Northern Ireland The Forgotten War
These posts are not to promote any paramilitary group
it is merely showing incidents that the RGJ might have been caught up in during their tours.
Orange Volunteers 1972
The Orange Volunteers (OV) was a loyalist vigilante group with a paramilitary structure active in Northern Ireland during the early year of the 1970s. It took its name from the Orange Order, from which it drew the bulk of its membership.
The group was established in 1972 as a paramilitary movement for members of the Orange Order. Many of its members had previously served in the British Army. Full details of its early membership are sketchy, although its strength was estimated at between 200 and 500 members, most of whom were concentrated east Belfast and Sandy Row, with some outlying groups in north north Down and east Antrim. The group was close to the Ulster Vanguard and provided security at some of its rallies, a task generally undertaken by the Vanguard Service Corps. Following their formation the group was endorsed by leading Orangeman George Watson but the Rev. Martin Smyth was not prepared to fully associate the Orange Order with a paramilitary group and so the OV did not receive the official public endorsement of the Orange Order.
The leader of the group was Bob Marno, who was also an active figure in the Loyalist Association of Workers. Marno represented the OV on the Ulster Army Council following the establishment of that group in 1973.
According to Steve Bruce the group carried out a bombing a Belfast pub in 1973 but otherwise did little publicly of note. The movement however was involved in stockpiling weapons and stashing them in Orange halls. The group also enjoyed a close relationship with the much larger Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and some of its more militant members were eventually absorbed into that group. In the April of 1973 their name was attached, along with those of the UVF, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Red Hand Commando (RHC), to a series of posters that appeared in loyalist west Belfast threatening violence to racketeers, particularly those claiming to be paramilitaries.
Its members were active during the Ulster Workers’ Council strike of 1974. Around this time it experienced a rush of members and grew in strength to as many as 3,000 men, allowing it to play a leading role in the roadblocks and intimidation that accompanied the strike. During the strike itself the OV was part of a faction of minor loyalist paramilitary groups, represented by the Ulster Special Constabulary Association, Ulster Volunteer Service Corps, Down Orange Welfare and themselves, who pushed for Bill Craig to take a leading role in the running of the strike. The UDA and UVF had hoped to exclude politicians from the conduct of the strike as much as possible but ultimately acquiesced and allowed both Craig and Ian Paisley to play prominent public roles in the stoppage.
Following the strike the group helped to form the Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee, which replaced the Ulster Army Council in 1974. The group was still in existence in 1977 and supported the United Ulster Unionist Council strike that year. This stoppage, which attempted to replicate the successes of 1974, had little impact. The OV disbanded at an unknown time after this and was certainly defunct by the 1980s.
A separate organisation calling itself the Orange Volunteers emerged in 1998 although members of the original OV disassociated themselves from this new group, claiming that, apart from the name, there was no connection.
Orange Volunteer Force (OVF) 1998
The Orange Volunteers (OV) or the Orange Volunteer Force (OVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Over the following year it carried out a wave of bomb and gun attacks on Catholics and Catholic-owned property in rural areas, but since 2000 has been relatively inactive. The group has been associated with elements of the Orange Order and has a Protestant fundamentalist ideology. Its original leader was Pastor Clifford Peeples. The OV is designated as a terrorist organization.
Origins
The OV emerged during the 1998 Drumcree conflict when the Royal Ulster Constabulary and British Army prevented members of the Portadown Orange Order and their supporters from returning to the town centre down the Garvaghy road. However there is evidence to suggest that they had been actively recruiting and training members since as early as 1985. The group is believed to be made up of dissident loyalists who disapprove of the Northern Ireland peace process and also of the more militant members of the Orange Order, including former members of the Loyalist Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. David Ervine, at the time a leading member of the Progressive Unionist Party, described the group as little more than a gang of Protestant fundamentalists and drug-dealers.
Activities
In 1998 and 1999, the Orange Volunteers were led by Clifford Peeples, a Protestant pastor from Belfast. One of the group’s first actions was a synchronized attack on 11 Catholic churches. Peeples defended the attack on the grounds that the churches were “bastions of the Antichrist”.
On the 27th of November 1998, eight masked OV members brandishing guns and grenades staged a “show of strength” for a local journalist. The gunmen began the meeting with a Bible reading and ended it with prayers. They produced a “covenant” that said: “We are defenders of the reformed faith. Our members are practicing Protestant worshipers”. They went on to state: “We are prepared to defend our people and if it comes to the crunch we will assassinate the enemies of Ulster. Ordinary Catholics have nothing to fear from us. But the true enemies will be targeted, and that’s a lot wider than just Sinn Féin and the IRA”. They vowed to target IRA prisoners released as part of the Belfast Agreement and claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on nationalist-owned businesses a month beforehand.
Timeline
1998
31st October 1998: The OV claimed responsibility for a gun attack on a Catholic-owned pub on Colinglen Road, Belfast.
17th December 1998: The OV claimed responsibility for a blast bomb attack on a pub on Ballyganniff Road near Crumlin, County Antrim. It said it was an attempt to kill a senior IRA member.
17th December 1998: The OV claimed responsibility for throwing a grenade and firing shots at the home of a known republican in Castledawson, County Londonderry.
In the December of 1998: The OV claimed responsibility for a gun and bomb attack on the home of a Catholic civilian in Knockcloghrim, County Londonderry.
