Noel Doherty
Encyclopedia
Noel Doherty was a Northern Irish
loyalist
activist who was close to Ian Paisley
during his early years in politics. He served as leader of the Ulster Protestant Volunteers
and was imprisoned for his involvement in procuring explosives for that movement.
. Attracted to fundamentalism, Doherty joined the Ravenhill Road congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
in 1956 and soon became close to its leader the Reverend Ian Paisley. He also joined the Ulster Special Constabulary
("B Specials") around the same time as he considered them an extension of Protestantism
in Northern Ireland.
was set up in 1956, Paisley nominated the east Belfast
native to a post on the executive body of the newly formed movement. Doherty also headed up another of Paisley's initiative, the Orange Defence Committee, a group secretly established by Paisley but publicly led by Doherty, in 1963 to co-ordinate opposition to Terence O'Neill
within the Orange Order. Paisley had split from the movement three years earlier but Doherty remained a member and so was chosen as leader of the new initiative. A printer by trade, Doherty oversaw the establishment of Paisley's own printing concern. In 1965 he bought a second-hand printing press and set up the Puritan Printing Press, which produced Paisley's literature, including his newspaper the Protestant Telegraph
.
(UCDC) as a governing body of twelve leading loyalists which was to be connected to the Ulster Protestant Volunteers
(UPV), a much bigger body of men which was avowedly committed to legality. Doherty was appointed as leader of the UPV after it was set up. Under Paisley's instructions he was to set up "divisions" of the UPV, based on the divisions of parliamentary constituencies, all over Northern Ireland although Doherty soon came to refer to these as "cells" and gave the embryonic movement a highly militarised structure. Doherty also sought to buy up stashes of guns for the UPV, feeling that they would be needed in a future Paisley-led uprising. However he claimed that Paisley, whom he referred to as "our Moses
", had no idea of these plans and argued that he would not have trusted Paisley with the knowledge that the UPV was building up an arsenal.
Doherty was soon introduced to James Marshall, who said that he could supply Doherty and the UPV with explosives and a meeting was arranged at which Doherty was accompanied by his Billy Mitchell
. The explosives would be used in 1969 as part of a series of bombings in which members of the UPV caused small explosions at a Castlereagh electricity station, Silent Valley
reservoir and a further electricity station in County Donegal
. Mitchell, who was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force
(UVF), dismissed the attacks as minor claiming that all Doherty had was "a few sticks of weeping gelly
an auld farmer would use to blow up tree stumps" but nonetheless the bombings caused an outcry. Doherty had also joined the UVF and introduced other UVF members to Marshall in order to supply that group with the same bomb-making technology. He procured explosives for the Shankill Road UVF but during the transaction a business card belonging to one of his associates James Murdock was dropped at the scene and found by police. Doherty was soon connected to the incident and arrested for his involvement, being sentenced to two years imprisonment on 18 October 1966. The UVF however publicly denied that Doherty was a member of their organisation.
Doherty was imprisoned in Crumlin Road Gaol
and on the day of his imprisonment Paisley made a speech outside the building in which he denied all knowledge of Doherty's offences before announcing that Doherty was forthwith expelled from the UPV and the UCDC. His position as UCDC secretary was taken over by Hercules Mallon, whose brother Frank was already treasurer of the movement. Both would later be tried for their roles in the 1969 bombing campaign.
and then South Africa
in order to fight "terrorists". He eventually established his own printing press in South Africa. Doherty was eventually found to be living in England
in the 1990s by Peter Taylor
who interviewed Doherty as part of his Loyalists documentary and book. He returned to private life after the interview and his whereabouts are again unknown.
Doherty was notorious for his right-wing conspiratorial beliefs, and was firmly of the conviction that a conspiracy existed between the Catholic Church, the major denominations of Protestantism
, the Ecumenical movement, the governments of the United Kingdom
and the Republic of Ireland
, communism
and even elements within the Ulster Unionist Party
to force a united Ireland and "Rome rule" on Ulster Protestants. His conspiracy theories were taken up by the likes of William McGrath
, the founder of Tara
, and John McKeague
, who established a number of groups including the Shankill Defence Association
, Red Hand Commando and Ulster Independence Party
.
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...
loyalist
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...
activist who was close to 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...
during his early years in politics. He served as leader of 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...
and was imprisoned for his involvement in procuring explosives for that movement.
Early years
As a young man in school Doherty had been noted for his fundamentalism and had frequent fierce rows with his classmates about the nature of such issues as creation and Virgin birth, with Doherty refusing to brook any deviation from a literal interpretation of the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Attracted to fundamentalism, Doherty joined the Ravenhill Road congregation of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
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...
in 1956 and soon became close to its leader the Reverend Ian Paisley. He also joined the Ulster Special Constabulary
Ulster Special Constabulary
The Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...
("B Specials") around the same time as he considered them an extension of Protestantism
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...
in Northern Ireland.
