George Seawright
Encyclopedia
George Seawright was a controversial unionist politician in Northern Ireland
who was assassinated by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
(IPLO) during the Troubles.
, Scotland
from a Northern Irish Protestant
background, Seawright lived in Drumchapel
and worked in the shipyards of Clydeside. Also living for a time in Springburn
, he was one of the few Scots to join the Ulster Protestant Volunteers
in the late 1960s.
He then worked in the Harland and Wolff
shipyard in Belfast
until entering politics as a member of the Democratic Unionist Party
. As well as being a shipyard worker he also served as a lay preacher and was an elder in north Belfast's John Knox Memorial Free Presbyterian Church
. He lived in the loyalist Glencairn estate in the north-west of the city with his wife and three children.
in 1981
and soon developed a following amongst loyalists
. The following year he was elected as the DUP candidate to the Northern Ireland Assembly
. Seawright, who had initially campaigned for John McQuade
before securing his own candidacy, had problems with the party leadership from early on as, he claimed, he was viewed as lacking respectability due to his rough personality, his residence in social housing and the fact that he was in arrears to the Housing Executive.
Seawright courted controversy throughout his fairly brief career and was targeted for an interview he gave to Nationalism Today, a journal produced in support of the Political Soldier
wing of the National Front
, in which he praised the NF, not only for their support for loyalism but also for their stance on race and immigration
. His younger brother David Seawright was an active member of the NF.
on Whiterock leisure centre he led a group of loyalists wielding legally held handguns to physically remove it. Despite Seawright's efforts twice as many flags were put up to replace it soon afterwards. Following a heated exchange in which People's Democracy
councillor John McAnulty described the British Union Flag
as 'a butcher's apron' McAnulty alleged that Seawright had delivered a veiled death threat. He claimed that Seawright had said: "I have a soft spot for you Mr McAnulty, it's in Milltown Cemetery
".
He continued to court controversy when it was claimed that he told a meeting of the Belfast Education and Library Board in 1984 that Irish Catholics who objected to the singing of the British national anthem "are just fenian scum who have been indoctrinated by the Catholic Church
. Taxpayers money would be better spent on an incinerator and burning the lot of them. Their priests should be thrown in and burnt as well". Seawright denied making these comments, although they were widely reported by the press at the time. The comments had been sparked by a debate before the board about building a new incinerator at a Catholic primary school. He was prosecuted and received a six-month suspended sentence as a result.
from Seawright, although he managed to hold his support base and was returned to the Council in 1985
as an independent under the label 'Protestant Unionist'. He was shunned by the DUP and UUP city councillors; indeed the only people who would talk to him were Sinn Féin
city councillors. Nonetheless he did not sever his ties with all DUP members and in summer 1985 joined Ivan Foster
, Jim Wells and George Graham
in a failed attempt to force a banned loyalist march through the nationalist town of Castlewellan
. Seawright did however split from the Free Presbyterian Church and instead worshipped at the Shankill Road's Church of God.
As a candidate for the Westminster
elections, Seawright twice contested the North Belfast constituency
. In 1983
, as a DUP candidate, Seawright finished second with 8,260 votes behind Cecil Walker
of the Ulster Unionists, whilst in 1987
he finished third behind Walker and Alban Maginness
(Social Democratic and Labour Party
) with 5,671 votes as a Protestant Unionist candidate (although the DUP did not contest the seat due to an electoral pact among Unionist candidates at the time). Seawright took the name Ulster Protestant League
, which had been used by an earlier loyalist group
, for his largely working-class Evangelical group of supporters even though the name was not used for electoral purposes.
and his removal from the DUP Seawright moved publicly closer to loyalism. He stated that he felt it would be impossible to resist the Agreement solely through non-violence and further argued that it would be inevitable for loyalists to break from Ian Paisley
and Jim Molyneaux as the two leaders of unionism would never publicly endorse a violent response. For Seawright conflict was inevitable, especially with the growing electoral success of Sinn Féin
which he argued would harden both communities and bring about civil war.
Seawright further enhanced his notoriety when, on 20 November 1985, he took a leading role in the protests against the visit of the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Tom King
to Belfast City Hall
, where King was denounced for his part in the Anglo-Irish Agreement
and attacked physically by Seawright and other protestors. For his part in the incident Seawright was sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Magilligan prison
in October 1986. As a result of this jailing, Seawright was forced to vacate his seat on Belfast City Council. The Workers' Party
blocked the co-option of his wife Liz, who nevertheless beat the Workers' Party by 93% to 7% in the subsequent by-election (in which she also stood under the label of Protestant Unionist). She held the seat in 1989
, but lost it in the 1993 local government election
.
