting, particularly during the

marching season Parades are a prominent cultural feature of Northern Ireland. The overwhelming majority of parades are held by Ulster Protestant, Unionism in Ireland, unionist or Ulster loyalist groups, but some Irish Nationalism, Irish nationalist, Irish Rep ...

and at

interface area Interface area is the name given in Northern Ireland to areas where segregated nationalist and unionist residential areas meet. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas w ...

s. The group was particularly active in this respect in the

Tiger's Bay The Shore Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs through north Belfast and Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland. It forms part of the A2 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to the County Antrim coast. Histo ...

area, where they were deployed by the UDA to attack homes in the neighbouring nationalist

New Lodge New Lodge may refer to: *New Lodge, Winkfield near Windsor, Berkshire, England *New Lodge, South Yorkshire, England *New Lodge, Belfast, an area of North Belfast, Northern Ireland *New Lodge, Billericay, association football ground in Billericay, E ...

and Newington areas. One local member, Glen Branagh (a distant relative of the actor

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

), died in these clashes when, on 11 November 2001, a

pipe bomb A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device (IED) that uses a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively larg ...

he was holding exploded in his hand whilst he stood with fellow UYM members on the Duncairn Gardens

. They have also been blamed for arson attacks on Catholic schools and churches. In 1999 the UYM was behind over 230 pipe bomb attacks in the

UDA South East Antrim Brigade The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the Illegal drug trade, drug trade. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in sou ...

area alone. According to the University of Ulster's CAIN Project, the group were responsible for one death during the conflict. In 2001 members of the UYM attacked and killed Trevor Lowry in

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...

, believing him to be a

. It was later discovered that Lowry was a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. Of the two convicted for his murder one, Harry Speers, was significantly over the usual UYM age limits but was in fact commander of the

Glengormley Glengormley () is a townland (of 215 acres) and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Glengormley is within the urban area of Newtownabbey bordering Belfast, and is located in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It ...

UYM and had direct responsibility for preparing UYM members for the transition to the UDA. However, as well as Lowry's murder, according to Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack, a UYM member also killed the UDA's Stephen Audley on 17 March 1991 after the pair fought over a handgun at a party, with the weapon discharging during the struggle and killing Audley.McDonald & Cusack, pp. 187-188

References

Notes Bibliography *McDonald, Henry and Cusack, Jim. ''UDA: Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror'', Penguin Ireland, 2004 *Taylor, Peter. ''Loyalists'' London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 1999 *Wood, Ian S. ''Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA'', Edinburgh University Press, 2006 {{Ulster Defence Association, state=collapsed Ulster Defence Association Youth organizations based in Europe

Development

Activities

See also

References