Product Description

The Ulster Volunteer Force emerged during the first sparks of Northern Ireland's Troubles in the mid-1960s. Their campaign of violence quickly marked them out as one of the most extreme loyalist groups. Henry MacDonald and Jim Cusack provide a fascinating insight into the UVF's origins, growth and decline. They follow the careers of some of the key players in the UVF, including Gusty Spence, Billy Wright and David Ervine. They catalogue the atrocities in which the UVF were involved, including the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; the emergence of the notorious renegade Shankill Butchers; and the various bloody feuds that have infected loyalism. They trace the paramilitary organisation from the violent margins, through the horrors of the 1970s and 1980s, to its shaky 1994 ceasefire and its crucial (if sometimes reluctant) role in the peace process that led up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This fully revised edition brings the story up to date, discussing the McEntee Report into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; the death in January 2007 of Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine; and the announcement in May 2007 that the UVF were renouncing violence and putting their weapons beyond use .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40361 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Customer Reviews

great book on a major loyalist paramilitary organisation
The authors are 2 experienced writers on the politics and paramilitary organisations of northern ireland. This explores behind the headlines of one of the 2 major loyalist outfits the Ulster Volunteer Force.
It details all the major events from the 1966 murder of catholics,the undisputed leadership of Gusty Spence(who was instrumental in politicizing many UVF members into realizing there had to be a political solution,regularly seen on tv in last number of years giving interviews), the brutal ShankhillButchers of the 1970s,there's a chapter which looks at the 1974 dublin and monaghan bombs which the authors say was carried out by the UVF alone rather than the theory believed by many that British Intelligence was also involved,,
info on the UVFs international contacts over the years, and a lot of info on the related political organisation ,the Progressive Unionist Party(PUP) and its activities before and after the republican and loyalist ceasefires of 1994. There's also the internal UVF conflict with parts of its mid ulster brigade,Billy Wright(aka king rat) broke away and set up the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force(LVF) ostensibly in opposition to the UVFs pro peace agreement agenda. This first edition was written in 1997 just before Billy Wright was assassinated by the republican INLA while in prison. The tone of the book is quite optimistic for political loyalism making a difference,however the PUP never made the breakthrough and as I write this in August 2005 the UVF is trying to wipe out the smaller LVF.
Definitely recommended if you want all sides of the ulster conflict.

Good compilation of the activites of the UVF and other Loyalist defense groups
If you want to learn about the history of the UVF, the UDA and other paramilitary loyalist groups of the Ulster, this book could give you the information you want.

The structure of the wording make very enjoyable the reading, I read the book in one go.

Maybe including a map of Belfast and the Ulster could help the non-British readers, and also there are only a few photos of the books, and for example in my opinion the murals are a part of the conflict that reflects the tensions and problems between the two communities.

It worth the price, especially if you buy it a cheap second hand version

A detailed, comprehensive account
The two authors of this book present an extensive amount of research - including inside information and comments which they have gleaned from their own network of loyalist contacts - into a book which is highly readable yet constitutes a serious study of this organisation. The fact that this book contains great detail without losing sight of the bigger picture is no mean feat. They document exhaustively the activities of the "modern" UVF from the 1960s through to the beginning of this century with an appreciation of the complexity and evolution of an organisation whose members have ranged from out-and-out sectarian bigots through to charismatic bridge-builders, from fascist extremists through to working-class socialists. The authors manage to maintain a degree of empathy with the loyalist group without losing sight of the fact that, at the end of the day, they are men of violence. (The UVF killed more than five hundred people during the "Troubles", most of them civilians.) The UVF's conflicts with both republican and other loyalist groups is diligently portrayed as is the role of the UVF and other loyalist groups in the Peace Process. Names and details of both killers and victims are meticulously documented and the brutality of the acts is neither sensationalised nor understated. The authors also show how (paramilitary) war can allow both psychopaths and paedophiles to slip out of their closets onto central stage.
My only criticism of this book is the sloppy proof-reading which thankfully is not pervasive enough to undermine the excellent research of the authors, and the likewise negligient indexing. I also feel that a few maps of Belfast would be helpful given the scrupulous references of the authors to streets and districts. For those readers who don't know Belfast, Collins Belfast streetfinder is probably the best although it should be borne in mind that there are some streets referred to in the book which don't exist any more.