In a two-year period from August 1996, the LVF waged a paramilitary campaign in opposition toIrish republicanism and theNorthern Ireland peace process. During this time it killed at least 14 people in gun and bomb attacks, almost all of themCatholic civilians killed at random. The LVF called off its campaign in August 1998 and decommissioned some of its weapons, but in the early 2000s aloyalist 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 forces stated that the LVF "exists only as a criminal group" in Mid-Ulster and Antrim.[5]
In a document, the LVF outlined its goals as follows:
The use of the Ulster conflict as a crucible for far-reaching, fundamental and decisive change in the United Kingdom constitution.
To restore Ulster's right to self-determination.
To end Irish nationalist aggression against Ulster in whatever form.
To end all forms of Irish interference in Ulster's internal affairs.
To thwart the creation and/or implementation of any All-Ireland/All-Island political super-structure regardless of the powers vested in such institutions.
To defeat the campaign of de-Britishisation and Gaelicisation of Ulster's daily life.[9]
Its leader, Billy Wright, was aborn again Christian and former preacher. Professor Peter Shirlow, ofQueen's University Belfast, noted that many LVF members believed that Irish nationalism/republicanism and Catholicism were interlinked. They believed thatUlster Protestants were a persecuted people and Ulster was their "God-given land", which must be defended from these "dark and satanic forces".[12]
The LVF published a magazine calledLeading the Way.[13]
Internal differences between Wright and the UVF's Brigade Staff inBelfast came to a head in July 1996, during theDrumcree parade dispute. TheOrange Order was being stopped from marching through theCatholic Garvaghy area ofPortadown. There was a standoff atDrumcree Church between thousands of Orangemen and their supporters on one side, and the security forces on the other. Wright was angered that the march was being blocked, and was often seen at Drumcree withHarold Gracey, head of the Portadown Orange Lodge.[15]
Wright's brigade smuggled homemade weaponry to Drumcree, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen.[15] On 7 July, a day into the standoff, members of Wright's brigade[15][16] shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick nearAghagallon. The man who killed McGoldrick said he had also planned, along with Billy Wright andMark Fulton, to kidnap threepriests from aparochial house in County Armagh and shoot them unless the march was allowed to continue.[17] Allegedly, the brigade also planned to drivepetrol tankers into the Catholic area and blow them up.[18] After four days of loyalist protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, the police reversed their decision and allowed the march to continue.
For breaking the ceasefire,[14] Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were "stood down" by the UVF leadership on 2 August 1996.[19]
Wright and his unit left the UVF and formed the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). He personally chose its codename of "Covenant", which was used to claim LVF attacks.[20]
Although behind many attacks in the Mid-Ulster area, especially in Portadown and Lurgan, Wright was arrested in January 1997 on charges of issuing death threats and perverting the course of justice. He was convicted in March 1997 and sentenced to eight years in theMaze Prison.[21][22] There he demanded a separate wing for LVF prisoners. The authorities agreed and the wing became a gathering point for loyalists opposed to theNorthern Ireland peace process, including many men fromBelfast and northDown.[23]
On 27 December 1997, Wright was assassinated byIrish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners inside the Maze Prison:Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, John Glennon and John Kennaway.[24] The three were imprisoned in the same block as Wright. He was shot as he travelled in a prison van. After killing Wright, the three surrendered to prison guards.[24] They also delivered a statement: "Billy Wright was executed [...] for directing and waging his campaign of terror against the nationalist people from his prison cell".[24]
That night, LVF gunmen opened fire on the dance hall of the Glengannon Hotel, nearDungannon.[25] The hotel was owned by Catholics and about 400 teenagers were attending adisco there.[25] Three civilians were wounded and one, a formerProvisional IRA volunteer, was killed.[25] Police believed that the disco was the intended target, rather than the ex-volunteer.[25] Witnesses said it was "an attempt at mass-murder".[25]
