Andy Tyrie

Last updated

Andy Tyrie
Born
Andrew Tyrie

(1940-02-05) 5 February 1940 (age 83)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
EducationBrown Square School
OccupationGardener
Employer Belfast City Council
Organization Ulster Defence Association
Notable workThis is It (1982)
TitleChairman of the UDA
Term1973–1988
Predecessor Charles Harding Smith and Jim Anderson
Successorposition abolished

Andrew Tyrie (born 5 February 1940 [1] ) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who served as commander of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) during much of its early history. He took the place of Tommy Herron in 1973 when the latter was killed, and led the organisation until March 1988 when an attempt on his life forced him to resign from his command.

Contents

Background

Tyrie was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of the seven children of an ex-soldier and a part-time seamstress. He was brought up in a two-bedroomed house in the Shankill Road. [2] He was educated at the local Brown Square school and found work as a gardener with Belfast City Council. Tyrie's family lived in both Ballymurphy and New Barnsley, but were forced out of both heavily Catholic areas in 1969. The family returned to the Shankill. [3] Tyrie's surname is an ancient Scottish clan name; his ancestors migrated from Scotland to Ireland in the early days of the Ulster Plantation. They first went to Dublin, however, before settling permanently in Ulster. [4]

Tyrie's first involvement with loyalist paramilitaries came in 1967 when he was sworn in as a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), although he did not stay long as he felt that the UVF was doing too little about Protestants being forced out of Catholic areas, such as his own family. [5] He soon fell in behind John McKeague, initially following him in the Ulster Protestant Volunteers, before joining his Shankill Defence Association (SDA) upon its foundation in 1969. [5] Tyrie's power base within the SDA grew and he was a relatively high-profile figure on the Shankill when it was absorbed by the UDA in 1971.

Assuming leadership

The newly formed UDA was dominated by Charles Harding Smith in the Shankill area and by Tommy Herron in East Belfast. It was feared from early on that a feud between the two would follow if either one was picked to lead the UDA. As such, in March 1973 Tyrie was picked as a compromise candidate for the leadership, being seen by Herron and Harding Smith as someone they could dominate. [6] The strategy did not work, however, as a feud between the two top men followed, with Herron killed in September 1973. Harding Smith remained as a challenge to Tyrie's control.

His new-found role of leader was bolstered by the events of the Ulster Workers' Council Strike of May 1974 in which he played a leading role. Having been a shop steward in his council days [5] Tyrie became close to strike leader Glenn Barr and the UDA played a central role in marshalling the pickets and ensuring both order amongst the strikers and no picket crossing. Tyrie oversaw this aspect of the strike and was seen as one of the central figures, while the profile of the UDA grew as a result. [7]

With Tyrie's profile boosted by the UWC strike, Harding Smith sought to move against Tyrie and used the pretext of Tyrie sending a delegation to Libya, with Muammar al-Gaddafi seen in many loyalist eyes as being firmly on the side of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). [8] Harding Smith tried to overrule Tyrie but a feud resulted and, after surviving two assassination attempts, Harding Smith was forced to leave Northern Ireland for good. [9]

Political strategy

Tyrie had been a central figure in the strike and as such had close contact with many within the unionist establishment. However once the strike was over he was shunned by Harry West and Ian Paisley and as such he built up a resentment towards mainstream unionism that would inform many of his political decisions as UDA leader. [10] He arranged an alliance with the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party but when the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party declined to join this grand alliance of loyalism Tyrie became even more resolved to pursue a political path for the UDA without mainstream unionism. [11] Tyrie was close to William Craig and had supported his calls to "liquidate the enemy" in 1972, although as Craig's political relevance diminished Tyrie's desire for a politicised UDA increased. [12]

He broke further from the unionist position by calling for some coalitions with moderate nationalists in the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, albeit whilst adding that he had prepared the UDA for civil war if the initiative failed [13] and severed all ties following the disastrous re-run of the UWC strike in 1977, during which the attempt not only failed but also saw four people inadvertently killed by the UDA and UVF. [14] Tyrie underlined his split from unionism in 1982 by writing a play, This Is It, in which he savagely attacked Ian Paisley and his "Third Force"'s dabbling in paramilitarism. [15]

