The Ulster Protestant Association (UPA) were a

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 ...

paramilitary group organised 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 ...

in August 1920 to prevent

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

(or that region which would later become

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 ...

) being included in an independent

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. In 1921,

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

and UPA member Thomas Pentland was arrested for the murder of a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

named Murtagh McStocker, supposedly a member of the IRA; Pentland was acquitted. The UPA were also associated with the 1922 murders of Catholic civilians in

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 ...

John William Nixon John William Nixon, MBE (1880 – 11 May 1949), was a unionist politician and police leader in Northern Ireland who was alleged to be responsible for several sectarian atrocities, including the McMahon killings and the Arnon Street killings. ...

was alleged to be associated with the UPA. In 1923 a police report described the Association as dominated by "the Protestant

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...

element

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...

whole aim and object was simply the extermination of Catholics by any and every means." Bomb attacks were made against children, crowds leaving

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and onto crowded trains. Their headquarters was in an East Belfast pub, with a flogging-horse upstairs to punish members who violated UPA rules. The UPA is said to have provided many members of the "murder gangs" active in Belfast during 1921–22. Other Protestant gangs active at that time went by names like the Imperial Guards, Crawford's Tigers and the Cromwell Clubs. Many UPA members were recruited into the

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military Military reserve, reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, short ...

, the infamous "B Specials." Although it is sometimes said to have dissolved in 1922, a hardcore remained active, murdering several Catholics in the mid-1930s. The UPA fought side-by-side with the IRA during the 1932 Outdoor Relief riots, swapping places in order to confuse

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 ...

policemen. The name was also used as a cover name by the loyalist group "Spirit of Drumcree" in 1998.{{cite news, url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/low-level-ethnic-cleansing-in-evidence-1.172168, title=Low-level ethnic cleansing in evidence, newspaper=The Irish Times

References

1920 establishments in Ireland Ulster loyalist militant groups