Some believed that prison authorities colluded with the INLA in Wright's killing. The INLA strongly denied these rumours. It published a detailed account of the assassination in the March/April 1999 issue ofThe Starry Plough newspaper.[24]
The destruction of some of the LVF arms were recorded by video. However, since the weapons were decommissioned in mid-1998, the LVF has killed four people.[citation needed]
In early 2000, an LVF-UVF feud began, and there were several tit-for-tat killings. The Secretary of State declared on 12 October 2001 that the government no longer recognised their ceasefire.[29]
After its ceasefire, the LVF continued supporting the Orangemen in their protests at Drumcree. In July 2000, it was revealed that members ofneo-Nazi groupCombat 18 were travelling from England to join the protest. They were given shelter by LVF volunteers in Portadown andTandragee. Combat 18 had opposed the LVF's ceasefire, but this trip was said to mark a "healing of the rift".[30]
In 2002, Wright's successor as LVF leader,Mark Fulton, was found hanged inMaghaberry prison. It is believed that he committed suicide.[31]
In July 2005 the IRA declared it had ended its armed campaign and would disarm. In September 2005 weapons inspectors declared that the IRA had fully disarmed. In response, on 30 October that year, the LVF stated that it was standing down.[32]
In February 2006, theIndependent Monitoring Commission confirmed that the LVF-UVF feud was over. But, it said that the LVF's involvement with organised crime and drug trafficking continued, describing it as a "deeply criminal organisation". The twentieth IMC report stated that the group was small and without political purpose. Most of its violence was "more criminal than paramilitary" in nature. LVF members who continued violent activity were said to do so "for personal gain" and associated with the organisation at large only when it was helpful to do so. The report added that simple aggressive police work could damage the group's continuance.[33]
7 July: inAghagallon, the LVF shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick (31) in his car. The gunmen then set it on fire. This attack was believed to be related to theDrumcree conflict; at the time, theOrange Order was being stopped from marching through the Catholic area of Portadown in their annual 'celebration'.[35] Members of the group smuggled home-made weaponry to the protests at Drumcree church, apparently unhindered by the Orangemen.[15]
10 July: The LVF was responsible for hijacking a postal van and planting a hoax bomb during rioting in Portadown.[36]
25 October: LVF members carried out a failed armed robbery at the home of anUlster Bank manager in Newcastle County Down.[36]
3 January: three men (James Buchanan, Jonathan Birney and Andrew Doran) accused of drug dealing by theUDA werekneecapped by members of the LVF. This was apparently an effort to punish them but prevent them being killed by other loyalist paramilitaries.[37]
6 January: The LVF shot and injured a man in the Glandore Terrace estate, Portadown.UDA member Derek Wray had been the original intended target.[36]
20 January: the LVF was believed to be behind a bomb that exploded under a van owned by a Catholic inLarne, County Antrim.[38]
1 April: Mountpottinger Baptist Tabernacle, a Protestant church in East Belfast, was damaged in an arson attack. Although DUP press officerSammy Wilson blamed Catholics, on 20 AprilProgressive Unionist Party leaderDavid Ervine asserted it was an LVF attempt to raise sectarian tension.[38]
27 April:Robert Hamill (25), a Catholic civilian, was kicked to death by a loyalist mob in Portadown town centre while walking home. Police parked nearby did not intervene. The six men charged with his murder were placed in the LVF wing of the Maze Prison at their own request.[39]
12 May: the LVF kidnapped Catholic civilian Seán Brown (61) after he left theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club inBellaghy, County Londonderry. He was beaten and shot dead; his body was found the next day by a burnt-out car on Moneynick Road nearRandalstown.[38]
14 May: the LVF was alleged to have tried to kill a Catholic taxi driver inMilford, County Armagh. He escaped when the gunman's weapon jammed.[38]
