68-618: [REDACTED] Look up uvf in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. UVF may refer to: The Ulster Volunteers , started in 1912 and organised as the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1913 The Ulster Volunteer Force , a paramilitary organisation established in 1965–6, not linked to the 1913 UVF Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia (IATA Airport code "UVF") UPPA rangers Topics referred to by
136-630: A series of car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan , in the Republic. This killed 34 civilians, making it the deadliest attack of the Troubles. The strike brought down the agreement and power-sharing government. Loyalists were involved in the major protest campaign against the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement . They saw it as a breach of sovereignty, because it gave the Republic an advisory role in some Northern Ireland affairs. The many street protests led to loyalist clashes with
204-764: A nationalist Catholic -majority parliament in Dublin and losing their links with Great Britain . In 1913, the militias were organised into the Ulster Volunteer Force ( UVF ) and vowed to resist any attempts by the British Government to impose Home Rule on Ulster. Later that year, Irish nationalists formed a rival militia, the Irish Volunteers , to safeguard Home Rule. In April 1914, the UVF smuggled 25,000 rifles into Ulster from Imperial Germany . The Home Rule Crisis
272-522: A paramilitary campaign to force a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland. Loyalist paramilitaries attacked the Catholic community as alleged retaliation for IRA actions, and the vast majority of their victims were random Catholic civilians. During the Troubles there were incidents where British security forces colluded with loyalist paramilitaries , such as the attacks by the Glenanne group . Signed in 1973,
340-568: A republican front. Loyalist opposition was led primarily by Ian Paisley , a Protestant fundamentalist preacher. They held counter-protests, attacked civil rights marches, and put pressure on moderate unionists. Loyalist militants carried out false flag bombings that were blamed on republicans and civil rights activists. This unrest led to the August 1969 riots . Irish nationalists/republicans clashed with both police and with loyalists, who burned hundreds of Catholic homes and businesses. The riots led to
408-542: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist , loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government (" Home Rule ") for Ireland , which was then part of the United Kingdom . The Ulster Volunteers were based in the northern province of Ulster . Many Ulster Protestants and Irish unionists feared being governed by
476-712: Is justified?" In Northern Ireland there are a number of Protestant fraternities and marching bands who hold yearly parades. They include the Orange Order and Apprentice Boys of Derry . These fraternities, often described as the "Loyal Orders", have long been associated with unionism/loyalism. Yearly events such as the Eleventh Night (11 July) bonfires and The Twelfth (12 July) parades are strongly associated with loyalism. A report published in 2013 estimated there were at least 640 marching bands in Northern Ireland with
544-573: The News Letter , a Belfast-based newspaper with a unionist editorial stance, sought the view of the Protestant community on a recent upsurge in loyalist paramilitary violence . The poll found that 42 per cent of callers responded "Yes" to the question: "Do you support loyalist paramilitary violence?" Over 50 per cent of callers chose "Yes" in response to the question "Do you believe there are any current circumstances in which loyalist paramilitary violence
612-667: The Battle of Gallipoli . Both of the remaining divisions suffered heavy casualties in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and were largely wiped out in 1918 during the German spring offensive . Although many UVF officers left to join the British Army during the war, the unionist leadership wanted to preserve the UVF as a viable force, aware that the issue of Home Rule and partition would be revisited when
680-568: The Conservative & Unionist Party , reviewed 100,000 Ulster Volunteers marching in columns. On 28 September, 218,206 men signed the Ulster Covenant , vowing to use "all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland", with the support of 234,046 women. In January 1913, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was formally established by
748-535: The Glenanne gang ), giving weapons and intelligence to loyalists, not taking action against them, and hindering official investigations. The modus operandi of loyalist paramilitaries involved assassinations, mass shootings, bombings and kidnappings. They used sub machine-guns , assault rifles , pistols , grenades (including homemade grenades), incendiary bombs , booby trap bombs and car bombs . Bomb attacks were usually made without warning. However, gun attacks were more common than bombings. In January 1994,