Tyrie sought to move the UDA towards more political activity and appointed Sammy Duddy, who had a reputation as a thinker within the movement, as his personal representative. [16] Along with Duddy, Tyrie was one of the authors of the New Ulster Political Research Group document Beyond the Religious Divide which outlined a strategy of co-operation between the two communities within the framework of an independent Northern Ireland. [17] Under his leadership the UDA saw a strong downturn in violent activity in 1977 and 1978, although this followed a two-year period of high activity. [18] Tyrie's political strategy took a blow in 1982 when he was arrested for being in possession of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) maps and charts, although he was acquitted of subsequent terror charges. [19]

Paramilitary strategy

Although under his leadership the UDA undertook a series of sectarian killings, Tyrie would later claim that he had been opposed to this strategy, arguing: "I was sickened every time I heard about the death of a Catholic taxi driver or shop keeper. We wanted to go for the IRA and republicans but we couldn't locate them, we didn't know who they were". [20] As early as 1971 Tyrie had argued that the role of the UDA should be "terrorising the terrorists" i.e. attacking the Republican Movement head on rather than either sectarian attacks against Catholics or the group's stated purpose as a defensive vigilant militia for loyalist areas. [21] These ideas came to fruition to an extent with the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) "shopping list" of leading republicans to be targeted by dedicated death squads in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although this was for the most part directed by UFF leader John McMichael rather than Tyrie. [22]

Tyrie also supported a more professional approach from the UDA and sought to establish more professional training for members, an initiative in which he met stern resistance from other UDA leaders who feared that such a programme would bring about a new elite to threaten their own positions. Tyrie finally got his way in the mid-1980s with a series of residential programmes for young active UDA members. These programmes, overseen by senior UDA members with British Army experience, included both practical training in gun use, bomb-making and close combat as well as more theoretical aspects such as anti-interrogation techniques, basic forensic science training, communications and psychological warfare. [23]

Removal

As part of his political strategy Tyrie became close to South Belfast brigadier John McMichael and supported his development of the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party along Ulster nationalist lines. [24] He had previously written in a UDA publication in the late 1970s that an independent Northern Ireland could "take its rightful place in the world and not be seen as a country with a death-wish", after becoming disillusioned with what he saw as the British government's lack of commitment to Northern Ireland. [25] Tyrie shunned the limelight and as a consequence he appointed McMichael as official spokesman for, and thus the public face of, the UDA. [26] However, McMichael's assassination by the IRA in December 1987 and his replacement in the party by the less well-known Ray Smallwoods placed some doubts upon the political strategy that Tyrie had long advocated. Furthermore, resentment among UDA hardliners had been growing and they came to feel that Tyrie's leadership was too much about politics and not enough about military action. [27] Tyrie was also criticised for what his internal opponents felt was a tendency towards cronyism, with the late 1980s seeing responsibility and position being given to internally unpopular figures like Jackie McDonald and Eddie Sayers, seemingly because they were personally close to Tyrie. [28]

To silence some of his critics Tyrie arranged a shipment of guns from Lebanon for the UDA in early 1988. However, after a tip-off, the North Belfast brigadier Davy Payne was stopped at an RUC checkpoint in Portadown. He was driving the "scout" [lead] car as the weapons were being transported in a small convoy of vehicles; the guns which were stored in the boots of his associates' cars were then seized in what was the latest in a series of setbacks that had dogged the UDA as a paramilitary group in the late 1980s. [29] With Tyrie's stock at an all-time low among UDA militants he narrowly avoided death from a car bomb on 6 March 1988. No responsibility for the failed attack was claimed. Tyrie himself felt that the attack was carried out by potential successors within the UDA but, whichever explanation was true, it demonstrated that Tyrie was no longer secure in his position and had become a target within loyalism as UDA leader. [30] Five days after the attack Tyrie announced his resignation as leader of the UDA and was placed on 'retirement' by the organisation. [31]

