Following the conclusion of the feud with Adair the UDA reconstituted its ceasefire in what they christened the Gregg initiative. [3] He spent six months in jail for rioting in 1977. Central role played at UFF parade by veteran crime lord's two underbosses hints at changing of the guard. [50] Three arrests were made in the days immediately after the attack. [29] The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. His cheeks appeared hollow, he has shaved his head and those who have seen him describe him as 'haunted'. [6] His deputy Rab Carson was killed in the same attack, with both men having just returned from Scotland where they were attending a Rangers F.C. A UDA member originally from the Woodvale Road had moved to Rathcoole where he had been beaten up after it emerged that he was a friend of Joe English, the former brigadier who had been exiled from the estate by Gregg for his anti-drugs stance. The deposed brigadier's ex-2IC is also facing major money worries having been fined 20,000 by the UVF. Masked gunmen immediately opened fire on the occupants with automatic weapons. He complained to senior figures in West Belfast before ordering that the three men be kneecapped. "It is notoriously difficult to leave," a senior loyalist source told us. In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. He will have run the crime gang . [14] Later in the year, English was forced to confront Adair about rumours that Adair was considering attending an Inner Council meeting armed in order to eliminate the other five brigadiers and assume sole control of the UDA. The secretive mobster has seen his one-time iron-clad grip on the UDA crime gang loosen in recent months, leaving him Brigadier in name only. The secretive mobster looks gaunt and has been described as 'haunted', Fisher is losing his grip on the crime gang. Martin Quinn says the family has been threatened by the South East Antrim UDA for speaking out, Security sources say the South East Antrim UDA has over 2,000 members, Police intelligence says the South East Antrim UDA is involved in the supply of drugs, Rev Philip McAlister officiated at the funeral of Geordie Gilmore, a BBC Spotlight programme on the murder of Glenn Quinn. [5], Gregg was sentenced to 18 years in prison; however, he only served nine years before he was released in 1993. Greggs 18-year-old son Stuart and another man were also in the vehicle but neither sustained injuries in the shooting attack. Gregg took this as a threat and, after complaining to senior figures in the West Belfast UDA, ordered the three men to be kneecapped. Sources in Carrickfergus say that while he retains the . Catholic workman Gary Moore was killed in Monkstown in 2000 in another killing attributed to Greggs unit. [11] In late August 1997 this band was one of a number of similar flute bands to travel to Derry for the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry march through the city centre. The move, some say, does not signal a return to violence. @caolan-mclaughlin-844507501 this is a UDA song ya muppet why u put f the uvf know yer history kid. The gang's boss in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast was another expelled. [51], On 13 March 2017 Geordie Gilmore, formerly a commander in the brigade until being stood down in 2016 following a dispute over drug money,[52] was shot in the neck in Carrickfergus. The Reaper is coming for you" as a threat to "Mad Dog" Adair and his ally John White. 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His 2IC (second-in-command) was also dismissed after being given a sickening . "Drugs is the big one. However, in the second half of 2002 he was dragged into the conflict after Adair made him a target in his own attempts to take full control of the UDA. Adams was in a taxi near Belfast City Hall with some associates when another car containing John 'Grug' Gregg and two fellow Rathcoole UDA members pulled up alongside and opened fire on Adams. "All you have to do is look at history, there are very few commanders or brigadiers who were simply allowed to leave. SoundCloud . John Gregg (1957 - 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.In 1984, Gregg seriously wounded Sinn Fin president Gerry Adams in an assassination attempt. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade is one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). [3] A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole , Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley and Whitewell, all . FEARS of a new loyalist feud have emerged after a fanatical UDA faction accused a UVF chief of touting to cops. Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a "hawk" in some loyalist circles. The gang is a standalone faction of the UDA. The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. [8] Gregg, Colin Gray and Gerry Welsh were immediately arrested by the waiting British Army, who had doctored the bullets to reduce their lethality. A mortally-wounded Carson died later in hospital, and taxi driver William McKnight was seriously hurt. New IRA powerbase just 20 miles away so why didnt intelligence flag possible attack? 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: its sickening to call it the Gregg initiative when he was a ruthless terrorist.Everyone goes on about Johnny Adair but theyre all as bad as each other. Carrick's drug trade is now a mish-mash of conflicting independent criminal gangs. "When Gary was in complete control, there would have been no suggestion of any leaks, it was a tight, tight operation. . These psychos were obviously baying for blood Mod blood, to be exact. