Gary Smyth (loyalist)
Gary Smyth | |
---|---|
Born | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Other names | "Smickers" "Chiefo" |
Occupation | Pet shop owner |
Organization | Ulster Defence Association |
Known for | Loyalist paramilitary |
Title | Commander of C Company |
Term | -2002 |
Successor | Alan McCullough |
Gary Smyth (sometimes written as Gary Smith or Garry Smyth) is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary. Smyth was an active member of the West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association during the Troubles. He was known by the nickname "Smickers" throughout his paramilitary career, although he was also sometimes called "Chiefo".[1]
Early years
A native of
C Company
At a later unspecified date Smyth, who also ran a pet shop on the Shankill Road, rejoined the UDA as a member of C14, a unit of C Company which was active in the lower Shankill. Smyth's reputation as a ruthless operator brought him to the attention of Johnny Adair, a rising star from C8, and the two became close as Adair rapidly ascended the ranks.[3] In 1990 Smyth was made second in command of C Company and thus deputy to Adair.[4] According to Lister & Jordan Smyth was somewhat older than Adair, being described as "in his thirties" in 1990.[2] However, in 2004 he was described by two separate newspapers as being 38, making him the same age as Adair.[5][6] In 1990 C Company had come into possession of a rocket-propelled grenade anti-tank weapon and Smyth proved one of the few members of the group to show proficiency with the unusual piece of artillery. As a result, Smyth and fellow C Company member Gary McMaster were chosen on 12 February 1994 to travel to Andersonstown where they fired the weapon at Connolly House, causing extensive damage to the Sinn Féin headquarters.[7]
On 26 October 1993 Smyth was, according to senior UDA sources, one of two gunmen who launched a gun attack on a refuse depot on the nationalist Kennedy Way. Two were killed and five wounded in the attack.
Smyth's time as C Company's leading gunman came to an end in 1994 when he was arrested whilst on an assignment. Along with Rab Bradshaw and Richard Calderwood, Smyth had been dispatched to kill republican Brian Gillen and the three met in a safe house provided by South Belfast UDA member Glen Esdale, who joined them on the expedition. However, before they could reach their destination the car was intercepted by police, who had been monitoring their activities throughout, and all four were arrested. At this trial in February 1995 Smyth was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit murder and possession of illegal weapons.[12] By late 1995 there were no fewer than thirteen C Company members, including Adair, in the Maze.[13]
Return to prominence
Smyth would be released from prison long before his sixteen years were up as part of a post-ceasefire prisoner release scheme in 1998.
Smyth had a difficult relationship with McKeag, who had come to C Company later than many of those close to Adair, and was somewhat jealous of "Top Gun's" reputation in wider loyalist circles. In 1999 Smyth, Adair and McKeag attended a loyalist event at the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes on the Corcrain estate in Portadown where McKeag was mobbed by fans from the LVF and on stage was applauded by all except his C Company comrades Adair and Smyth. Smyth continued the resentment a few months later when, as McKeag received a "Volunteer of the Year" prize at the annual ceremony held at the Diamond Jubilee bar on the Shankill Road, he yelled "what about me" from the audience.[18] With Adair in prison and Smyth in temporary command of C Company, McKeag fell out of favour and was soon ordered off the Shankill, ostensibly for becoming involved in fights between women at illegal UDA-run drinking dens on the Shankill.[19]
On 19 August 2000 Adair organised a "loyalist day of culture" on the lower Shankill, inviting the five other UDA brigadiers –
Smyth was present at the
Post-UDA activity
Smyth was still in prison in February 2003 when Adair's supporters were forced out of the Shankill by the mainstream UDA but, having been warned that he would be killed if he returned to west Belfast, he made his way to join the rest of his former comrades in Bolton when he was released from jail soon afterwards.[25] At this point Smyth was widely known, along with Ian Truesdale, as the C Company member with the strongest personal loyalty to Adair.[26]
Smyth left Bolton in 2004 after the gang fell apart and instead he, his girlfriend Sharon and their child moved to Scotland, where Sam McCrory already had close links to local loyalists.[5] Smyth's departure from England had been hastened by a falling out he had with Thompson and his brother-in-law James "Sham" Millar.[27] He briefly returned to Belfast in December 2004 to attend the funeral of his brother Stanley although he was guarded by a heavy police presence throughout his brief stay in the city.[14] In 2009 he was reported by the Daily Record as living in Kilmarnock in a property owned by his friend and convicted tobacco smuggler Tommy Burns.[28]
In 2007 the Sunday Life tabloid reported that former supporters of Smyth were behind the formation of the Real Ulster Freedom Fighters, although it was not claimed that Smyth himself was involved in the group.[29]
References
Notes
- ^ "The downfall of Mad Dog Adair, part 2". 4 October 2003 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ a b Lister & Jordan, p. 152
- ^ Lister & Jordan, pp. 151–152
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 179
- ^ a b "UDA hitman muscles in on Scots drugs racket; Adair lieutenant seeks new patch after failed deal leaves him broke. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ "Newshound: Daily Northern Ireland news catalog - The People article". www.nuzhound.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 254
- ^ Lister & Jordan, pp. 164–166
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 208
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 198
- ^ King, Sinead (18 April 2004). "Adair's Man Setting Up Drugs Empire; UDA pair to push narcotics from Scotland (News)". The People (London, England).[dead link]
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 212
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 243
- ^ a b "Newshound: Daily Northern Ireland news catalog - Irish News article". www.nuzhound.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 295–296
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 287
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 275
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 3–4
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 4
- ^ Lister & Jordan, pp. 288–289
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 309
- ^ Wood, p. 272
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, pp. 359–360
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 391
- ^ McDonald & Cusack, p. 397
- ^ Lister & Jordan, p. 338
- ^ "ADAIR'S MAN SETTING UP DRUGS EMPIRE; UDA pair to push narcotics from Scotland. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ "Daily Record & Sunday Mail - Scottish News, Sport, Politics and Celeb gossip". www.dailyrecord.co.uk.
- ^ "Peace process in for a R.U.F.F time". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
Bibliography
- Lister, David & Jordan, Hugh Mad Dog – The Rise and Fall of Johnny Adair and C Company, Mainstream Publishing, 2004
- McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim. UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror, Penguin Ireland, 2004
- Wood, Ian S., Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA, Edinburgh University Press, 2006