He courted further controversy in September 1986 when he publicly called for revenge after the killing of John Bingham
, a leading UVF member and friend of Seawright, by the IRA. Seawright's North Belfast campaign in 1987 also played up his loyalist image with Seawright dubbing himself "the man who will not be silenced". He further promised to follow an abstentionist
policy if he were elected in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
alleged in his book The Dirty War that Seawright met with representatives of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
(IPLO) in the Europa Hotel, after being informed by the RUC
that he was on an IPLO hit list. It was alleged that during the meeting, Seawright agreed to provide low level information to the IPLO in exchange for his safety. Nonetheless, on 19 November 1987 Seawright was shot whilst he waited in a car near a taxi firm on the Shankill Road (for whom he was due to begin working) by the IPLO, dying of the wounds he suffered on 3 December that same year. Dillon further claimed that Seawright's details, as well as those of Bingham, Lenny Murphy
and William Marchant
had been supplied to their killers by leading Ulster Defence Association
member James Craig
in return for the republicans guaranteeing his safety. According to an internal UDA document investigating claims of collusion with republicans Craig had brought two other members to the car park of the Shankill Road leisure centre on the day Seawright was killed, a location only fifty yards away from the murder scene.
In August 2006 the Ulster Volunteer Force listed Seawright in a list of its members who were killed during the "Troubles". It has also been claimed by Henry McDonald
and Jim Cusack that Seawright was an informer who passed information about loyalists to the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Special Branch
.
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...
who was assassinated by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Irish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
(IPLO) during the Troubles.
Early life
Born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
from a Northern Irish Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
background, Seawright lived in Drumchapel
Drumchapel
Drumchapel , known to locals and residents as 'The Drum', is part of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, having been annexed from Dunbartonshire in 1938. It borders Bearsden to the east and Clydebank to the west . The area is bordered by Knightswood and Yoker in Glasgow. The name derives from the...
and worked in the shipyards of Clydeside. Also living for a time in Springburn
Springburn
Springburn is an inner city district in the north of the Scottish city of Glasgow, home to various working and middle-class households.Springburn developed from a small rural hamlet at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its industrial expansion began with the establishment of a chemical...
, he was one of the few Scots to join the Ulster Protestant Volunteers
Ulster Protestant Volunteers
The Ulster Protestant Volunteers were a loyalist and fundamentalist Christian paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. They were active between 1966 and 1969 and closely linked to the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee , established by Ian Paisley in 1966.The UPV launched a bombing campaign to...
in the late 1960s.
He then worked in the Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
shipyard in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
until entering politics as a member of the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
. As well as being a shipyard worker he also served as a lay preacher and was an elder in north Belfast's John Knox Memorial Free Presbyterian Church
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
The Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination founded by the Rev. Ian Paisley in 1951. Most of its members live in Northern Ireland...
. He lived in the loyalist Glencairn estate in the north-west of the city with his wife and three children.
Politics
Seawright was noted for his fiery rhetoric and was elected to Belfast City CouncilBelfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
in 1981
Northern Ireland local elections, 1981
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981.-Overall:-Belfast:...
and soon developed a following amongst loyalists
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...
. The following year he was elected as the DUP candidate to the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982
The Northern Ireland Assembly established in 1982 represented an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to restore the devolution to Northern Ireland which had been suspended 10 years previously. The Assembly was abolished in 1986.-Origins:...
. Seawright, who had initially campaigned for John McQuade
John McQuade
John McQuade , known as Johnny McQuade, was a Northern Ireland politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins....
before securing his own candidacy, had problems with the party leadership from early on as, he claimed, he was viewed as lacking respectability due to his rough personality, his residence in social housing and the fact that he was in arrears to the Housing Executive.
Seawright courted controversy throughout his fairly brief career and was targeted for an interview he gave to Nationalism Today, a journal produced in support of the Political Soldier
Political Soldier
Political Soldier is a political concept associated with the Third Position. It played a leading role in Britain's National Front from the late 1970s onwards under young radicals Nick Griffin, Patrick Harrington and Derek Holland of the Official National Front...
wing of the National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
, in which he praised the NF, not only for their support for loyalism but also for their stance on race and immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
. His younger brother David Seawright was an active member of the NF.