Post-UDA activity

The "Andy Tyrie Interpretive Centre" opened on Belfast's Newtownards Road in 2012 Andy Tyrie Centre.jpg
The "Andy Tyrie Interpretive Centre" opened on Belfast's Newtownards Road in 2012

Tyrie established his own business in County Down after leaving active duty with the UDA. [26] Since quitting as UDA leader Tyrie has largely been outside active loyalism, although he has been brought back from time to time as the main voice of the old UDA. In 1994 he and Barr were recalled by the Ulster Democratic Party to spearhead their funding initiative. [32] He would go on to become an enthusiastic supporter of the UDP in their campaign in favour of the Good Friday Agreement, claiming that it vindicated the strategy employed by John McMichael and himself. [33] In this role he became close to John White, who frequently made use of Tyrie when it came to convincing older UDA members of the benefits of the Agreement. [34] Tyrie is fully retired from politics.

Related Research Articles

A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups during and after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles broke out in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved problems between and within the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as well as, later, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulster Workers' Council strike</span> May 1974 general strike in Northern Ireland

The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had been signed in December 1973. Specifically, the strikers opposed the sharing of political power with Irish nationalists, and the proposed role for the Republic of Ireland's government in running Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Barr</span> Northern Irish politician (1932–2017)

Albert Glenn Barr OBE was a politician from Derry, Northern Ireland, who was an advocate of Ulster nationalism. For a time during the 1970s he straddled both Unionism and Loyalism due to simultaneously holding important positions in the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party and the Ulster Defence Association.

Raymond "Ray" Smallwoods was a Northern Ireland politician and sometime leader of the Ulster Democratic Party. A leading member of John McMichael's South Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Smallwoods later served as a leading adviser to the UDA's Inner Council. He was killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) outside his Lisburn home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gusty Spence</span> Ulster loyalist (1933–2011)

Augustus Andrew Spence was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie McDonald</span> Northern Irish loyalist (born 1947)

John "Jackie" McDonald is a Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association (UDA) 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. He is also a member of the organisation's Inner Council and the spokesman for the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), the UDA's political advisory body.

William Hull was a loyalist activist in Northern Ireland. Hull was a leading figure in political, paramilitary and trade union circles during the early years of the Troubles. He is most remembered for being the leader of the Loyalist Association of Workers, a loyalist trade union-styled movement that briefly enjoyed a mass membership before fading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Herron</span>

Tommy Herron was a Northern Ireland loyalist and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) until his death in a fatal shooting. Herron controlled the UDA in East Belfast, one of its two earliest strongholds. From 1972, he was the organisation's vice-chairman and most prominent spokesperson, and was the first person to receive a salary from the UDA.

Charles Harding Smith was a loyalist leader in Northern Ireland and the first effective leader of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). An important figure in the Belfast-based "defence associations" that formed the basis of the UDA on its formation in 1971, Smith later became embroiled in feuds with other UDA leaders and was eventually driven out of Northern Ireland by his opponents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Lyttle</span>

Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle, was a high-ranking Ulster loyalist during the period of religious-political conflict in Northern Ireland known as "the Troubles". A member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) – the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland – he first held the rank of lieutenant colonel and later was made a brigadier. He served as the UDA's spokesman as well as the leader of the organisation's West Belfast Brigade from 1975 until his arrest and imprisonment in 1990. According to journalists Henry McDonald and Brian Rowan, and the Pat Finucane Centre, he became a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch informer.

Alex Kerr was a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary. Kerr was a brigadier in the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)'s South Belfast Brigade. He is no longer active in loyalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Mitchell (loyalist)</span> Northern Ireland loyalist (1940–2006)

William Mitchell was a Northern Ireland loyalist, community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party. Mitchell was a leading member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and served a life sentence for his part in a double murder. He later abandoned his UVF membership and took up cross-community work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Gibson (loyalist)</span> Northern Irish politician

Kenneth Gibson was a Northern Irish politician who was the Chairman of the Volunteer Political Party (VPP), which he had helped to form in 1974. He also served as a spokesman and Chief of Staff of the loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

David "Davy" Fogel, also known as "Big Dave", was a former loyalist and a leading member of the loyalist vigilante Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) which later merged with other groups becoming the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Born in London, Fogel was a former British soldier who had served in Northern Ireland before marrying a local Belfast woman and settling down with his family in Woodvale, Belfast.

