Conclusion

This chapter brings together the main arguments in the book and highlights that the work provides a fresh and dynamic interpretation of the emergence of loyalist paramilitaries in the early 1970s. It also points to opportunities for future research on the subject.

From Boys Brigade Belts and Bibles to Bombs and Bullets (1972–75)

This chapter examines the dynamics of paramilitary loyalism and the involvement of the interviewees in operations including murder. The chapter demonstrates that the transition from Tartan gangs to paramilitaries defined the violent reputations of these organisations as the mid-1970s proved to be a bloody period in the Northern Ireland conflict

Football, Flags and Fighting (1970–71)

Chapter Three places the oral histories in the context of the growth of republican violence and in particular focuses on the last weekend of June 1970, when events occurred which led to the formation of the UVF in East Belfast and the organisation of a small militant grouping of young loyalists in North Belfast which would become known as the Red Hand Commando. The chapter explains the importance of John McKeague as a leading loyalist and the way in which his protest against nationalist residents at the Unity Flats interface at the foot of the Shankill Road in 1970 became an ongoing focal point for young loyalists, most notably Tartans and Linfield supporters who were eager to vent their frustrations at the declining security situation in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the chapter describes how the Tartan movement gained momentum as the first half of 1971 proved to be a dire period for Ulster Protestants.

Protestants at War? (1971–72)

Chapter Four continues from the second half of 1971, highlighting the increasing fear among journalists and politicians that the Tartan gangs were more than mere hooligans. As violence increased, the Tartans began to receive growing support among the adult population in Protestant working-class communities. In this chapter the oral histories describe the first experimentations by many of the young loyalists in paramilitary activity in late 1971 and early 1972 and how the loyalist paramilitary response related to the perceived defence of Protestant working-class communities.

Introduction

The introduction outlines the core themes and structure of the book as well as the theories which underpin the oral history contained therein.

‘Civil rights, unrest, death’ (1960s)

Chapter Two introduces the interviewees, all of whom were born in the early to mid-1950s. In this regard the 1960s, a dramatic period of time both globally and in Northern Ireland, are pivotal in providing a sense of what life was like for those working-class Protestant boys and teenagers who would a short time later engage in violent activities with Tartan gangs and loyalist paramilitaries. The chapter situates the autobiographical recollections of this period in domestic life, the Orange Order, education, the emergence of the UVF, the mythologising of Gusty Spence and the civil rights campaign. Ultimately, it seeks to demonstrate that the context of growing up as a working-class Protestant in Belfast amidst such uncertainty and growing violence shaped young men’s perceptions of the Catholic, nationalist and republican community as well as their own way of life as members of the wider British working class.

Drills, Fights and Defence

Chapter One examines the forebears of the Tartan gangs in Belfast throughout the Twentieth-Century, demonstrating that youth sectarian conflict had a strong lineage in the city. The chapter also examines the role of the Boys’ Brigade as a restraining influence on young men during this period, and the strong focus which was placed on a culture of militarism in Protestant working-class communities through involvement with church-led organisations and political enterprises such as the Young Citizen Volunteers during the period of the Irish Home Rule Crises. The chapter also demonstrates how memory and ‘ethno-memory’ are crucial facets in understanding the manner in which the Protestant working-class would respond in defending their communities at the beginning of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’.

Convergence (1972)

This chapter explores the convergence between the nascent loyalist paramilitaries, most notably the Red Hand Commando and Young Citizen Volunteers, with the Tartan gangs which had been so prominent throughout 1971. The ‘backlash’ which had been mentioned so often in the press began to become a reality as the loyalist assassination campaign began in earnest and a forceful and frightening subculture gained momentum. A large number of militant loyalists took to the streets and were given the approval of politicians such as William Craig, the former Stormont Minister of Home Affairs.