Paisley's ally
Although only 16 years of age when Ulster Protestant ActionUlster Protestant Action
Ulster Protestant Action was an loyalist and Protestant fundamentalist vigilante group in Northern Ireland.The group was founded at a special meeting at the Ulster Unionist Party's offices in Glengall Street, Belfast, in 1956. Among the attendees were many loyalists who were to become major...
was set up in 1956, Paisley nominated the east 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...
native to a post on the executive body of the newly formed movement. Doherty also headed up another of Paisley's initiative, the Orange Defence Committee, a group secretly established by Paisley but publicly led by Doherty, in 1963 to co-ordinate opposition to Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
within the Orange Order. Paisley had split from the movement three years earlier but Doherty remained a member and so was chosen as leader of the new initiative. A printer by trade, Doherty oversaw the establishment of Paisley's own printing concern. In 1965 he bought a second-hand printing press and set up the Puritan Printing Press, which produced Paisley's literature, including his newspaper the Protestant Telegraph
Protestant Telegraph
The Protestant Telegraph was a Northern Irish newspaper founded by Noel Doherty and Ian Paisley on February 13th 1966. It was noted for its Protestant fundamentalism and its attacks on the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the moderates within the Ulster Unionist Party, as typified...
.
Ulster Protestant Volunteers
In 1966 he came up with the idea of establishing the Ulster Constitution Defence CommitteeUlster Constitution Defence Committee
The Ulster Constitution Defence Committee was established in Northern Ireland in April 1966. The UCDC was the governing body of the loyalist Ulster Protestant Volunteers...
(UCDC) as a governing body of twelve leading loyalists which was to be connected to 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...
(UPV), a much bigger body of men which was avowedly committed to legality. Doherty was appointed as leader of the UPV after it was set up. Under Paisley's instructions he was to set up "divisions" of the UPV, based on the divisions of parliamentary constituencies, all over Northern Ireland although Doherty soon came to refer to these as "cells" and gave the embryonic movement a highly militarised structure. Doherty also sought to buy up stashes of guns for the UPV, feeling that they would be needed in a future Paisley-led uprising. However he claimed that Paisley, whom he referred to as "our Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
", had no idea of these plans and argued that he would not have trusted Paisley with the knowledge that the UPV was building up an arsenal.
Doherty was soon introduced to James Marshall, who said that he could supply Doherty and the UPV with explosives and a meeting was arranged at which Doherty was accompanied by his 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...
. The explosives would be used in 1969 as part of a series of bombings in which members of the UPV caused small explosions at a Castlereagh electricity station, Silent Valley
Silent Valley
Silent Valley may refer to:* Silent Valley National Park, in Palakkad district, Kerala, India*Silent Valley Reservoir, a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland...
reservoir and a further electricity station in 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...
. Mitchell, who was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...
(UVF), dismissed the attacks as minor claiming that all Doherty had was "a few sticks of weeping gelly
Gelignite
Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin or simply jelly, is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpetre .It was invented in 1875 by Alfred Nobel, who had earlier invented dynamite...
an auld farmer would use to blow up tree stumps" but nonetheless the bombings caused an outcry. Doherty had also joined the UVF and introduced other UVF members to Marshall in order to supply that group with the same bomb-making technology. He procured explosives for the Shankill Road UVF but during the transaction a business card belonging to one of his associates James Murdock was dropped at the scene and found by police. Doherty was soon connected to the incident and arrested for his involvement, being sentenced to two years imprisonment on 18 October 1966. The UVF however publicly denied that Doherty was a member of their organisation.
Doherty was imprisoned in Crumlin Road Gaol
Crumlin Road Gaol
HMP Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the only Victorian era prison remaining in Northern Ireland and has been derelict since 1996...
and on the day of his imprisonment Paisley made a speech outside the building in which he denied all knowledge of Doherty's offences before announcing that Doherty was forthwith expelled from the UPV and the UCDC. His position as UCDC secretary was taken over by Hercules Mallon, whose brother Frank was already treasurer of the movement. Both would later be tried for their roles in the 1969 bombing campaign.
Later years and legacy
Following his release from prison Doherty disappeared from view and was rumoured to have emigrated to RhodesiaRhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and then South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in order to fight "terrorists". He eventually established his own printing press in South Africa. Doherty was eventually found to be living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1990s by Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
who interviewed Doherty as part of his Loyalists documentary and book. He returned to private life after the interview and his whereabouts are again unknown.
Doherty was notorious for his right-wing conspiratorial beliefs, and was firmly of the conviction that a conspiracy existed between the Catholic Church, the major denominations of Protestantism
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...
, the Ecumenical movement, the governments of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and even elements within the Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
to force a united Ireland and "Rome rule" on Ulster Protestants. His conspiracy theories were taken up by the likes of William McGrath
William McGrath (loyalist)
William McGrath was a loyalist from Northern Ireland who founded the far-right organisation Tara in the 1960s, having also been prominent in the Orange Order until his expulsion due to his paedophilia...
, the founder of Tara
Tara (Northern Ireland)
Tara was a loyalist movement in Northern Ireland that espoused a brand of evangelical Protestantism.The group was first formed in 1966 by William McGrath from an independent Orange lodge that he controlled. It was intended as an outlet for virulent anti-Catholicism...
, and John McKeague
John McKeague
John McKeague was a prominent Ulster loyalist who founded the paramilitary group the Red Hand Commando in 1972. Authors on the Troubles in Northern Ireland claim that McKeague, a homosexual, was a paedophile who abused young boys during the Kincora Boys' Home scandal and was a long-time agent of...
, who established a number of groups including the Shankill Defence Association
Shankill Defence Association
The Shankill Defence Association was a loyalist vigilante group formed in May 1969 for the defence of the loyalist Shankill Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland during the communal disturbances that year....
, Red Hand Commando and Ulster Independence Party
Ulster Independence Party
The Ulster Independence Party was an Ulster nationalist political party.The group was founded in October 1977 by the supporters of a document issued the previous year, Towards an Independent Ulster...
.