The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and is used to launder criminal cash. Gregg and his team were apprehended almost immediately by a British Army patrol that opened fire on them before ramming their car. "This isn't the end of it I wouldn't have thought. The views and opinions expressed in this documentary/ies and page are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. Under Gregg, drug-dealing became a major problem in brigade areas, particularly Rathcoole, with Gregg himself said to have a leading role in the illicit trade. [37], Following the conclusion of the feud with Adair the UDA reconstituted its ceasefire in what they christened the "Gregg initiative". [34], Gregg was given a paramilitary funeral which was attended by thousands of mourners, including senior UDA members Jackie McDonald, Jim Gray, Sammy Duddy and Michael Stone. The secretive mobster looks gaunt and has been described as 'haunted', Fisher is losing his grip on the crime gang. Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. as a threat to Mad Dog Adair and his ally John White. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade is one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). . [16], Gregg was released from prison in 1993. [43] Accusations that the brigade has remained active continued, however, and in 2009, the mother of Jason Ballard, a 20-year-old Greenisland native subjected to a vicious beating at his home, claimed that the attack had been carried out by the South East Antrim Brigade, although they denied any involvement in the attack. Senior members of the UDA group want to take out the UVF member who they think is a 'tout'. Posted 2 years ago 2 years ago. Law enforcement agencies see the loosening of Fisher's control as an opportunity. [67], Threats against journalists and politicians, Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, "Drugs seized in searches linked to South East Antrim UDA", "South East Antrim UDA: 'A criminal cartel wrapped in a flag', "UDA member speaks out about threats and criminality - BBC News", "UDA rebels decommission and condemn McDaid killing", "EXECUTED: Fourth feud killing in four days as loyalist assassins murder UVF man in his flat. Despite his reputation for gangsterism, Greggs failed attack on Gerry Adams had afforded him legendary status and, under the direction of Jackie McDonald, the remaining UDA brigadiers concluded that Adair had to be removed. Senior members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Loyalist Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando also attended. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, Former minister Nichola Mallon says Windsor Framework receiving positive welcome from businesses, Senior police officer referred to watchdog over alleged rape comments, Over 150 Presbyterian members sign letter criticising incoming moderators comments on ordination of women, Hancock hugely disappointed and sad after WhatsApp messages sent to newspaper. [36] In May of that same year, Alan McCullough was himself killed by the UDA. id="addMyFavs"> [19] In late August 1997, the brigade became involved in simmering tensions with fellow loyalist paramilitaries in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). A mural commemorating Gregg and Carson in Cloughfern. [9] Gregg's fearsome reputation earned him the nickname "the Reaper" and he bore a tattoo of the Grim Reaper on his back as a tribute. [28] Soon after two pipe bombs were thrown at Gregg's house, and his friend Tommy Kirkham's house was shot at. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, We need government and we need it now Mary Lou McDonald. [4] The attack had been known in advance by security forces due to a tip-off from informants within Rathcoole; Adams and his co-passengers had survived in part because Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, acting on the informants information, had replaced much of the ammunition in the UDAs Rathcoole weapons dump with low-velocity bullets. Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper [10], Gregg played the bass drum in the UDA-affiliated flute band Cloughfern Young Conquerors, a loyalist flute band which police claimed regularly caused trouble at Orange Order parades. This followed in summer 2002 when a community centre was taken over for this purpose although Greggs UDA objected and daubed the building with the word tout. As a result of the attack, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack. However, some communities in Northern Ireland still live in fear of violent loyalist paramilitary gangs and risk brutal consequences for doing or saying anything that gang members perceive as offensive. In a move that was not universally popular in the region, Fisher allowed the Shoukris and their ally Alan McClean to live under South East Antrim Brigade protection and even attend meetings of the brigade's commanders. Ann Ogilbys brutal murder: Forgotten victims of the Troubles, Kriss Donald The Brutal Racist Killing of an Innocent Schoolboy. [47] A Police Service of Northern Ireland officer was injured during the disturbance. pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. Gregg was given a paramilitary funeral which was attended by thousands of mourners, including senior UDA members Jackie McDonald, Jim Gray, Sammy Duddy and Michael Stone. UVF chiefs fear that any deal they do with the British government about going out of business in return for funding and an amnesty will be dependent on Lisa's body being returned to her heartbroken family. [2], Gregg joined the Ulster Young Militants (UYM), the youth wing of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association (UDA) at the age of 14. The Belfast Telegraph called the move "a familiar loyalist pattern of events. Gregg, seated in the backseat, was hit at close range and died instantly. