Ulster Defence Association

Compiled: Martin Melaugh ... Additional Material: Brendan Lynn and Fionnuala McKenna Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change Ulster Army Council (UAC) An umbrella group of Loyalist paramilitaries which was set up in 1973. The UAC was headed by Andy Tyrie who at the time was commander of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The UAC covered the following groups: UDA, Orange Volunteers, Down Orange Welfare, Ulster Special Constabulary Association, Ulster Volunteer Service Corps, and Red Hand Commandos. The main aim of the UAC was to set up a Loyalist army of 20,000 men to take control of Northern Ireland if needed. The UAC was replaced by the Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee (ULCCC) after the Loyalist strike in 1974. Ulster Citizen Army (UCA) A name which appeared in 1973 and was associated with three members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) who wanted to make the association more left-wing. Ulster Citizen's Civil Liberties Centre (UCCLC) An Ulster Defence Association (UDA) sponsored group which was set up in 1974 (?). Leading members included Sammy Smyth and Harry Chicken. The group published its version of a Bill of Rights in 1975. Ulster Clubs Initially this organisation was established in the autumn of 1985 as a means of opposing attempts to re-route loyalist parades away from Nationalist areas. With the signing of the Anglo-Irish-Agreement (AIA) in November 1985 Ulster Clubs attempted to expand its role as an umbrella body to co-ordinate the unionist campaign against the AIA. Although it claimed it intended to stick to constitutional means its alleged close links with loyalist paramilitaries alarmed many and as a result people began to distance themselves from the organisation. By the early 1990s the movement had gone into terminal decline. Ulster Community Action Group (UCAG) An Ulster Defence Association (UDA) sponsored group established in early 1970s. The group dealt with social and community work and initially was based in east Belfast. Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) The UCDC was established in 1966 and was made up of a committee of 13 with Ian Paisley as the head of the committee. The UCDC was the means by which Paisley led the protest against the reforms of Terence O'Neill in the late 1960s. The UCDC was also the ruling body of the Loyalist paramilitary style grouping the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). (see also: Ulster Protestant Volunteers; UPV) Ulster Constitution Party (UCP) The Ulster Constitution Party (UCP) was formed in the early 1970s. The party published a periodical journal entitled 'The Ulster Constitution', editions of which appeared in 1972. The secretary of the UCP was Belfast City Councillor David M. Riddelsdell and another member was Councillor Robert Lindsay Mason. The party had no success at elections in the early 1970s and Mason later became one of the National Front (NF; a British Fascist party) representatives in Northern Ireland. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) synonyms: Ulster Freedom Fighters The UDA was the largest Loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 from a number of Loyalist vigilante groups many of which were called 'defence associations'; one such group was the Shankill Defence Association. The UDA's first leader was Charles Smith. Members of the UDA have, since 1973, used the cover name of Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) to claim the responsibility for the killing of Catholics. Despite the well known link between the two groups the UDA was only proscribed (declared illegal) on 10 August 1992. The UDA attracted many thousands of members (at its peak the estimated membership was 40,000) and very quickly became a formidable force particularly in Belfast. The UDA had a policy of excluding Members of Parliament (MPs) and clergymen from its membership and sought to retain its working-class credentials. During the protests against the imposition of direct