Jim Anderson is a loyalist paramilitary leader from Northern Ireland, who from April to December 1972, was the acting leader of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) while its commander and the founder of the organisation, Charles Harding Smith was in jail on remand for gun-running. Upon the latter's return, Anderson, together with Harding Smith, was joint chairman of the UDA until he stood down in the spring of 1973. In the battle between Harding Smith and East Belfast brigadier, Tommy Herron for the succession to the leadership, a compromise candidate, Andy Tyrie, was appointed as chairman.

Samuel McCormick was a Northern Irish loyalist who served from 1973 until the 1980s as the brigadier for the Ulster Defence Association's (UDA) East Belfast Brigade. He had taken over the command following the shooting death of its former leader Tommy Herron.

William Elliot was a former Northern Irish loyalist who served as brigadier of the Ulster Defence Association's (UDA) East Belfast Brigade in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Magee</span>

Reverend Robert James Magee OBE was a Northern Irish Presbyterian minister who is credited with playing a leading role in delivering the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) ceasefire of 1994. Earlier Rev Magee had been a leading figure in Unionism.

The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), based in the western quarter of Belfast, in the Greater Shankill area. Initially a battalion, the West Belfast Brigade emerged from the local "defence associations" active in the Shankill at the beginning of the Troubles and became the first section to be officially designated as a separate entity within the wider UDA structure. During the 1970s and 1980s the West Belfast Brigade was involved in a series of killings as well as establishing a significant presence as an outlet for racketeering.

Samuel Smyth was a Northern Irish loyalist activist. A founder member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) he was the early public face of the movement as the organisation's spokesman, and he later became involved in the group's attempts to politicise. He was assassinated by the Provisional IRA as part of the Troubles. Author Steve Bruce described Smyth as the "sometime editor of the Ulster Militant and a loose cannon who enjoyed an exciting and erratic relationship with the UDA".

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Biography on CAIN site". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  2. ↑ Wood, Ian S. (2006). Crimes of Loyalty: a History of the UDA. Edinburgh University Press. p.2
  3. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 65
  4. ↑ "Interview with Andy Tyrie" by Barre Fitzpatrick. The Crane Bag. Vol. 4, No. 2, The Northern Issue (1980/1981). Published by Richard Kearney. p.15
  5. 1 2 3 McDonald & Cusack, p. 66
  6. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 64–65
  7. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 75–77
  8. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 85
  9. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 87
  10. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 83–84
  11. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 89
  12. ↑ Taylor, p. 97
  13. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 101
  14. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 102
  15. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 120
  16. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 103
  17. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 105
  18. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 115
  19. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 123–124
  20. ↑ Colin Crawford, Inside the UDA – Volunteers and Violence, Pluto Ireland, 2003, p. 46
  21. ↑ Crawford, Inside the UDA, p. 37
  22. ↑ "The UDA's killer wing: murder goes by any name". Belfast Telegraph. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2011
  23. ↑ Crawford, Inside the UDA, p. 29
  24. ↑ Taylor, pp. 168–169
  25. ↑ Wood, Ian S., Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA, Edinburgh University Press, 2006, p. 69
  26. 1 2 Martin Dillon, The Trigger Men, Mainstream Publishing, 2003, p. 95
  27. ↑ Taylor, pp. 198–199
  28. ↑ Steve Bruce, The Red Hand, Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 252
  29. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 158
  30. ↑ Taylor, p. 200
  31. ↑ Taylor, p. 100
  32. ↑ Taylor, p. 232
  33. ↑ Taylor, p. 251
  34. ↑ McDonald & Cusack, p. 361

Bibliography


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.