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Sunday World also understands Fisher has become increasingly paranoid, believing there is an informant who is passing information about his movements to the PSNI. [11], As brigadier Joe English enjoyed, theoretically, more power than his predecessor, as Andy Tyrie had been removed from the UDA leadership and replaced by a collective leadership of the movement's six brigadiers, including English. 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Under Gregg, the South East Antrim Brigade was linked to the killing of UVF member Mark Quail during Adair's feud with the UVF in 2000[25][26] although according to the BBC the killing was not directly connected to Adair's issues with the UVF but rather stemmed from a pub dispute in north Belfast between members of the two paramilitary groups. Soon after two pipe bombs were thrown at Greggs house, and his friend Tommy Kirkhams house was shot at. Brawls between the two had been frequent and tensions had been growing between the UDA and UVF, leading to a drink-fuelled pitched battle between the two groups at the train station. UDA. [44] In 2010, the Independent Monitoring Commission confirmed that the split between the Fisher faction of the brigade and the wider UDA had not ended. SouthEast Antrim UDA crime boss Gary Fisher is facing an internal revolt with even his closest lieutenants saying his time is up. He told them they had to pay money - ranging from 5,000 right up to 20,000 - to be allowed to stay in the area and avoid a UVF punishment attack. Money drives the South East Antrim UDA's criminal interests, made off the backs of communities who are ruthlessly subjected to a code of silence. The juxtaposition of this initiative with the name of Gregg was condemned by the mother of a Catholic who had been killed by members of the South-East Antrim Brigade in 2000 as she argued "it's sickening to call it the Gregg initiative when he was a ruthless terrorist.Everyone goes on about Johnny Adair but they're all as bad as each other". [49] The targets of the attack were reported locally as being two brothers who had been involved in a scuffle with three UDA members the night before. Here, reporter Jennifer O'Leary writes about how the group continues strike fear into communities. [7] Sometime after the Combined Loyalist Military Command of 1994 he succeeded Joe English, who had emerged as a leading figure in the Ulster Democratic Party, as so-called brigadier of the South-East Antrim UDA. Much of this activity was inspired by Greggs personal hatred of Catholics. UDA members turned out in force yesterday for the funeral of Mr Robert Carson, who was gunned down alongside the east Antrim UDA "brigadier", Mr John Gregg, in Belfast's docks area at the weekend. Police confirmed that they were treating it as part of the existing feud. According to a recent MI5/police intelligence assessment shared with Spotlight, the South East Antrim UDA "has access to arms" and is "heavily involved in drugs supply, community coercion, intimidation and other criminality". Sources in South East Antrim have told us Fisher has been trying to engineer an exit strategy with enough money to sustain a life away from the UDA. Along with Jackie McDonald and Billy McFarland, fellow brigadiers on the UDAs Inner Council, Gregg was lacking in enthusiasm for the Belfast Agreement when it appeared in 1998. Sunday World understands the UVF man, based in Rathcoole, is aware he has been fingered as a police tout and has stepped up security as his home in fear of attack. Belfast Books Thanks for promoting my book mate. Nowadays, pockets of the town remain on edge since the murder of a local man, Glenn Quinn, by the South East Antrim UDA. Now, the UDA has imploded to such an extent that its west Belfast brigade, run by the re-imprisoned renegade Adair, is accused of murdering south-east Antrim brigadier, John "Grug" Gregg, while . Members of the Cloughfern Young Conquerors dressed in uniform accompanied the coffin. [1], Gregg was born in 1957 and raised in a Protestant family from the Tigers Bay area of North Belfast. [42] The process was confirmed as complete by the IICD and came in the last 24 hours of the commission's existence. Greggs killing proved to be the undoing of Adair. Greggs 18-year-old son Stuart and another man were also in the vehicle but neither sustained injuries in the shooting attack. "But then what happened was that the UDA began to splinter into criminal gangs, criminal fiefdoms.". - Free Online Library", "New UDA brigadier link to McColgan and Quail murders", "UDA expels south east Antrim brigade chiefs By Brian Rowan Thursday", PM praises Northern Ireland decommissioning moves, Three more Northern Ireland terrorist groups lay down their arms, UDA Brigade deny being involved in gang attack, "A rebel UDA unit is re-arming in a grim warning to rival drug dealers", "UDA blamed for Larne, County Antrim, 'rampage', "UDA 'on a power trip', says senior police officer after attacks in Antrim", "UDA's Larne mob attack was aimed at brothers who stood up to terror gang", "Larne disorder: Third man is arrested after two are released", "Killer of leading loyalist George Gilmore remains at large", "High-profile loyalist George Gilmore dies after gun attack", "Man arrested in Carrickfergus over murder of loyalist George Gilmore", "Man shot in front of son in Northern Ireland 'victim of UDA internal feud' | UK news", "Police make another arrest over Colin Horner murder", "UDA link revealed as pair jailed over inept effort to buy guns on 'dark net', "Baby narrowly escapes attack on Ards homes by 'South East Antrim UDA', "Newtownards 'South East Antrim UFF' graffiti condemned", "Colin Horner killing: Drama as four men are jailed for life - Belfast News Letter", "Loyalist terrorist group issues threats against two journalists in Belfast", "Police warn politicians about loyalist paramilitary threats", "Loyalist paramilitaries threaten politicians in North", "Loyalists threat against Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life journalist condemned", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UDA_South_East_Antrim_Brigade&oldid=1135430778, This page was last edited on 24 January 2023, at 16:49. 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