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#1732837989637816-683: The Greysteel massacre by the UDA and Loughinisland massacre by the UVF. The main loyalist paramilitary groups called a ceasefire in 1994, shortly after the Provisional IRA's ceasefire and beginning of the Northern Ireland peace process . This ceasefire came under strain during the Drumcree dispute of the mid-to-late 1990s. The Protestant Orange Order was blocked from marching its traditional route through
884-507: The Irish Volunteers to ensure home rule was implemented. Home rule was postponed by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Both loyalists and nationalists fought in the war , with many Ulster Volunteers joining the 36th (Ulster) Division . By the end of the war, most Irish nationalists wanted full independence. After winning most Irish seats in the 1918 general election , Irish republicans declared an Irish Republic , leading to
952-673: The Irish War of Independence between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British forces. Meanwhile, the Fourth Home Rule Bill passed through the British parliament in 1920. It would partition Ireland into two self-governing polities within the UK: a Protestant-majority Northern Ireland , and a Catholic-majority Southern Ireland . During 1920–22, in what became Northern Ireland, partition
1020-458: The Larne gunrunning . The Ulster Volunteers were a continuation of what has been described as the "Protestant volunteering tradition, in Ireland", which since 1666 spans the various Irish Protestant militias founded to defend Ireland from foreign threat. References to the most prominent of these militias, the Irish Volunteers , was frequently made, and there were also attempts to link the activities of
1088-690: The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), attacked Catholics over a two-year period before calling a ceasefire. Loyalist representatives had helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and it was backed by the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party and UDA-linked Ulster Democratic Party . However, wider loyalist support for the Agreement was tenuous from the outset, and these parties received many fewer votes than
1156-707: The RIC ). The Government of Ireland Act 1920 provided for two Home Rule parliaments: one for Northern Ireland and one for Southern Ireland . The unionist-dominated Parliament of Northern Ireland chose to remain a part of the United Kingdom. As a response to IRA attacks within Ulster, the Ulster Unionist Council officially revived the UVF on 25 June 1920. Many Unionists felt that the RIC, being mostly Roman Catholic (though this
1224-799: The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), whom loyalists accused of enforcing the Agreement and betraying the Protestant community. This caused a rift between loyalists and the police, and there were numerous loyalist attacks on police officers' homes during the protests. From the late 1980s, there was a rise in loyalist paramilitary violence, partly due to anger over the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It also resulted from loyalist groups being re-armed with weapons smuggled from South Africa, overseen by British Intelligence agent Brian Nelson . From 1992 to 1994, loyalists carried out more killings than republicans. The deadliest attacks during this period were
1292-593: The Sunningdale Agreement sought to end the conflict by establishing power-sharing government between unionists and Irish nationalists, and ensuring greater co-operation with the Republic of Ireland. In protest, loyalists organised the Ulster Workers' Council strike in May 1974. It was enforced by loyalist paramilitaries and brought large parts of Northern Ireland to a standstill. During the strike, loyalists detonated
1360-645: The Third Home Rule Bill in 1912 sparked the Home Rule Crisis . Ulster unionists signed the Ulster Covenant , pledging to oppose Irish home rule by any means. They founded a large paramilitary force, the Ulster Volunteers , threatening to violently resist the authority of any Irish government over Ulster. The Ulster Volunteers smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition into Ulster from Imperial Germany . In response, Irish nationalists founded
1428-606: The Ulster Unionist Council . Recruitment was to be limited to 100,000 men aged from 17 to 65 who had signed the Covenant, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Richardson KCB. William Gibson was the first commander of the 3rd East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteers. The Ulster Unionists enjoyed the wholehearted support of the British Conservative Party, even when threatening rebellion against
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#17328379896371496-567: The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in 1966. It claims to be a direct descendant of the older organisation and uses the same logo, but there are no organisational links between the two. By 1912, the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), an Irish nationalist party which sought devolution ( Home Rule ) for Ireland , held the balance of power in the Parliament of the United Kingdom . In April 1912, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith introduced