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. The newspaper also reported that the group refused to decommission its weapons. match. Many of them were innocent - but had to pay up anyway. These were carried out under the Red Hand Defenders cover name, with some attacks also blamed on the Orange Volunteers who were active in similar attacks at the time. UDA boss Gary Fisher plots his exit strategy. "Several UDA men told their bosses they wanted him shot dead while others wanted his knees done but they've been ordered by Fisher to leave him alone, for now. [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. Browns_right_foot 3 mo. Both men, who lived on Ferris Avenue, had their houses burnt out during the attack. Spotlight made contact with a former senior PSNI officer who was at the forefront of policing efforts against the gang. John Gregg (UDA) The man who shot Gerry Adam? games. They have a number of supply lines. Ann Ogilbys brutal murder: Forgotten victims of the Troubles, Kriss Donald The Brutal Racist Killing of an Innocent Schoolboy. [2] Since 2007 the South East Antrim Brigade has operated independently of the UDA following a fall-out. [4] Gregg, at the time the head of the UDA group in Rathcoole, was in charge of a three-man hit team that pulled up alongside Adams' car near Belfast City Hall and opened fire injuring Adams and his three fellow passengers, who nonetheless escaped to seek treatment at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. They have also asked for an end to historic prosecutions for UVF killings that took place before 2010. [18], Despite the continuing activity of his brigade, and his own earlier maiming, Gregg shared the reluctance of other brigadiers about what he saw as a coming war between the UVF and West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair. [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. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. [10] He called on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to establish an auxiliary police "clinic" on the estate, which had no permanent police building, so that locals concerned about crime could have somewhere to go. Read about our approach to external linking. It used the name Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) to claim responsibility for attacks and, because the two claimed to be separate organisations, the UDA was able to . Gregg and his team were apprehended almost immediately by a British Army patrol that opened fire on them before ramming their car. [16], Gregg was released from prison in 1993. 25.043611 121.5625. [54] Two men were subsequently charged with the murder. Convicted killer driver and drug offender Simms was once Fisher's muscle entrusted with keeping a small army of drug dealers in Carrick in check. [18] English would soon re-emerge as part of the Ulster Democratic Party. [36] In May of that same year, Alan McCullough was himself killed by the UDA. Gregg took this as a threat and, after complaining to senior figures in the West Belfast UDA, ordered the three men to be kneecapped. The coffin was draped in the Ulster flag and the flag of the UFF. Gregg when explaining his family background, revealed that his father, regarded as a quiet man, had trust in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army but joined the loyalist vigilante groups set up around the start of the Troubles ostensibly to protect the Protestant community from attacks by republicans. [30] This briefly occurred in late August when one of Adair's allies took command of the brigade, although this proved short-lived. The deal was discussed at a February meeting in London at the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. SouthEast Antrim UDA crime boss Gary Fisher is facing an internal revolt with even his closest lieutenants saying his time is up. Fri 14 Jan 2022 at 00:30. 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. 2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. Members of this brigade were believed to be behind the killings of Catholic postman Danny McColgan, Protestant teenager Gavin Brett and Trevor Lowry (the latter kicked to death in the mistaken belief he was a Catholic), and a spate of pipe bomb attacks on the homes of Catholics. He sought to portray Gregg as unstable and thuggish and spread a rumour that he was about to be replaced as brigadier. [24] The shootings raised some anger on the Shankill, where the three were well-liked figures, and Adair sought to exploit this as a method of getting rid of Gregg. [63][64] Patsy McGlone, Stephen Farry, Steve Aiken and Doug Beattie also condemned the attacks and were subsequently warned by the PSNI of threats from the South East Antrim UDA. "[38] The dissident branch was also revealed to have contained an informer after Jon McDowell, Tommy Kirkham's assistant, told the Belfast Telegraph that he was an RUC Special Branch agent in November 2007. [6] When asked by the BBC in prison if he regretted anything about the shooting, his reply was, "Only that I didn't succeed. [73] . He's crossed a line and there are figures in the UDA who won't forget.". [63] At least one journalist was warned of a possible under car booby trap. [45] As of 2014 Fisher was still identified by the Irish Independent as Brigadier, with the brigade reported as being in the process of rearming. The Reaper is coming for you. When the taxi stopped at traffic lights close to the motorway, it was rammed by another taxi which had been hijacked earlier on the Shankill Road. A taxi driver by trade, he was lured to a meeting in the Monkstown estate in Newtownabbey by his supposed best friend - the former UVF commander in Mount Vernon - who was also expelled. Saturday, 28 January 2023 ePaper [31], On 1 February 2003, along with another UDA member, Robert "Rab" Carson, Gregg was shot dead on Nelson Street, in the old Sailortown district near the Belfast docks, while travelling in a taxi after returning from Glasgow where he regularly went to Rangers F.C. The 47-year-old had no connections to any paramilitary gang, but was beaten to death in his home in January 2020 after being threatened by the group. "But he's only delaying the inevitable and will eventually have to account for the 250,000 that's disappeared.". 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