Does anybody here who is from or has spent time in Northern Ireland know exactly what it is that the Ulster Freedom Fighters, Ulster Defence Organization, Ulster Defence Association, Ulster Loyalists, Ulster Unionists and various other paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland actually do on an average day?
Judging by the murals all over Northern Ireland, these groups are integral to the communities, have popular support, and are numerous. But it seems like (maybe I’m wrong) physical violence between Catholics and Protestants is today rare.
How do these organizations operate? Are they like militias or reserve units, where all or most of the men in any given community are members? Or is being in one of the groups a full-time job?
Do they engage in military training on a regular basis - physical fitness, marksmanship, urban tactics, etc? Or is it more of an informal social club than anything else?
What is the deal with these various Ulster military groups?
I have a suspicion that these groups are somewhat like the mafia. Just a bunch of affiliated criminals, probably some have real jobs, others claim benefits, with the political aspect merely being a veneer to give them some shred of respectability.
All the examples you gave are from the loyalist side. Not all of them are paramilitary organisations - the Ulster Unionist party is a political party, formerly the main unionist party in Northern Ireland.
As Andy mentioned, they are mainly criminal gangs. Historically, the republican paramilitaries have had a bit more emphasis on ideology (for example socialism) than the loyalist side, but even on the republican side there were many who had little interest in the ideology.
Just to add that the ubiquity and high visibility of the murals doesn’t necessarily indicate a high level of popular support. The support from the local community could be a complicated mix of active support by a minority, combined with silence by the majority who know the value of keeping your head down and your mouth shut, and a feeling in a highly divided community that “they may be thugs, but at least they’re on our side”.
First off you are conflating legitimate political parties with terrorist organisations.
The Ulster Unionist Party is a political party, as is the Democratic Unionist Party and several others such as the Progressive Unionist Party (which are or were the political/legitimate leg of certain paramilitary groups.)
The Ulster Defence Regimentalthough tainted to a degree was also a legitimate part of the British Army.
The other groups you mention were or are loyalist terror groups that operate like a Mafia or something akin to your Bloods and Crips in the US.
A significant percentage of those involved in loyalist terror groups were from the poorest communities in Northern Ireland and consequently were often on welfare. In recent years I imagine that might have changed with many writing books on their experiences, some getting work in their communities and working to create cross-community ties.
A significant amount of the income for these organisations comes from mafia like behaviour, protectionism, drug dealing, smuggling and the like.
The murals continue to exist (and if you’re ever in Belfast a taxi tour is de rigueur) in both Loyalist and Republican areas although in recent years in the Republican areas they’ve become more peace-orientated and internationalist.
There are marching bands and Orange Order groups that operate military style parades but these are (if offensive to many people) legitimate groups too.
One thing I’ve noticed about loyalist murals (from An Gadaí’s link and elsewhere), is that their most popular crime is copyright infringement.
The UUP was the largest political party in Northern Ireland, since overtaken by the DUP. Both are conservative, with the DUP being at times as nutty as the Tea Party. The PUP is a more social democratic group. The former two weren’t directly involved in paramilitary actions I think (although may have condoned it), while the PUP is directly affiliated with the Ulster Volunteer Force, who has since joined the ceasefire.
Some have turned in their arms, so they aren’t necessarily doing training exercises. That doesn’t mean that their criminality hasn’t just shifted to other areas.
Unfortunately, many of these loyalist groups are among the most racist people in Europe, e.g. the Guardian. They can get some support by playing on fears about immigrants.
Day- to-day?
Mostly hang out in bars, selling drugs and black market goods, collecting protection money and knee-capping or issuing death threats to “undesirables” in the area.
From what I can gather, “undesirables” tend to be dealers encroaching on their turf, hoodlums who steal cars or break into houses or those who engage in other activities deemed to be “anti-social”.
There are also lots of internecine feuds and petty power struggles within the (often fragmented) groups.
There is much less sectarian violence than there used to be- they’ve largely replaced hurting the other side with hurting members of their own sides in a bid to keep control, money and influence flowing.
Less Michael Collins, more* The Wire*.
In a way you have to think of it like the Godfather. In these areas if some local kids are making granny’s life hell by throwing stones through her window or drinking beer in her yard you don’t call the cops, you ask the local big man to" have a word" until they stop. The word may involve baseball bats and blindfolded journeys to deserted areas.
In many cases they were drawing welfare benefits from the state (this applied to Republican groups as well) to fund their lifestyle in addition to their below-the-line activities. Or they were nominally employed by some business which never expected to see them.
