The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. Billy Wright: The First Paisleyite Part I Mid Ulster Brigade 28.02.2019 1/76 The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. The „who is who“ in the Loyalist world 28.02.2019 2/76 The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. Summary / Inhaltsverzeichnis The „who is who“ in the Loyalist world..............................................................................................2 English Version.....................................................................................................................................4 Remarks...........................................................................................................................................4 Introduction......................................................................................................................................4 Billy Wright.....................................................................................................................................6 The Blanket, or how a boy became an extremist........................................................................8 The First Paisleyite....................................................................................................................11 Ian Paisley and his ideology.................................................................................................11 How an extemist becomes a fanatic, or Wright's Paisleyite interpretation..........................13 Loyalists and Portadown................................................................................................................18 Mid-Ulster UVF.............................................................................................................................18 The conflict between Mid-Ulster UVF and the CLMC............................................................26 Drumcree Mark I, 1995........................................................................................................27 Drumcree Mark II, 1996.......................................................................................................31 Deutsche Version................................................................................................................................36 Anmerkung in Bezug auf die Fußnoten.........................................................................................36 Einleitung.......................................................................................................................................36 Billy Wright...................................................................................................................................38 The Blanket, oder: wie aus einem Jungen ein Extremist wurde...............................................41 Der Erste Paisleyit.....................................................................................................................44 Ian Paisley und seine Ideologie............................................................................................44 Wie ein Extremist zum Fanatiker wird, oder: Wrights paisleyitische Auslegung................47 Loyalisten und Portadown.............................................................................................................52 Mid-Ulster UVF.............................................................................................................................53 Der Konflikt zwischen Mid-Ulster UVF und dem CLMC.......................................................60 Drumcree, 1995....................................................................................................................61 Drumcree, 1996....................................................................................................................65 Biography / Literaturverzeichnis........................................................................................................71 28.02.2019 3/76 The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. English Version Remarks Two types of footnotes are used in this research: footnotes containing only source references remai- ned unmarked. Footnotes containing additional informations like original textes of translations I made, can be recognized by the fact that these footnotes are underlined. Introduction This research was planned to be about the Loyalist Volunteer Forces (LVF) in the beginning. But if you want to talk about the LVF, you first have to deal with Billy Wright, the man who was also cal- led the „taciturn, bible-reading terror boss.“1 And he's rather more interesting than his group. Johnny Adair from the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) C Company said about his brother in arms: „From what I know Billy, Billy's life just revolved around loyalism. Now, obviously, he'd fa- mily, but I didn't know that side of him. I didn't really know his family that well, so I can't give an opinion. (…) He was just 24/7 hours at trying to bring the republicans on their knees. And that was what most of his life revolved around. I don't know what his private life was like. I don't know. Did he have hobbies? Did he have interests? Anytime I seen or dealt with Billy, it was business... Did he come across to me as a wealthy person? No, he did not. You could just tell that money was not Billy's God.“2 Wright was not considered an „armchair general“, but a leader who would direct his people from the sidelines like a coach his basketball team. He had studied his enemy and learned to love him. He knew what he was doing, as well as demanding murder from his followers. He was aware that being interrogated by the police for seven days is hell. He „enjoyed“ it himself several times.3 Totalised, he spent one year lifetime only in interrogation arrest. This means he survived at least 52 interroga- tion cycles without collapsing.4 The Northern Irish reserve armies of the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR) and the Royal Irish Regi- ment (RIR) were rewarding their members if they had even seen Wright. Fifty pounds for every lou- sy piece of information.5 The police raided his Greengrocer's shop over and over again, until the cu- 1 See Boyne 2006: 377 2 Edwards 2017: 209; see for this also Adair/McKendry 2009: 87 3 See Edwards 2017: 211f., see Anderson 2002: Chapter 1 & 2; see Moriarty 20.07.1996 4 See Moriarty 20.07.1996 5 See Godson 2004: 234 28.02.2019 4/76 The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. stomers finally disappeared and he had to close.6 The Provisional IRA (PIRA) attempted five assassinations on him,7 the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) one by INLA boss Dominic McGlinchey himself.8 The British Special Air Service (SAS) put him on her death list,9 as well as the three major Loyalist paramilitary organizations Uls- ter Volunteer Forces (UVF), Red Hand Commando (RHC) and Ulster Defense Association (UDA).10 He survived them all until the cat finally lost her life and the seventh attempt was successful. Hit by seven shots, he died in the arms of a henchman in the middle of a courtyard in the best-secured pri- son of the United Kingdom.11 His former comrades from the UVF celebrated his death with the words „we got the bastard“ even though the perpetrators were their Republican deadly enemies.12 What kind of person was that? An extremist? A fanatic? A cult leader! He considered his fight a religious crusade.13 But he didn't pretend that he wouldn't be held accoun- table by God.14 He knew he was bringing death and destruction to many people: „I can understand their feelings, […] „and as a man who has buried three of his own family I can sympathize with them. Nevertheless, I hold my views dear to my heart, and I think, by and large, that the unionist population has been the biggest victim in all of this conflict.“15 Billy Wright saw himself as the savior of Ulster's Protestant people and was worshipped by his fol- lowers like a saint.16 He acted as a prophet, terrorist and politician in one person.17 So, who was this man? 6 See Anderson 2002: 45f. 7 See MacLean et al. 2010: 55f.; Absatz 4.4 - 4.8; see for this Anderson 2002: Chapter 3, Defiance and Drumcree; see Moriarty 20.07.1996 8 See Moriarty 20.07.1996 9 See Coogan 2002. 12f.; see Kelleher jr. 2006: 35f.; see also Moloney 2002: 318f. 10 See MacLean et al. 2010: 59f., Paragraph 4.21 & 4.22; see Knox 2002: 177; see Wood 2006: 209f.; see Taylor 1999: 241 11 See Barnes 26.12.2017; see Anderson 2002: 78-80 12 See Edwards 2017: 259f. 13 See Spencer 2008: 39f. 14 See Bruce 2009: 243 15 See Woodvale 01.02.1998 16 See Edward 2017: 256; see for this also ibid. 261; see Bruce 2004: 512 17 See Moloney 2010: 456 28.02.2019 5/76 The First Paisleyite – Part I W.L. Billy Wright William Stephen Wright was a native Englishman. He was born on 07.07.1960 in Wolverhampton, County West Midlands. He was the only son of Northern Irish parents who belonged to a small Pro- testant faction and left the North aka the Province because of suppression of their faith.18 When Bil- ly was four years old, the family of seven returned to Northern Ireland. After the separation of his parents, he came with a foster family close to South Armagh at the age of seven years, where he li- ved his youth peacefully as a Protestant among Catholics.19 'I lived among nationalist people, I grew up with them […]. I'd no difficulty with them. If only the IRA and Sinn Féin would recognize our right to exist, to be British, then I believe the two communities…could come together, and a new form of life within a British context could evolve.'20 At school he learned Irish history from a nationalist perspective and understood