The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The Red Hand Commando carried out shootings and bombings, primarily targeting Catholic civilians.The Milwaukee Journal, 13 August 1974 As well as allowing other loyalist groupings to claim attacks in their name, the organisation has also allegedly used the cover names "Red Branch Knights" and "Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group".Sunday Life, 7 May 1995 It is named after the Red Hand of Ulster, and is unique among loyalist paramilitaries for its use of an Irish language motto, Lámh Dearg Abú, meaning 'red hand to victory'.Mulvenna, Gareth. Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries: The Loyalist Backlash. Oxford University Press, 2016. p.215. Quote: "Ronnie McCullough adopted the motto 'Lamh Dearg Abu' for the RHC – an Irish phrase which means 'Red hand to victory'".De Brun, Fionntan. Belfast and the Irish language. Four Courts Press, 2006. p.157. Quote: "UVF members learned the Irish language while in jail and the RHC adopted the Irish motto 'Lamh Dearg Abu' ('red hand for ever')"."Red Hand Commando flags with Irish language slogan flown" . The Irish News. 23 July 2018.
Writing in early 1973, Martin Dillon characterized the Red Hand Commando thus: "the composition of this group was highly selective, and it was very secret in its operations. Its membership was composed in the main of Protestant youths – the Tartans who roamed the streets at night looking for trouble. These youths longed for action, and McKeague let them have it."
The Red Hand Commando was the only major loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland not to have its ranks heavily penetrated by a so-called supergrass or informant during the early 1980s; this was attributed to the group's secrecy (described as an "enigma") and opaque structure.Fortnight Magazine, Issue 200, p. 9-10. Fortnight Publications, 1984.
The RHC is a Proscribed Organisation in the United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Red Hand Commando made a failed application in September 2017 to be removed from the list of proscribed organisations in the UK.
History Formation Much of the group's past is unknown. The RHC was formed in June 1970 among loyalists in the Shankill area of west Belfast, by Ronnie "Flint" McCullough, William "Plum" Smith and colleagues from the Shankill Defence Association. Membership was high in the Shankill, east Belfast, Sandy Row and Newtownabbey areas as well as in parts of County Down. A cell was also allegedly based in County Tyrone, near Castlederg.Sunday World, 14 November 1993. The RHC also reportedly had a presence in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone region in the 1970s, involved in bombings and issuing threats to nationalists.Evening Herald, 15 November 1973.Northern Standard, 12 April 1974. The RHC agreed in 1972 to become an integral part of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). It kept its own structures but in operational matters agreed to share weapons and personnel and often carried out attacks in the name of the UVF.Garland, p. 151 It was proscribed by William Whitelaw, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 12 November 1973. According to Jim Wilson, chairman of the Reach Programme with association of the Red Hand Commando, the RHC numbered well over one thousand members during its campaign, and as of 2017 membership numbers were in the small hundreds who are engaged in community work.
Progressive Unionist Party formation A number of senior Red Hand Commando members played an integral part in the formation of the Progressive Unionist Party in 1979. The beginnings of the party were in the compounds of Long Kesh, where members such as William Smith and Winston Churchill Rea joined members of the UVF in taking a new political direction.
Paramilitary campaign
Following the group's formation in 1970, RHC attacks usually took the form of random drive-by shootings targeting assumed Catholic civilians and no-warning bombs left at social spots (e.g. pubs) the group believed to be frequented by Catholics. The RHC also claimed responsibility for a number of killings in the Republic of Ireland in 1975 and 1976. During the 1980s Loyalist paramilitary violence had dropped significantly from its height in the mid-1970s, and the RHC wasn't implicated in any killings for several years. The organisation was reportedly considered "extinct" by 1988,Fortnight Magazine, Issue 260, p. 18-19. Fortnight Publications, 1988. although it was also described as "largely intact" and capable of violence in 1984. However Loyalist paramilitary activity generally began to increase following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement and in 1988 the RHC was tied to at least two attempted murders. The group routinely used cover names during the first years of this resurgence in activity but later opted to claim attacks under the RHC title. RHC violence intensified in the years leading up to the 1994 Loyalist ceasefire, although never claiming as many victims as it did in the 1970s.
According to the Sutton database of deaths at the University of Ulster's CAIN project, the RHC has allegedly killed 13 people, including 12 civilians, and one of its own members. However, as a satellite grouping of the UVF, attacks carried out by the RHC have been in some cases attributed to the UVF; per other sources the RHC has killed at least 40 people.
