Frankie Curry
Frankie Curry | |
---|---|
Ulster loyalist | |
Relatives | Gusty Spence, Billy Spence (uncles) |
Frankie Curry (c. 1955 – 17 March 1999)[1] was a Northern Irish loyalist who was involved with a number of paramilitary groups during his long career. A critic of the Northern Ireland peace process, Curry was killed during a loyalist feud.
UVF and RHC
A native of
Curry's reputation within the UVF soon grew and in 1972 at the age of 17, he was a central figure in the plot to break his uncle Gusty Spence out of the
Curry operated as part of the UVF's Red Hand Commando (RHC) and was said to have been responsible for at least twelve of the killings claimed by the RHC.[1] Curry himself would claim to have been involved in at least 16 deaths,[6] claiming 19 in another interview,[7] and had even described himself as a serial killer.[8] He stated that he had killed Bernard Rice, Patrick McCrory and Sean McConville in 1972 before killing Michael Coleman, Joseph McAleese, John McCormac and Thomas Holmes Curry the following year. All seven men were Catholic civilians.[7]
Prison and aftermath
During his time as a paramilitary Curry served a number of spells in prison. In 1973 he was given four years for intimidation and
Dissident activity
On 28 August 1996, the UDA's
However Curry admired Wright and his Mid-Ulster UVF dissidents and had forged close links with the group, which would soon re-emerge as the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), in the run-up to the Drumcree conflict of 1996.[1] A photograph showing Curry embracing Wright at a 1996 Portadown rally in support of "King Rat" was published at this time.[9] Curry's involvement with Wright saw him expelled from the RHC and ordered to stand down by the Shankill UVF. Curry however, who also had some skill as a bomb-maker, ignored the orders and offered his services to any loyalist paramilitary group that felt it could use him.[1]
Curry began to use the term '
Curry also continued his links with the LVF and on 5 September 1998 a pipe bomb he manufactured was brought to Drumcree by
Death and aftermath
Curry's activity, and in particular his association with dissident elements within the UDA, had made him an unpopular figure with the leadership of that group whilst, despite his link to Gusty Spence and his history within the movement, the UVF had washed their hands of him.
Curry's death saw an angry reaction from both the UDA's C Company on the Shankill and the LVF, with a death threat issued against McDonald and Cusack by LVF associate Jackie Mahood and his dissident UDA allies due to their reporting of Curry's involvement in bomb-making, an issue that his loyalist supporters felt was the crucial factor in the decision to kill Curry.[15] For its part, the Red Hand Defenders issued a statement which blamed the killing on the UVF and threatened retaliation,[23] although Gusty Spence, by then a leading figure in the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), quickly denied the claims that it was a UVF attack,[22] a sentiment echoed by PUP leader David Ervine.[24] The killing was also condemned by Ulster Democratic Party activist John White who said "it's disgraceful that a man who dedicated his life to the loyalist cause should be cut down like this by people who call themselves loyalists".[23] Curry was close to White and had hoped to see him on the day of his killing in order that White might help him with some job applications.[25]
White would claim at Curry's funeral that the killing had been sanctioned by a major loyalist paramilitary group.[26] By early 2000 the killing of Curry, as well as attempts by the UVF to kill Mahood, McClinton and Orange Volunteers founder and associate of Curry Clifford Peeples, prompted Johnny Adair, to whom White was close, to throw the full weight of the Shankill UDA behind the dissident campaign.[27]
It was claimed in 2023 that Curry's death was approved by RHC supremo
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g McDonald & Cusack, p. 284
- ^ David McKittrick, Lost Lives: The Stories of The Men, Women and Children who Died Through the Northern Ireland Troubles, Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1999, p. 28
- ^ Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, UVF, Dublin: Poolbeg, 1997, pp. 12–13
- ^ Steve Bruce, The Red Hand: Protestant Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 110
- ^ Peter Taylor, Loyalists, London: Bloomsbury, 1999, p. 111
- ^ Michael Cox, Adrian Guelke, Fiona Stephen, A Farewell to Arms?: Beyond the Good Friday Agreement, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006, p. 151
- ^ a b c d e f g h i David McKittrick et al, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2008, p. 1469
- ^ a b Wood, p. 201
- ^ a b c d "Loyalist lived on borrowed time". The Guardian. 18 March 1999. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022.
- ^ Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, UVF: Endgame, Poolbeg, 2008, p. 382
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 282–284
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 284–285
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 287–288
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 291
- ^ a b c d McDonald & Cusack, p. 311
- ^ Paramilitary Feuds in Northern Ireland – A Chronology of Events
- ^ "Police were told of threat to loyalist". Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 307
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 307–308
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 308
- ^ Edith Shillue, Peace Comes Dropping Slow: Conversations in Northern Ireland, Amherst: Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2003, p. 163
- ^ a b Slain loyalist laid to rest
- ^ a b Loyalist feud looms after killing
- ^ Funeral takes place of murdered Loyalist
- ^ Wood, p. 234
- ^ 'Someone Gave the Nod for Curry to Die'
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 314–315
- ^ 'Winkie Rea ordered loyalist assassin shot dead after huge row over missing cash'. Sunday Life, 3 December 2023
Bibliography
- McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim. UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror, Dublin: Penguin Ireland, 2004
- Wood, Ian S. Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006