1999
19th January 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb attack on a house in Loughinisland, County Down. The man who lived there was wounded. The OV claimed that he was a “PIRA commander in South Down”.
6th January 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a booby-trap bomb attack on builders working on a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Magherafelt, County Londonderry. A Catholic builder was injured.
8th February 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a Catholic-owned pub near Toome, County Antrim.
9th February 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for an attack on a Catholic-owned pub in Castledawson, County Londonderry. It also claimed responsibility for planting a pipe bomb outside a pub in Crumlin.
1st March 1999: A bomb was found on the windowsill of a Catholic-owned house in Coalisland, County Tyrone. It is believed the OV were responsible.
3th March 1999: The United Kingdom designated the OV, along with the Red Hand Defenders (RHD), as terrorist organizations.
23rd March 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a booby-trap bomb attack at a scrapyard on Station Road, Castlewellan, County Down. One man was injured.
24th March 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on the Derryhirk Inn near Aghagallon, County Antrim.
26th March 1999: The OV were blamed for planting a pipe bomb outside the home of a Catholic family in Randalstown, County Antrim.
10th April 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb attack on a pub near Templepatrick, County Antrim. One man was injured.
25th Apr 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a house in the Legoneil area of Belfast.
28th April 1999: The OV claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb attack on the Ramble Inn pub in County Antrim. Several cars were damaged.
In the Autumn of 1999, In a series of police raids aimed at dissident loyalists, eight arrests were made while weapons and ammunition were found during a search of Stoneyford Orange Hall in County Antrim. Police also found military files containing the personal details of over 300 republicans from south Armagh and Belfast.
2000
In the June of 2000, The OV threatened to kill GAA officials in the run-up to the Ulster Gaelic football championships.
29th August 2000: The OV claimed responsibility for burning-down Brennan’s Bar in west Belfast.
28th Sepember 2000: The OV declared that it had ceased all “military activity”.
2001
In the July of 2001, The OV claimed responsibility of killing Catholic 19 year old Ciaran Cummings in a shooting in County Antrim. However, the Red Hand Defenders (paramilitary with strong links with OV) also claimed responsibility. In 2007 an inquest heard that the Red Hand Defenders and the OV may have worked together in the killing.
6th December 2001: The United States designated the OV and Red Hand Defenders (RHD) as “terrorist organizations”.
27th December 2001: The OV declared that it would be ceasing “military operations” after the 31st of December 2001. It is understood the group decided to go on ceasefire after a plea by a senior clergyman.
2002
2nd August 2002: Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, the new Lord Mayor of Belfast, was sent a bullet in the post. The death threat has been attributed to the OV. It arrived at City Hall in Belfast only hours before Maskey was to take part in a rally against sectarianism.
In the September of 2003, The OV were believed to have been responsible for a number of attacks on Catholic-owned houses and the Catholic church in Stoneyford.
2004
10th February 2004: Two men boarded a bus in the loyalist Milltown Estate near Lisburn and severely beat the Catholic driver, warning him that he would be shot by the OV if he returned to the area.
2008
26th September 2008: The OV were believed to have been behind an arson arrack on St Johns GAA club near Castlewellan, County Down. It is believed that the attack was revenge for attacks on Orange halls in the area.
8th November 2008: The OV claimed responsibility for burning-down Edendork GAA hall in County Tyrone. It claimed that it was revenge for attacks on Orange halls.
In the November of 2008, Sinn Féin claimed that the OV was responsible for planting a pipe bomb near the home of a Sinn Féin councillor in Cookstown, County Tyrone.
2nd December 2008: Sinn Féin minister Conor Murphy claimed to have been told by the Police Service of Northern Ireland of a recent attempt on his life by the OV in the Newry area.
2009
9th March 2009: The OV claimed responsibility for planting a pipe bomb at Sinn Féin’s office on Burn Road in Cookstown, County Tyrone. It claimed that the attack was revenge for the Massereene Barracks shooting.
18th August 2009: In retaliation for attacks on Orange halls, the OV claimed responsibility for attacks on Catholic and nationalist owned businesses in Garvagh, Rasharkin, Dunloy and Ballymoney.
24th August 2009: The OV claimed responsibility for planting a bomb at the back of a house on Smith Street, Moneymore, County Londonderry. It claimed it was retaliation for “republican attacks on Protestant property and churches” in the area. The bomb was made safe by the security forces.
In addition to the attacks listed above, the OV have also sent numerous death threats to members of Sinn Féin. These include Gerry Adams, Alex Maskey, Gerry Kelly, Francie Molloy, Caitríona Ruane, Cara McShane and Mary McArdle.
Police crackdown
In a series of police raids aimed at dissident loyalists in the Autumn of 1999, eight arrests were made, weapons, pipe bombs and ammunition were recovered and a search of Stoneyford Orange Hall in County Antrim uncovered military files containing the personal details of over 300 republicans from South Armagh and Belfast. Peeples and another loyalist were arrested by the RUC after their car was stopped on the outskirts of Dungannon and two hand grenades and a pipe bomb were discovered. In 2001 he was jailed for ten years for possession of the weapons. He was released in 2004 and became the minister of a Pentecostal church on the Shankill Road in Belfast. Four other members of the group were convicted of a range of terrorist offences, including possession of an automatic rifle, in the December of 2000.
Sourced from Wikipedia