1564-465: The deployment of British troops and are often seen as the beginning of the Troubles . The beginning of the Troubles saw a revival of loyalist paramilitaries , notably the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Their stated goals were to defend Protestant areas, to fight those they saw as "enemies of Ulster" (namely republicans), and thwart any step towards Irish unification . The Provisional Irish Republican Army waged
1632-700: The third Home Rule Bill . Previous Home Rule Bills had fallen, the first rejected by the House of Commons, the second because of the veto power of the Tory-dominated House of Lords , however since the crisis caused by the Lords' rejection of the " People's Budget " of 1909 and the subsequent passing of the Parliament Act , the House of Lords had seen their powers to block legislation diminished and so it could be expected that this Bill would (eventually) become law. Home Rule
1700-430: The 1973 Sunningdale Agreement and 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement . The paramilitaries called ceasefires in 1994 and their representatives were involved in negotiating the 1998 Good Friday Agreement . Since then, loyalists have been involved in protests against perceived threats to their cultural identity. Sections of the loyalist paramilitaries have attacked Catholics, taken part in loyalist feuds , and withdrawn support for
1768-556: The 1990s, loyalist paramilitaries have been responsible for numerous racist attacks in loyalist areas. A 2006 report revealed that 90% of racist attacks in the previous two years occurred in mainly loyalist areas. In the 1990s, the main loyalist paramilitaries called ceasefires . Following this, small breakaway groups continued to wage violent campaigns for a number of years, and members of loyalist groups have continued to engage in sporadic violence. A telephone poll conducted in March 1993 by
1836-543: The Agreement, although their campaigns have not resumed. In Northern Ireland there is a tradition of loyalist Protestant marching bands , who hold numerous parades each year. The yearly Eleventh Night (11 July) bonfires and The Twelfth (12 July) parades are associated with loyalism. The term loyalist was first used in Irish politics in the 1790s to refer to Protestants who opposed Catholic Emancipation and Irish independence from Great Britain. Ulster loyalism emerged in
1904-454: The British Army's Commander-in-Chief in Ireland was ordered to move troops into Ulster to protect arms depots from the UVF. However, 57 of the 70 officers at the Army's headquarters in Ireland chose to resign rather than enforce Home Rule or take on the UVF. The following month, the UVF smuggled 20,000 German rifles with 3,000,000 rounds of ammunition into the port of Larne . This became known as
1972-629: The British Parliament and instead set up their own parliament and declared independence for Ireland . The Irish Volunteers was ostensibly reconstituted as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the military of the self-declared Republic. The Irish War of Independence began, fought between the IRA and the forces of the Crown in Ireland (consisting of various forces including the British Army, the Auxiliaries , and
2040-472: The British government. On 23 September 1913, the 500 delegates of the Ulster Unionist Council met to discuss the practicalities of setting up a provisional government for Ulster, should Home Rule be implemented. On 25 November 1913, partly in response to the formation of the UVF, Irish nationalists formed the Irish Volunteers – a militia whose role was to safeguard Home Rule. In March 1914,
2108-625: The Catholic minority in retaliation for Irish republican activity. Northern Ireland's unionist governments discriminated against Catholics and Irish nationalists. Loyalists opposed the Catholic civil rights movement , accusing it of being a republican front. This unrest led to the Troubles (1969–98). During the conflict, loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) often attacked Catholics, partly in retaliation for republican paramilitary actions. Loyalists undertook major protest campaigns against
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2176-431: The Catholic part of Portadown . Catholic residents held mass protests against the yearly march, seeing it as triumphalist and supremacist , forcing police to halt the march. Loyalists saw this as an assault on Ulster Protestant traditions, and held violent protests throughout Northern Ireland. In Portadown, thousands of loyalists attacked lines of police and soldiers guarding the Catholic district. A new UVF splinter group,
2244-403: The IRA drew most of its support from the Catholic community. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support; some loyalists argued that terrorising the Catholic community and inflicting a high death toll on it would eventually force the IRA to end its campaign. According to then Prime Minister Tony Blair , "The purpose of loyalist terrorism
