Combined Loyalist Military Command
Encyclopedia
The Combined Loyalist Military Command was an umbrella body for loyalist
paramilitary
groups in Northern Ireland
set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council
and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee
.
Bringing together the leaderships of the Ulster Defence Association
, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commandos
, the CLMC sought to ensure that the groups would work towards the same goals. The group was made up of a number of ‘Liaison Officers’ who were senior figures from the paramilitary groups themselves, as well as from the Ulster Democratic Party
and the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party
. The PUP was made up of representatives from both the RHC and UVF.
, a Sinn Féin
Councillor in Buncrana, County Donegal
. The UDA justified the killing, insisting that the ceasefire only applied within Northern Ireland. The ceasefire indicated that the CLMC was open to the possibility of ending its campaign and a line of negotiation was opened afterwards with Robin Eames
, the head of the Church of Ireland
.
was fired at the canteen block where republican prisoners were having their evening meal but the rocket bounced off a window grille and failed to explode
, the CLMC called a ceasefire on 13 October 1994, bringing loyalists fully into the peace process
. The ceasefire was announced at a press conference at Fernhill House in the Glencairn area of the Shankill. Former UVF commander and PUP politician Gusty Spence
read out the ceasefire statement which included an apology for the innocent victims of loyalist violence.
"In all sincerity, we offer to the loved ones of all innocent victims over the past twenty years, abject and true remorse. No words of ours will compensate for the intolerable suffering they have undergone during the conflict."
taxi driver, Michael McGoldrick by the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade. They were further embarrassed by television pictures that year showing loyalists at Drumcree Church
being led against the security forces by Billy Wright, at the time the leader of the Mid-Ulster UVF
. Following the unsanctioned killing of a Catholic taxi driver by his brigade, Wright, along with the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster UVF, was stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership). Wright was soon expelled from the UVF for his renegade actions along with a number of his followers who soon reconstituted as the Loyalist Volunteer Force
, continuing without ceasefire.
Despite no longer having full control of Loyalism, the CLMC carried on and supported the signing of the Belfast Agreement
. However since then the CLMC has effectively ceased to exist as the UVF and UDA were embroiled in a loyalist feud
over Johnny Adair
and commitment to the Agreement has wavered. Overall control of Loyalism has largely been lost to the CLMC and, whilst it is still theoretically maintained, it is no longer the important body that it once was.
The subsequent Loyalist Commission (LC) represented the political work of the new McMichael-ite
UDA politicos, known as the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which followed the now defunct UDP, and the David Ervine
-inspired PUP. Led by the UPRGs liberal but tough East Belfast faction, Frankie Gallagher, and Dawn Purvis the new PUP leader, the testing post-Ervine vacuum murders by the Duffy led CIRA-RIRA alliance were rendered ineffective when even the now larger hard-line Loyalist Volunteer Force refused to retaliate to several murders in March 2009.
Many duly credit the CLMC/LC bodies with the final say in the Northern Irish peace process, in that their groupings managed somehow to not only avoid retaliation to the March 2009 killings, but (some argue) that they brought, albeit unofficially, the un-aligned LVF more into the peace process.
At the Belfast peace rally of 12 March 2009 a community-led body calling itself the Combined Loyalists for Peace appeared. Quoted in the Irish Independent they stressed that the loyalist communities had a peace strategy and would stick to it. UDA leader Jackie McDonald
confirmed the group's thoughts on a BBC interview when he said loyalists would not be goaded into reaction adding that "clowns" would not spoil the loyalist peace strategy. In a carefully choreographed move Frankie Gallahgher met Belfast mayor, Tom Hartley of Sinn Féin in public that same day. Despite goading from rebel republicans, three levels of formerly hard-line loyalism were evident for the first time and in public - the community, the military, and the political. All were showing overt support for no return to violence.
