Raymond McCord
Raymond McCord | |
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Born | Raymond Irvine McCord 23 December 1953 Independent |
Spouse | Vivenne McCord |
Children | Raymond, Gareth and Glenn McCord |
Parent(s) | Hector and Kathleen McCord |
Raymond Irvine McCord[2] (born 23 December 1953[2]) is a victims rights campaigner from Northern Ireland. McCord became involved in the issue of victims rights after his son, Raymond McCord Jr., was killed by the loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1997.[3] He is an outspoken critic of the UVF.
Background
McCord, an
During his teenage years he played in an association football team Star of the Sea alongside future
Most of the Protestant players left after the outbreak of the Troubles, although McCord remained and played for the senior side in the Northern Amateur Football League, alongside Marty Quinn.[8] As a 17-year-old he had trials with Manchester United F.C., a club he continues to support, and Blackpool F.C., but was not offered terms by either club and did not pursue a career in football.[9]
McCord had worked as a welder at
Killing of Raymond McCord Jnr
Raymond junior, the oldest of McCord's three sons, was born on 24 November 1974.[13] He joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in his teens, serving as a radar operator. He left the RAF after four years and returned home to Northern Ireland, where he joined the UVF. McCord senior believed this was to offer his family protection from the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) due to the McCord family's previous trouble with the UDA.[14]
McCord junior was attached to the
McCord senior initially believed his son had been killed by the UDA as part of the bad blood between that organisation and his family but later had it confirmed by several sources that the UVF had been behind the killing.[18] The UDA South East Antrim Brigade issued a statement acknowledging the history it had with McCord but denied any involvement in his son's death.[19]
Campaigning
Angered by the lack of interest by mainstream Unionism and the police investigation McCord carried out his own investigation. Promising to his family to act within the law he used his contacts with loyalism to uncover that Mark Haddock was a police informer. McCord claims he met with UVF Chief of Staff
After being dismayed by the reaction of unionist politicians McCord announced his intention to stand for election in the 2007 Northern Ireland assembly elections in his native North Belfast constituency.[24] McCord stated that he took the decision after Jeffrey Donaldson condemned him in a television interview after the publication of the O'Loan Report, questioning why McCord did not report his son to the police for being a UVF member.[26] McCord's manifesto was co-written by Mark Langhammer, with the two being old friends.[27] He subsequently received 1320 votes (4.4% of the total vote).[28] This was actually McCord's second election as he had also been a candidate in the 2003 election when he captured only 218 votes (0.7%).[28]
In 2008 McCord made history by becoming the first Unionist to address the annual
McCord was again an independent candidate for North Belfast in the 2011 assembly elections. This time he captured a reduced vote total of 1,176 for a 3.5% share.[28] He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Belfast City Council in the concurrent local elections, running in the Court District Electoral Area.[32]
In December 2013 McCord was with anti-drugs campaigner Tracey Coulter, daughter of Jackie Coulter when Mo Courtney, a leading figure in the UDA West Belfast Brigade and a strong opponent of Tracey Coulter, approached them and verbally abused them, allegedly threatening to kill both McCord and Coulter.[33] Brought to trial for the incident, Courtney was found guilty with issuing the death threat to McCord (although not Coulter).[34]
In November 2014 McCord announced his intention to stand for parliament in the
An opponent of plans for the UK to leave the European Union McCord, who argued that the move would jeopardise stability in Northern Ireland and hit funding for post-Troubles projects, launched a legal challenge against the proposed move in the aftermath of the referendum.[36]
He announced his intention to vote for
External videos | |
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McCord's Brexit battle, January 2017, Deutsche Welle |
Personal life
McCord was the second child of Hector and Kathleen McCord (née Elliott), his sister Jean being seven years older than him.[2] McCord states that, whilst his father was a member of the Orange Order, the Apprentice Boys of Derry and the Royal Black Institution, he maintained close friendships with his Catholic neighbours in the New Lodge area and, before the advent of the Troubles, regularly drank in the pubs there.[2] Hector McCord died in 1994 aged 70 whilst Kathleen McCord was still alive as of 2008.[38]
McCord met his wife Vivienne, who also lived in Rathcoole, when he was 15.[39] They married in 1973 and set up home in a flat in Rathcoole.[40] The family moved to nearby Rathfern around 1976 and their second son Gareth was born there in 1977.[41] A third son Glenn followed soon afterwards.[42] McCord and his wife split in the 1980s and he returned to live in Rathcoole.[42] He subsequently moved back to York Road.[43]
In 2014 McCord was convicted of benefit fraud, pleading guilty to thirteen counts totalling £69,000 in mis-claimed housing benefit, incapacity benefit and industrial injury reduced earnings allowances. He was given a sentence of 18 months imprisonment, suspended for three years.[44]
References
- ^ NI court rejects two legal challenges to Brexit, RTÉ News
- ^ a b c d Raymond McCord, Justice For Raymond, Gill & Macmillan, 2008, p. 1
- ^ "Raymond McCord calls for action over UVF"BBC News
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 1–2
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 10–11
- ^ "What happened next after groundbreaking BBC NI documentaries?"BBC News 18 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 29
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 30–36
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 34
- ^ "McCords UVF killers are unlikely to face justice" The Belfast Telegraph 24 February 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 55–59
- ^ "McCord loses bid to head up victims' body"Belfast Telegraph 24 April 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 46
- ^ "Ervine should have been arrested"Newshound
- ^ "NI police collusion 'confirmed'" BBC News 22 January 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ "1997 list of deaths"Conflict Archive on the Internet
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 63–65
- ^ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton & David McVea, Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children Who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Mainstream Publishing, 2008, p. 1415
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 65–66
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, pp. 72–73
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 75
- ^ "A Belfast Father's Vindication" Time 23 January 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ "Operation Ballast report" (PDF).
- ^ a b "McCord to stand in NI election" BBC News 23 January 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ McKittrick et al, Lost Lives, p. 1416
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 194
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 195
- ^ a b c "North Belfast election results" Ark Election results
- ^ "Victim's father at SF conference" BBC News 1 March 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ "Sinn Fein MEPs facilitate Raymond McCord in Strasbourg" Sinn Féin 23 April 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 158
- ^ "Court Election Results".
- ^ "William 'Mo' Courtney denies threat charges". 10 December 2013 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "William 'Mo' Courtney convicted on threat to kill charge". 4 April 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Barnes, Ciaran (16 November 2014). "McCord Set to Challenge MP Dodds". Daily Mirror (subscription required). Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Erwin, Alan (11 August 2016). "Victims campaigner Raymond McCord launches legal challenge against Brexit". BelfastLive.
- ^ "Proud unionist' Raymond McCord will be voting SDLP". Belfast Telegraph. 24 February 2017.
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 7
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 13
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 22
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 49
- ^ a b McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 50
- ^ McCord, Justice for Raymond, p. 59
- ^ Oliver, Joe (3 August 2014). "MCCORD PS70K FRAUD; Rights Activist Guilty of Cheating the Benefit System over 17-Year Period". Daily Mirror (subscription required). Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2014.