24 May: the LVF claimed responsibility for planting a bomb inDundalk,County Louth, Republic of Ireland. The time bomb was planted in an alleyway on Clanbrassil Street, the town's main shopping street. However, after it partially exploded, it was defused byGardaí (the Republic's police). The LVF warned that further "no-warning bomb attacks" would take place "as long as Dublin interferes in Ulster affairs".[38][40]
2 July: the LVF threatened to kill Catholic civilians if an upcoming Orange march was banned from the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.[38]
15 July: the LVF killed Catholic civilian Bernadette Martin (18) inAghalee. She was shot four times in the head as she slept in her Protestant boyfriend's home.[38]
24 July: the LVF kidnapped Catholic civilian James Morgan (16) in Newcastle, County Down. He was tortured, beaten to death with a hammer, and his body was doused in petrol and set alight. His burnt and mutilated body was found three days later in a waterlogged ditch used for the disposal of animal carcasses nearClough. Norman Coopey was charged and convicted of the killing.[38][41]
5 August: the LVF claimed responsibility for trying to kill a Catholic taxi driver inLurgan. He escaped when the gun jammed.[38]
12 August: twenty-seven LVF prisoners in theMaze Prison began a riot which caused severe damage to C and D wings of H-Block 6.[38]
13-14 August: the LVF was blamed for attacks on the homes of four serving and former prison officers in Mid-Ulster.[38][36]
17 November: the LVF claimed responsibility for planting four small bombs in Dundalk, Republic of Ireland, which were removed by police.[38]
5 December: the LVF shot dead Catholic civilian Gerry Devlin (36) outside a GAA club inGlengormley, County Antrim.[38]
27 December: the LVF launched a gun attack on the dance hall of the Catholic-owned Glengannon Hotel nearDungannon, County Tyrone. Hundreds of teenagers were attending a disco inside when gunmen fired on a crowd of people at the entrance. A doorman, Catholic civilian Seamus Dillon (45), was killed and three other people were wounded. This was believed to be revenge for the killing of Billy Wright in HM Maze prison earlier that day.[38] The LVF said: "This attack and future attacks lay squarely at the feet of republicans. For too long the Protestant people have watched their very faith, culture and identity being slowly eroded away".[42]
31 December: the LVF claimed responsibility for a gun attack on the Clifton Tavern on Cliftonville Road, Belfast. Gunmen burst into the pub and sprayed it with gunfire. Catholic civilian Eddie Treanor (31) was killed and five others were wounded. The RUC believed that UDA members were involved.[38]
10 January: the LVF launched a gun attack on the Space nightclub at Talbot Street,Belfast. Gunmen pulled up in a car and opened fire on people standing at the door. A doorman, Catholic civilian Terry Enright (28), was killed. He was a cross-community worker who helped steer young people away from violence. The LVF said it was revenge for the killing of Billy Wright by INLA.[43][44]
18 January: the LVF killed Catholic civilian Fergal McCusker (28) inMaghera, County Londonderry. He was kidnapped and shot dead while walking home. His body was found behind a youth center off Tircane Road.[43]
19 January: the LVF claimed responsibility for shooting dead Catholic taxi driver Larry Brennan (52) as he sat in his car on Ormeau Road, Belfast. The attack happened hours after the INLA killed UDA member Jim Guiney. Police believe UDA members were involved.[43]
23 January: the LVF shot dead Catholic construction worker Liam Conway (39) as he operated a digger on Hesketh Road, Belfast.[43]
24 January: the LVF shot dead Catholic taxi driver John McColgan (33) in Belfast. He had picked up a number of men on the Andersonstown Road, who told him to drive to Upper Glen Road. They shot him, dumped his body by the roadside, and drove off in the taxi.[43]
25 January: the LVF claimed responsibility for shooting and wounding a Catholic civilian in Lurgan. The man was sitting in the cab of a lorry when a lone gunman shot at him several times.[43][45]
27 January: the LVF was blamed for trying to kill a Catholic taxi driver in North Belfast. He escaped when the gun jammed.[43]
27 January: the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) announced that the LVF had issued death threats against a number of Catholic cross-community workers in the Mid-Ulster area.[43]
4 February: the LVF admitted firing a shot at a Protestant man in Lurgan and warned him to leave the area.[43]
23 February: the LVF claimed responsibility for planting a small car bomb outside aGarda station in Dromad,County Louth, Republic of Ireland. It was spotted and defused by the security forces. The LVF threatened further attacks in the Republic.[46]