Controversy and clashes
In 1984, following the erection of an Irish tricolourFlag of Ireland
The national flag of Ireland is a vertical tricolour of green , white, and orange. It is also known as the Irish tricolour. The flag proportion is 1:2...
on Whiterock leisure centre he led a group of loyalists wielding legally held handguns to physically remove it. Despite Seawright's efforts twice as many flags were put up to replace it soon afterwards. Following a heated exchange in which People's Democracy
People's Democracy
People's Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic for all of Ireland...
councillor John McAnulty described the British Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
as 'a butcher's apron' McAnulty alleged that Seawright had delivered a veiled death threat. He claimed that Seawright had said: "I have a soft spot for you Mr McAnulty, it's in Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery
Milltown Cemetery is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland.It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 and there are now approximately 200,000 of Belfast's citizens buried there. Most of those buried there are...
".
He continued to court controversy when it was claimed that he told a meeting of the Belfast Education and Library Board in 1984 that Irish Catholics who objected to the singing of the British national anthem "are just fenian scum who have been indoctrinated by the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Taxpayers money would be better spent on an incinerator and burning the lot of them. Their priests should be thrown in and burnt as well". Seawright denied making these comments, although they were widely reported by the press at the time. The comments had been sparked by a debate before the board about building a new incinerator at a Catholic primary school. He was prosecuted and received a six-month suspended sentence as a result.
DUP withdraw support
Following these high-profile political mistakes, the DUP withdrew the party whipWhip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
from Seawright, although he managed to hold his support base and was returned to the Council in 1985
Northern Ireland local elections, 1985
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1985.-1981 elections:The previous elections had been fought in the middle of the hunger strike and the H-Block Prison Protest...
as an independent under the label 'Protestant Unionist'. He was shunned by the DUP and UUP city councillors; indeed the only people who would talk to him were 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...
city councillors. Nonetheless he did not sever his ties with all DUP members and in summer 1985 joined Ivan Foster
Ivan Foster
Ivan Foster is a retired senior minister in the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and a former Democratic Unionist Party politician. He is a lifelong friend and associate of the Democratic Unionist politician and Free Presbyterian Church leader Ian Paisley...
, Jim Wells and George Graham
George Graham (Northern Ireland politician)
George Graham was a Northern Ireland politician who was most prominent during his time with the Democratic Unionist Party.Graham was co-opted onto Newry and Mourne District Council in 1975, becoming that body's first DUP member and in 1982 he was elected council chairman by the controlling Social...
in a failed attempt to force a banned loyalist march through the nationalist town of Castlewellan
Castlewellan
Castlewellan is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,392 people in the 2001 Census....
. Seawright did however split from the Free Presbyterian Church and instead worshipped at the Shankill Road's Church of God.
As a candidate for the Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
elections, Seawright twice contested the North Belfast constituency
Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast North is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in 1922 when, as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
. In 1983
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, as a DUP candidate, Seawright finished second with 8,260 votes behind Cecil Walker
Cecil Walker
Sir Alfred Cecil Walker was an Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Belfast from 1983 to 2001.Walker was born in Belfast. His father was a police constable. He was educated at Everton elementary school, Model Boys' school and Belfast Methodist College. He worked for the Belfast timber...
of the Ulster Unionists, whilst in 1987
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
he finished third behind Walker and Alban Maginness
Alban Maginness
Alban Maginness is a Nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.Maginness was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. He completed his secondary education at St. Malachy's College, Belfast. He then attended the New University of Ulster and subsequently Queen's University of Belfast where...
(Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
) with 5,671 votes as a Protestant Unionist candidate (although the DUP did not contest the seat due to an electoral pact among Unionist candidates at the time). Seawright took the name Ulster Protestant League
Ulster Protestant League
The Ulster Protestant League can refer to:*Ulster Protestant League *Ulster Protestant League , associated with George Seawright*A registered party led by Tommy Kirkham, formerly of the Ulster Political Research Group...
, which had been used by an earlier loyalist group
Ulster Protestant League (1931)
The Ulster Protestant League was a loyalist organisation in Northern Ireland.The organisation was established in 1931 by a group inspired in part by the example of the Scottish Protestant League...
, for his largely working-class Evangelical group of supporters even though the name was not used for electoral purposes.
Move to loyalism
In the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish AgreementAnglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
and his removal from the DUP Seawright moved publicly closer to loyalism. He stated that he felt it would be impossible to resist the Agreement solely through non-violence and further argued that it would be inevitable for loyalists to break from Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
and Jim Molyneaux as the two leaders of unionism would never publicly endorse a violent response. For Seawright conflict was inevitable, especially with the growing electoral success of 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...
which he argued would harden both communities and bring about civil war.