2312-565: The IRA returned fire. Thirteen Catholics and five Protestants were killed in a week of violence. In August 1920, the UVF helped organise the mass burning of Catholic property in Lisburn . This was in response to the IRA assassinating an RIC Inspector in the town. By the end of August 1920 an estimate of the material damage done in Belfast, Lisburn and Banbridge was one million pounds. That October, armed UVF members drove off an IRA unit that had attacked
2380-443: The Northern Ireland population was Roman Catholic, with 62% belonging to the three major Protestant denominations ( Presbyterian 31%, Church of Ireland 27%, Methodist 4%). The Unionist governments of Northern Ireland discriminated against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority. A non-violent campaign to end discrimination began in the late 1960s. This civil rights campaign was opposed by loyalists, who accused it of being
2448-540: The Plantation of the province. Eastern Ulster was also more industrialised and dependent on trade with Britain than most other parts of Ireland. Although not all Unionists were Protestant or from Ulster, loyalism emphasised Ulster Protestant heritage. It began as a self-determination movement of Ulster Protestants who did not want to become part of a self-governing Ireland, believing it would be dominated by Catholic Irish nationalists. The British government's introduction of
2516-552: The Protestant British monarchy rather than to British governments and institutions, while Garret FitzGerald argued they are loyal to 'Ulster' over 'the Union'. A small minority of loyalists have called for an independent Ulster Protestant state, believing they cannot rely on British governments to support them (see Ulster nationalism ). The term 'loyalism' is usually associated with paramilitarism . Ulster loyalism emerged in
2584-549: The RIC barracks in Tempo, County Fermanagh . The sluggish recruitment to the UVF and its failure to stop IRA activities in Ulster prompted Sir James Craig to call for the formation of a new special constabulary . In October 1920, the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) formed, intended to serve as an armed reserve force to bolster the RIC and fight the IRA. Spender encouraged UVF members to join it and many did, although
2652-417: The Troubles, and were responsible for about 48% of all civilian deaths. Loyalist paramilitaries killed civilians at far higher rates than both Republican paramilitaries and British security forces. Soldiers from the locally-recruited Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) colluded with loyalist paramilitaries, such as taking part in loyalist attacks (e.g.
2720-560: The Troubles, and were the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). They, and most other loyalist paramilitaries, are classified as terrorist organisations . During the Troubles, their stated goals were to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to defend Protestant loyalist areas. However,
2788-603: The UDA drew up a 'doomsday plan', to be implemented should British troops be withdrawn from Northern Ireland. It called for ethnic cleansing and re-partition , with the goal of making Northern Ireland wholly Protestant. Some loyalist paramilitaries have had links with far-right and Neo-Nazi groups in Britain, including Combat 18 , the British National Socialist Movement , and the National Front. Since
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2856-451: The USC did not engulf the bulk of the UVF (and other loyalist paramilitary groups) until early 1922. Craig hoped to "neutralise" the loyalist paramilitaries by enrolling them in the C Division of the USC, a move that was backed by the British government. Historian Michael Hopkinson wrote that the USC, "amounted to an officially approved UVF". Unlike the RIC, the USC was almost wholly Protestant and
2924-464: The UVF proper amounted to little more than 3,000 men in this period and it is noticeable that the UVF never had a formal disbandment ... possibly so that attention would not be drawn to the extent to which the formation of 1920–22 was such a pale shadow of that of 1913–14. Ulster loyalism Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support
2992-506: The conflict, loyalists set up small independent "vigilance groups" in many parts of Ulster. Most of these groups would patrol their areas and report anything untoward to the RIC. Some of them were armed with UVF rifles from 1914. There were also a number of small loyalist paramilitary groups, the most notable of which was the Ulster Imperial Guards , who may have overreached the UVF in terms of membership. Historian Peter Hart wrote
3060-515: The continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of Ireland) within the United Kingdom, and oppose a united Ireland independent of the UK. Unlike other strands of unionism, loyalism has been described as an ethnic nationalism of Ulster Protestants and "a variation of British nationalism ". Loyalists are often said to have a conditional loyalty to the British state so long as it defends their interests. They see themselves as loyal primarily to
3128-561: The creation of the Ulster Volunteers were Edward Carson (leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance ) and James Craig , supported sub rosa by figures such as Henry Wilson , Director of Military Operations at the British War Office . At the start of 1912, leading unionists and members of the Orange Order (a Protestant fraternity ) began forming small local militias and drilling . On 9 April Carson and Bonar Law , leader of