27 February: the LVF was blamed for a beer keg bomb left in a car in the predominantly Nationalist town ofCarnlough, County Antrim. The device was neutralised by the British Army.[47]
3 March: the LVF killed a Catholic and a Protestant civilian—Damian Trainor (26) and Philip Allen (34)—in the Railway Bar inPoyntzpass, County Armagh. Gunmen entered the Catholic-owned pub, told them to lie on the floor and then shot them dead. The two were close friends.[43]
5 March: the LVF was blamed for a gun attack on a house in a mainly-Protestant area ofAntrim. A Catholic man and his Protestant wife lived there. She and her daughter were wounded.[43]
8 March: the LVF issued threats against Protestant churchmen, business leaders and politicians who it claimed were "colluding" with the peace process.[43]
17 March: the LVF claimed responsibility for an attempted bomb attack on St Comgall's parish centre inLarne. The building was packed with people celebratingSaint Patrick's Day when two men threw a bomb through the door. The bomb failed to explode and was defused.[43][48]
21 April: the LVF killed Catholic civilian Adrian Lamph (29) inPortadown. A gunman cycled into his workplace—the Fairgreenamenity site on Duke Street—then singled him out and shot him. He was the first victim of the conflict since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.[43]
25 April: the LVF shot dead a Catholic civilian, Ciaran Heffron (22), as he walked home inCrumlin, County Antrim.[43] Meanwhile, 25 civilians escaped injury when a bomb was thrown into a Catholic-owned pub and restaurant at Aghinlig, County Armagh.[49]
15 May: the LVF announced an "unequivocal ceasefire" which it hoped would encourage people to vote against the Good Friday Agreement.
2 July: the LVF was blamed for setting fire to ten Catholic churches in Northern Ireland. Churches were burnt over a ten-hour period inCrumlin,Lisburn,Dromore,Castlewellan,Banbridge,Laurencetown,Tandragee andDungannon. The attacks were believed to be a response to the banning of the Orange Order's Drumcree march.[50] The LVF was also blamed forpetrol bombing the homes of two Catholics inDerry.[43]
9 July: The LVF threw a pipe bomb at a two vehicle mobile military patrol near Union street in Portadown.[36]
9 July: ablast bomb is thrown at police lines at Drumcree church by senior LVF volunteerWilliam James Fulton, which resulted in 4 officers being seriously injured when it detonated[37]
11 July: an LVF gunman opened fire on British security forces manning a barricade blocking the Orange Order from marching at Drumcree.[51]
15 July: a package addressed to aDublin hotel, which was believed to have been sent by the LVF, exploded while it was being examined at theGarda Technical Bureau. Two were injured in the blast.[52]
8 August: the LVF issued a statement saying that its "war is over".
26 March 1999: the LVF warned that there would be a great strain on its ceasefire if the Provisional IRA did not begin disarming.
4 June 1999: The LVF carried out a Grenade attack on the home of a Catholic man on the Ballyweely road near Hilltown in County Down. The mans children and nephew were also in the house at the time though no one was injured.[36]
5 June 1999: LVF members launchedpipe bomb attacks on two houses in the Corcrain area of Portadown. One of them killed Protestant civilian Elizabeth O'Neill (59), who was married to a Catholic man.[53]
10 January 2000: LVF members killed the UVF's Mid-Ulster commander,Richard Jameson (46). He was shot dead while sitting in his car outside his home on Derrylettiff Road near Portadown. He was also a member of the Orange Order.[54] The killing was part of a loyalist feud.[55]
26 May 2000: LVF members shot dead UVF member Martin Taylor (35) at his home on Silverstream Park, Belfast. This killing was part of a loyalist feud.[55]
11 April 2001: LVF members shot dead UVF member Grahame Marks (37) at his home inTandragee. He was also a member of the Orange Order.[54] This killing was part of a loyalist feud.[56]
28 February 2005: members of the LVF were suspected to have been responsible for thedisappearance of Lisa Dorrian (25) after a drugs party at a caravan park inBallyhalbert, although the PSNI subsequently ruled out the involvement of any paramilitary group in her murder.[57][58]
The youth division of the LVF was known as the Young Loyalist Volunteers (YLV). They were founded in 1997 and officially ended their activities in 2005.[59][60]
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