Seawright further enhanced his notoriety when, on 20 November 1985, he took a leading role in the protests against the visit of the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
Tom King
Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater
Thomas Jeremy King, Baron King of Bridgwater, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1983–92, and was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bridgwater in Somerset from 1970-2001...
to Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall is the civic building of the Belfast City Council. Located in Donegall Square, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, it faces north and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre.-History:...
, where King was denounced for his part in the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
and attacked physically by Seawright and other protestors. For his part in the incident Seawright was sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Magilligan prison
Magilligan (HM Prison)
Magilligan Prison is a prison run by the Northern Ireland Prison Service situated near Limavady, County Londonderry. It was first opened in May 1972 and comprised eight Nissen huts on the site of an army camp...
in October 1986. As a result of this jailing, Seawright was forced to vacate his seat on Belfast City Council. The Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
blocked the co-option of his wife Liz, who nevertheless beat the Workers' Party by 93% to 7% in the subsequent by-election (in which she also stood under the label of Protestant Unionist). She held the seat in 1989
Northern Ireland local elections, 1989
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1989.-Background:The elections took place after a turbulent period in Northern Irish politics. The signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in November 1985 had been followed by widespread protests by those in the Unionist community...
, but lost it in the 1993 local government election
Northern Ireland local elections, 1993
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 19 May 1993.-Overall:-Belfast:-References:...
.
He courted further controversy in September 1986 when he publicly called for revenge after the killing of John Bingham
John Bingham (loyalist)
John Dowey Bingham was a prominent Northern Irish loyalist who led "D Company" , 1st Battalion, Ulster Volunteer Force . He was shot dead by the Provisional IRA after they had broken into his home...
, a leading UVF member and friend of Seawright, by the IRA. Seawright's North Belfast campaign in 1987 also played up his loyalist image with Seawright dubbing himself "the man who will not be silenced". He further promised to follow an abstentionist
Abstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
policy if he were elected in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Death
Following his release, Seawright made plans to regain his seat, although ultimately he was to be assassinated before the opportunity arrived. Martin DillonMartin Dillon
Martin Dillon is an author and journalist from Northern Ireland. He worked for eighteen years at the BBC and has written a number of plays and novels, but he is best known for his non-fiction books about the Troubles....
alleged in his book The Dirty War that Seawright met with representatives of the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Irish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
(IPLO) in the Europa Hotel, after being informed by the RUC
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
that he was on an IPLO hit list. It was alleged that during the meeting, Seawright agreed to provide low level information to the IPLO in exchange for his safety. Nonetheless, on 19 November 1987 Seawright was shot whilst he waited in a car near a taxi firm on the Shankill Road (for whom he was due to begin working) by the IPLO, dying of the wounds he suffered on 3 December that same year. Dillon further claimed that Seawright's details, as well as those of Bingham, Lenny Murphy
Lenny Murphy
Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy, who commonly went by the name Lenny , was an Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Murphy was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and leader of the infamous Shankill Butchers a gang which became notorious for its torture and murder of Catholic men...
and William Marchant
William Marchant (loyalist)
William "Frenchie" Marchant was a Northern Irish loyalist and a middle-ranking volunteer in the Ulster Volunteer Force . He was on a Garda list of suspects in the 1974 Dublin car bombings which left a total of 26 people dead, and close to 300 injured...
had been supplied to their killers by leading 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"...
member James Craig
James Craig (loyalist)
James Pratt "Jim" Craig was a Northern Irish loyalist, who served as a fund-raiser for the Ulster Defence Association and sat on its Inner Council. He also ran a large protection racket from west Belfast's Shankill Road area, where he lived...
in return for the republicans guaranteeing his safety. According to an internal UDA document investigating claims of collusion with republicans Craig had brought two other members to the car park of the Shankill Road leisure centre on the day Seawright was killed, a location only fifty yards away from the murder scene.
In August 2006 the Ulster Volunteer Force listed Seawright in a list of its members who were killed during the "Troubles". It has also been claimed by Henry McDonald
Henry McDonald (writer)
Henry McDonald is a writer and is the Irish editor for The Observer, the sister paper of The Guardian.McDonald has written extensively about The Troubles, its precedents, its consequences, its demographics, and such. He was born in the nationalist Markets area of Belfast and attended St. Malachy's...
and Jim Cusack that Seawright was an informer who passed information about loyalists to the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
.