3196-473: The early 20th century. In 1912, the Ulster Volunteers were formed to stop the British Government granting self-rule to Ireland, or to exclude Ulster from it. This led to the Home Rule Crisis , which was defused by the onset of World War I . Loyalist paramilitaries were again active in Ulster during the Irish War of Independence (1919–22), and more prominently during the Troubles (late 1960s–1998). The biggest and most active paramilitary groups existed during
3264-583: The following of these groups: Also occasionally targeted [by the IRA] were Ulster Protestants who saw the republican guerrilla campaign as an invasion of their territory, where they formed the majority. Loyalist activists responded by forming vigilante groups, which soon acquired official status as part of the Ulster Special Constabulary. These men spearheaded the wave of anti-Catholic violence that began in July 1920 and continued for two years. This onslaught
3332-551: The late 19th century, in reaction to the Irish Home Rule movement and the rise of Irish nationalism . Ireland had a Catholic majority who wanted self-government, but the province of Ulster had a Protestant and unionist majority, largely due to the Plantation of Ulster . Although not all unionists were Protestant, loyalists emphasised their British Protestant heritage. During the Home Rule Crisis (1912–14), loyalists founded
3400-417: The late 19th century, in response to the Irish Home Rule movement and the rise of Irish nationalism . At the time, all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom . Although the island had a Catholic majority who wanted self-government, the northern province of Ulster had a Protestant majority who wanted to maintain a close union with Britain , a political tradition called Unionism. This was largely due to
3468-658: The main unionist parties: the pro-Agreement UUP and anti-Agreement DUP. Since the Agreement, loyalist paramilitaries have been involved in riots, feuds between loyalist groups , organised crime, vigilantism such as punishment shootings , and racist attacks. Some UDA and LVF brigades broke the ceasefire and attacked Catholics under the name Red Hand Defenders , but the paramilitary campaigns did not resume. The 2001 Holy Cross protests drew world-wide condemnation as loyalists were shown hurling abuse and missiles, some explosive, others containing excrement, at very young Catholic schoolchildren and parents. Loyalist residents picketed
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#17328379896373536-506: The paramilitary Ulster Volunteers to prevent Ulster from becoming part of a self-governing Ireland. This was followed by the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) and partition of Ireland : most of Ireland became an independent state, while most of Ulster remained within the UK as the self-governing territory of Northern Ireland. During partition, communal violence raged between loyalists and Irish nationalists in Belfast , and loyalists attacked
3604-403: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title UVF . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UVF&oldid=1209593441 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3672-514: The school in protest at alleged sectarianism from Catholics in the area. Many other loyalist protests and riots have been sparked by restrictions on Orange marches, such as the 2005 Whiterock riots . The widespread loyalist flag protests and riots of 2012–13 followed Belfast City Council voting to limit the flying of the Union Flag from council buildings. Loyalists saw it as an "attack on their cultural identity". The Loyalist Communities Council
3740-552: The two. The third Home Rule Bill was eventually passed despite the objections of the House of Lords , whose power of veto had been abolished under the Parliament Act 1911 . While Carson had hoped to have the whole of Ulster excluded, he felt a good case could be made for the six Ulster counties with unionist, or only slight nationalist, majorities. However, in August 1914 the Home Rule issue
3808-484: The vast majority of their victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random in sectarian attacks. Whenever they claimed responsibility for attacks, loyalists usually claimed that those targeted were IRA members or were helping the IRA. M.L.R. Smith wrote that "From the outset, the loyalist paramilitaries tended to regard all Catholics as potential rebels". Other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since
3876-409: The war ended. There were also fears of a German naval raid on Ulster and so much of the UVF was recast as a home defence force. World War I ended in November 1918. On 1 May 1919, the UVF was 'demobilised' when Richardson stood down as its General Officer Commanding . In Richardson's last orders to the UVF, he stated: Existing conditions call for the demobilisation of the Ulster Volunteers. The Force
