Ulster Young Militants

Development

The UYM had its origins in the "Tartan Gangs" of the early 1970s, unofficial loyalist street gangs who gained their name from the tartan scarves and flash of tartan they wore on their denim jackets. The tartan was said to commemorate the 1971 Scottish soldiers' killings by the Provisional IRA. Author Ian S. Wood has also suggested that the fashion may have been inspired by the Bay City Rollers although it has been noted elsewhere that the Bay City Rollers did not take off until 1974 (by which time the Tartan Gangs were well established) and the band's following tended more towards the teenage girl market.{{cite book

Although the exact date of formal establishment of the UYM as an official group attached to the UDA is unknown it is estimated to have been around 1974. The group was initially restricted to 16-year-olds although demand for membership became so high following the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire of 1994 that the age limit was dropped to fourteen. Many prominent loyalists are believed to have been members of the UYM before joining the UDA, including Johnny Adair and John Gregg, whilst Jim Gray, Billy "Twister" McQuiston and Michael Stone were Tartan Gang members. Adair and a number of friends, including Sam McCrory, joined the UYM as a group in 1987.

In 2021 following the Irish Sea border protests in South and North Belfast, the UYM allegedly re-emerged. After five nights of rioting and the breaking open the gates of the Belfast peace wall, a Facebook message appeared showing the UYM being encouraged to work with the YCV to march through West Belfast, a Catholic area of the city.

Activities

The UYM attached to the UDA West Belfast Brigade soared in number under Johnny Adair and in 2000 they played a leading role in helping to drive Ulster Volunteer Force members and supporters out of the Lower Shankill as part of a loyalist feud between the two paramilitary groups. Their involvement was such that Jack McKee, a born-again Christian preacher noted for his anti-paramilitary activity, reported that in secondary schools around the Shankill some pupils had to be let out at different times and from different gates depending on whether they were members of the UYM or the Young Citizen Volunteers.

Later, members have been involved in rioting, particularly during the marching season and at interface areas. The group was particularly active in this respect in the Tiger's Bay area, where they were deployed by the UDA to attack homes in the neighbouring nationalist New Lodge and Newington areas. One local member, Glen Branagh (a distant relative of the actor Kenneth Branagh), died in these clashes when, on 11 November 2001, a pipe bomb he was holding exploded in his hand whilst he stood with fellow UYM members on the Duncairn Gardens interface area. They have also been blamed for arson attacks on Catholic schools and churches. In 1999 the UYM was behind over 230 pipe bomb attacks in the UDA South East Antrim Brigade area alone.

According to the University of Ulster's CAIN Project, the group were responsible for one death during the conflict. In 2001 members of the UYM attacked and killed Trevor Lowry in Newtownabbey, believing him to be a Roman Catholic. It was later discovered that Lowry was a Protestant. Of the two convicted for his murder one, Harry Speers, was significantly over the usual UYM age limits but was in fact commander of the Glengormley UYM and had direct responsibility for preparing UYM members for the transition to the UDA. However, as well as Lowry's murder, according to Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack, a UYM member also killed the UDA's Stephen Audley on 17 March 1991 after the pair fought over a handgun at a party, with the weapon discharging during the struggle and killing Audley.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• McDonald, Henry and Cusack, Jim. UDA: Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror, Penguin Ireland, 2004
• Taylor, Peter. Loyalists London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 1999
• Wood, Ian S. Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA, Edinburgh University Press, 2006

References

1. [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/yorgan.htm CAIN]
2. [https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/podcasts/the-beltel/loyalism-and-the-far-right-the-national-front-tartan-gangs-and-combat-18/a1748774080.html 'Loyalism and the far right: The National Front, Tartan gangs and Combat 18']. ''Belfast Telegraph'', 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025
3. Taylor, p.81
4. McDonald & Cusack, p. 26
5. Wood, p. 5
6. [[Michael Stone (loyalist). Michael Stone]], ''None Shall Divide Us'', John Blake Publishing, 2003, p. 23
7. [http://www.whiterowpress.com/unpretend.htm ''The Most Unpretending of Places, A History of Dundonald, County Down'' by Peter Carr] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-03-11)
8. Martin Dillon, ''The Trigger Men'', Mainstream Publishing, 2003, p. 109
9. Wood, p. 39
10. McDonald & Cusack, p. 171
11. McDonald & Cusack, p. 347
12. Wood, p. 258
13. [http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/09/25/story69816.asp TCM Breaking News] {{Webarchive. link. (2007-03-10)
14. Wood, p. 40
15. [http://www.independent.ie/unsorted/migration/jim-gray-473163.html Jim Gray]
16. Taylor, pp.90-91
17. McDonald & Cusack, p. 172
18. Elms, Victoria. (12 April 2021). "Northern Ireland: The role of social media in stirring up unrest".
19. McDonald & Cusack, p. 326
20. McDonald & Cusack, p. 339
21. "Nuzhound".
22. McDonald & Cusack, p. 344
23. McDonald & Cusack, p. 346
24. Wood, p. 233
25. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311094036/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/11/13/nriot13.xml Telegraph]
26. Wood, p. 265
27. McDonald & Cusack, pp. 187-188