The following is a timeline of RHC attacks, and attacks in which RHC members were killed:
1970s 12 November 1971: The RHC carried out a bomb attack on the Frederick Inn pub on Frederick Street, Belfast. The thrown device missed the building and exploded on waste ground nearby, slightly injuring a girl.Belfast Telegraph, 5 December 1980 8 February 1972: The RHC claimed responsibility for killing Bernard Rice, a member of the Catholic Ex-Servicemen's Association, in a drive-by shooting on Crumlin Road, Belfast. 13 March 1972: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (Patrick McCrory) at his home on Ravenhill Avenue, Belfast.David McKittrick et al, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2008, p. 1469 15 April 1972: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (Sean McConville, 17) from a passing car while he was walking along the Crumlin Road, Belfast. 20 July 1972: The RHC attempted to kill a Catholic businessman in the Smithfield area of Belfast. 28 July 1972: The RHC attempted to kill a Catholic civilian from a passing car on Upper Library Street, Belfast. William "Plum" Smith, later a senior figure in the Progressive Unionist Party, was arrested for his involvement in the attack, along with two other men.The Belfast Telegraph, 29 August 1972. 26 September 1972: The RHC left a bomb at a home on Oakwood Avenue, Bangor, County Down, but the device failed to detonate.Belfast Telegraph, 6 February 1973 31 October 1972: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (James Kerr) at his workplace on Lisburn Road, Belfast. The gunman responsible was shot by a plainclothes policeman as he fled the scene and was arrested.Sunday Life, 19 February 1989 11 November 1972: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (Gerard Kelly) at his shop on Crumlin Road, Belfast. 18 February 1973: The RHC shot dead two Catholic civilians, both postmen, (Anthony Coleman and Joseph McAleese) from a passing car while they were walking along Divis Street, Belfast. A gunman armed with a submachine gun had gotten out of the vehicle and opened fire.The Belfast Telegraph, 21 February 1973. 26 March 1973: The RHC bombed the Catholic-owned Hillfoot Bar in east Belfast.The Belfast Telegraph, 27 March 1973. 11 May 1973: The RHC shot and seriously injured a Catholic civilian (John McCormac) while he was walking along Raglan Street, Lower Falls, Belfast. He died three days later. 31 May 1973: The RHC shot dead an English sailor (Thomas Curry) during a gun and bomb attack on Muldoon's Bar, Corporation Square, Belfast. June 1973: The RHC attempted to kill four Catholic youths in a drive-by shooting on the Antrim Road, Belfast.Belfast Telegraph, 27 April 1974 1 October 1973: The RHC shot a Catholic civilian (Eileen Doherty, 19) after hijacking the taxi she was travelling in at Annandale Embankment, Ballynafeigh, Belfast. 20 February 1974: RHC members beat and stabbed a "fellow Loyalist" (John Thompson) to death, he was found dead on the Ormeau Road, Belfast. Apparent internal dispute.Belfast Telegraph, 13 March 1975 July 1974: In what was described as a "no warning bomb spree", the RHC bombed 14 Catholic-owned pubs in 14 days. One man was killed (Thomas Braniff) and 100 people were wounded. 25 September 1974: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (Kieran McIlroy) after he left work in Parkend Street off Limestone Road, Belfast.The Belfast Telegraph, 26 September 1974. 9 March 1975: The RHC claimed responsibility for a firebomb attack on the fishing fleet moored at Greencastle, County Donegal, with 30 incendiary devices planted on 17 vessels. Fishermen described allegations their boats were being used for gun running as "laughable", noting that the Royal Navy frequently searched them at sea.Belfast Telegraph, 10 March 1975 16 March 1975: The RHC was suspected by police to be responsible for a bomb that killed an RUC constable (Mildred Harrison) after exploding outside a Catholic-owned pub in Bangor, County Down.Sunday Life, 19 September 1993 12 April 1975: The RHC claimed responsibility for a gun and bomb attack on Strand Bar, Anderson Street, Belfast. Six Catholic civilians were killed.The Age, 14 April 1975 (See: Strand Bar bombing) 19 December 1975: A car bomb exploded without warning at Kay's Tavern in Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. Two civilians were killed and twenty wounded. A short time later, there was a gun and bomb attack on the Silverbridge Inn near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. Two Catholic civilians and an English civilian were killed in that attack, while six others were wounded. Members of the "Glenanne gang" were believed to have been involved in these attacks. The RHC claimed responsibility for both.(See: Donnelly's Bar and Kay's Tavern attacks) 2 May 1976: The RHC shot dead a Catholic civilian (Seamus Ludlow) near his home in Thistlecross, County Louth. 2 June 1976: The RHC shot dead a Protestant civilian (David Spratt) at a house in Comber, County Down. A Catholic man was the intended target. 28 October 1976: The RHC and "Ulster Freedom Fighters" claimed responsibility for killing former Sinn Féin vice-president Máire Drumm.Star-News, 30 October 1976 She was shot dead by gunmen dressed as doctors in Mater Hospital, Belfast. She had retired a short time before her killing and had been in the hospital for an operation. A UVF member (formerly a soldier), who worked as a security officer at the hospital, was among a number of men jailed.McKittrick, David. Lost Lives, p.684 8 March 1978: The RHC shot dead an Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) volunteer (Thomas Trainor) in Portadown, County Armagh.
1980s 27 May 1980: Two RHC members carried out a gun attack on the home of a prison officer in Belfast.Belfast Telegraph, 24 March 1981 August 1981: According to Michael Stone, the RHC planned a bomb attack aimed at Charles Haughey's yacht, the Taurima II, while it was berthed at Dingle Harbour, County Kerry. Stone claimed the RHC operative planned to "wire Haughey's boat with five pounds of commercial explosives. … [he] would attach the bomb to the on-board radio using an electrical detonator. Once the radio was switched on, the bomb would explode". The operation was aborted after two RHC operatives were arrested a week earlier for a robbery and the explosives became volatile in transit from a quarry in Scotland. Elements of MI5 allegedly provided a dossier on Haughey to the RHC.