Subsequently, and merely weeks after the dissident republican murders, the groups which had made up the CLMC made separate announcements to the media that arms had been decommissioned. Dawn Purvis, now leader of the PUP mentioned above, quoting the input of influential liberal loyalists such as Billy Mitchell
and Billy McCaughey
, announced on behalf of the UVF and the RHC that all weapons had been put beyond use. Frankie Gallagher
, speaking for the UDA/UFF via the UPRG, stated that their process was underway. This was confirmed by General de Chastelain hours later.
The CLMC set out to see that any conflict resolution initiatives by Irish republicans in the peace process were matched by loyalist groups, and nearly 20 years after its creation, and despite that fact that 'in essence' it no longer existed, it finally and successfully achieved its goals.
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
groups in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council
Ulster Army Council
The Ulster Army Council was set up in 1973 as an umbrella group by the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force to co-ordinate joint paramilitary operations during the Loyalist strike...
and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee
Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee
The Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee was set up in 1974 in the aftermath of the Ulster Workers Council Strike, in order to facilitate meetings and policy co-ordination between the Ulster Workers Council, the loyalist paramilitaries and the political representatives of...
.
Bringing together the leaderships of the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commandos
Red Hand Commandos
The Red Hand Commando is a small loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force...
, the CLMC sought to ensure that the groups would work towards the same goals. The group was made up of a number of ‘Liaison Officers’ who were senior figures from the paramilitary groups themselves, as well as from the Ulster Democratic Party
Ulster Democratic Party
The Ulster Democratic Party was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association to replace their New Ulster Political Research Group...
and the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party
Progressive Unionist Party
The Progressive Unionist Party is a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979...
. The PUP was made up of representatives from both the RHC and UVF.
1991 Ceasefire
The CLMC first tested the idea of a ceasefire in 1991 when it called a halt to all action from the 29 April to 4 July of that year. The only breach of the 10 week ceasefire was the killing by the Ulster Freedom Fighters of Eddie FullertonEddie Fullerton
Edward "Eddie" Fullerton was a Sinn Féin councillor from County Donegal, Ireland. He was assassinated at his Buncrana home in May 1991 by members of the Ulster Defence Association....
, a Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
Councillor in Buncrana, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The UDA justified the killing, insisting that the ceasefire only applied within Northern Ireland. The ceasefire indicated that the CLMC was open to the possibility of ending its campaign and a line of negotiation was opened afterwards with Robin Eames
Robin Eames
Robin Henry Alexander Eames, Baron Eames OM was the Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh from 1986 to 2006.-Education:...
, the head of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
.
Paramilitary action
The only paramilitary action claimed in the name of the CLMC was a rocket attack on Crumlin Road Prison on 13 December 1991, in retaliation for an IRA bomb in the prison on 24 November 1991 which killed two loyalist prisoners. An RPG-7RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
was fired at the canteen block where republican prisoners were having their evening meal but the rocket bounced off a window grille and failed to explode
1994 Ceasefire
After a long process of consultation with members and activists across Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the CLMC called a ceasefire on 13 October 1994, bringing loyalists fully into the peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
. The ceasefire was announced at a press conference at Fernhill House in the Glencairn area of the Shankill. Former UVF commander and PUP politician Gusty Spence
Gusty Spence
Augustus Andrew "Gusty" Spence was a leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force and a leading loyalist politician. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade but later renounced violence and joined the Progressive Unionist...
read out the ceasefire statement which included an apology for the innocent victims of loyalist violence.
"In all sincerity, we offer to the loved ones of all innocent victims over the past twenty years, abject and true remorse. No words of ours will compensate for the intolerable suffering they have undergone during the conflict."
Drumcree
The ceasefire, however, proved difficult to maintain and in 1996 the CLMC was forced to distance itself from the murder of CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
taxi driver, Michael McGoldrick by the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade. They were further embarrassed by television pictures that year showing loyalists at Drumcree Church
Drumcree Church
Drumcree Parish Church, officially The Church of the Ascension, is the parish church of Drumcree Church of Ireland parish. The church is within the townland of Drumcree, roughly 1.5 miles to the northeast of Portadown, County Armagh....
being led against the security forces by Billy Wright, at the time the leader of the Mid-Ulster UVF
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the...