3944-632: Was accompanied by violence both in defence of and against partition. Belfast saw "savage and unprecedented" communal violence , mainly between Protestant loyalist and Catholic nationalist civilians. Loyalists attacked the Catholic minority in reprisal for IRA actions. Thousands of Catholics and "disloyal" Protestants were driven from their jobs, particularly in the shipyards, and there were mass burnings of Catholic homes and businesses in Lisburn and Banbridge . More than 500 were killed in Northern Ireland during partition and more than 10,000 became refugees, most of them Catholics. In 1926, about 33–34% of
4012-403: Was greatly mistrusted by Catholics and nationalists. Following IRA attacks, the USC often carried out revenge killings and reprisals against Catholic civilians. In his book Carson's Army: the Ulster Volunteer Force 1910–22 , Timothy Bowman gave the following as his last thought on the UVF during this period: It is questionable the extent to which the UVF did actually reform in 1920. Possibly
4080-405: Was interrupted by the First World War . Much of the UVF enlisted with the British Army 's 36th (Ulster) Division and went to fight on the Western Front . After the war, the British Government decided to partition Ireland into two self-governing regions: Northern Ireland (which overall had a Protestant/unionist majority) and Southern Ireland . However, by 1920 the Irish War of Independence
4148-477: Was launched in 2015 with the backing of the UVF and UDA. It seeks to reverse what it sees as political and economic neglect of working-class loyalists since the Good Friday Agreement. In 2021, it withdrew its support for the Agreement, due to the creation of a trade border between Northern Ireland and Britain as a result of Brexit . The fall-out over this partly fuelled loyalist rioting that Spring . Loyalist paramilitary and vigilante groups have been active since
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#17328379896374216-571: Was not the case with regards to Ulster) as a whole, would not adequately protect Protestant areas. In early July, the UUC appointed Lieutenant Colonel Wilfrid Spender as the UVF's Officer Commanding. At the same time, announcements were printed in unionist newspapers calling on all former UVF members to report for duty. However, this call met with limited success; for example, each Belfast battalion drew little more than 100 men each and they were left mostly unarmed. The UVF's revival also met with little backing from unionists in Great Britain. During
4284-442: Was organised, to protect the interests of the Province of Ulster, at a time when trouble threatened. The success of the organisation speaks for itself, as a page of history, in the records of Ulster that will never fade. In the December 1918 general election , Sinn Féin —an Irish republican party who sought full independence for Ireland—won an overwhelming majority of the seats in Ireland. Its members refused to take their seats in
4352-428: Was part of an Ulster Unionist counter-revolution, whose gunmen operated almost exclusively as ethnic cleansers and avengers. The UVF was involved in sectarian clashes in Derry in June 1920. Catholic homes were burned in the mainly-Protestant Waterside area, and UVF members fired on Catholics fleeing by boat across the River Foyle . UVF members fired from the Fountain neighbourhood into adjoining Catholic districts, and
4420-422: Was popular in all of Ireland apart from the northeast of Ulster. While Catholics were the majority in most of Ireland, Protestants were the majority in the six counties that became Northern Ireland as well as in Great Britain . Many Ulster Protestants feared being governed by a Catholic-dominated parliament in Dublin and losing their local supremacy and strong links with Britain. The two key figures in
4488-428: Was raging and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was launching attacks on British forces in Ireland. In response, the UVF was revived. It was involved in some sectarian clashes and minor actions against the IRA. However, this revival was largely unsuccessful and the UVF was absorbed into the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC), the new reserve police force of Northern Ireland. A loyalist paramilitary group calling itself
4556-418: Was temporarily suspended by the outbreak of World War I and Ireland's involvement in it. Many UVF men enlisted in the British Army, mostly with the 36th (Ulster) Division of the ' New Army '. Others joined Irish regiments of the United Kingdom's 10th and 16th (Irish) Divisions . By the summer of 1916, only the Ulster and 16th divisions remained, the 10th amalgamated into both following severe losses in
4624-543: Was to retaliate, to dominate or to clear out Catholics." An editorial in the UVF's official magazine Combat explained in 1993: ...large areas of the Province that were predominately Protestant are now predominately Catholic. The reaction to this has been that the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association have intensified their campaign in order, not just to match the Catholic murders of Protestants, but to stop further enroachment into their areas. Loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for 29% of all deaths in
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