. Following the unsanctioned killing of a Catholic taxi driver by his brigade, Wright, along with the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster UVF, was stood down by the UVF's Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership). Wright was soon expelled from the UVF for his renegade actions along with a number of his followers who soon reconstituted as the Loyalist Volunteer Force
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and the Portadown unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade was stood down by the UVF leadership. He had been the commander of the Mid-Ulster Brigade. The...
, continuing without ceasefire.
Despite no longer having full control of Loyalism, the CLMC carried on and supported the signing of the Belfast Agreement
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
. However since then the CLMC has effectively ceased to exist as the UVF and UDA were embroiled in a loyalist feud
Loyalist feud
A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups since they were founded shortly before and after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles broke out in the late 1960s...
over Johnny Adair
Johnny Adair
Jonathan Adair, better known as Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair is the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" . This was a cover name used by the Ulster Defence Association , an Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation...
and commitment to the Agreement has wavered. Overall control of Loyalism has largely been lost to the CLMC and, whilst it is still theoretically maintained, it is no longer the important body that it once was.
The subsequent Loyalist Commission (LC) represented the political work of the new McMichael-ite
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
UDA politicos, known as the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which followed the now defunct UDP, and the David Ervine
David Ervine
David Ervine was a Northern Irish politician and the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party .-Biography:...
-inspired PUP. Led by the UPRGs liberal but tough East Belfast faction, Frankie Gallagher, and Dawn Purvis the new PUP leader, the testing post-Ervine vacuum murders by the Duffy led CIRA-RIRA alliance were rendered ineffective when even the now larger hard-line Loyalist Volunteer Force refused to retaliate to several murders in March 2009.
Many duly credit the CLMC/LC bodies with the final say in the Northern Irish peace process, in that their groupings managed somehow to not only avoid retaliation to the March 2009 killings, but (some argue) that they brought, albeit unofficially, the un-aligned LVF more into the peace process.
At the Belfast peace rally of 12 March 2009 a community-led body calling itself the Combined Loyalists for Peace appeared. Quoted in the Irish Independent they stressed that the loyalist communities had a peace strategy and would stick to it. UDA leader Jackie McDonald
Jackie McDonald
John "Jackie" McDonald is a senior Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association brigadier for South Belfast, having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael's killing by the Provisional IRA in December 1987...
confirmed the group's thoughts on a BBC interview when he said loyalists would not be goaded into reaction adding that "clowns" would not spoil the loyalist peace strategy. In a carefully choreographed move Frankie Gallahgher met Belfast mayor, Tom Hartley of Sinn Féin in public that same day. Despite goading from rebel republicans, three levels of formerly hard-line loyalism were evident for the first time and in public - the community, the military, and the political. All were showing overt support for no return to violence.
Subsequently, and merely weeks after the dissident republican murders, the groups which had made up the CLMC made separate announcements to the media that arms had been decommissioned. Dawn Purvis, now leader of the PUP mentioned above, quoting the input of influential liberal loyalists such as Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (loyalist)
Billy Mitchell was a Northern Irish community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party. Mitchell was a leading member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and served a life sentence for his part in a double murder but later abandoned UVF membership and took up cross-community...
and Billy McCaughey
Billy McCaughey
William "Billy" McCaughey was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary's Special Patrol Group and the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force in the 1970s. He was imprisoned for 16 years for murder from 1980 to 1996...
, announced on behalf of the UVF and the RHC that all weapons had been put beyond use. Frankie Gallagher
Frankie Gallagher
Frankie Gallagher is a loyalist politician from Northern Ireland and leading spokesman for the Ulster Political Research Group which offers political advice to the Ulster Defence Association .-Work with UPRG:...
, speaking for the UDA/UFF via the UPRG, stated that their process was underway. This was confirmed by General de Chastelain hours later.
The CLMC set out to see that any conflict resolution initiatives by Irish republicans in the peace process were matched by loyalist groups, and nearly 20 years after its creation, and despite that fact that 'in essence' it no longer existed, it finally and successfully achieved its goals.