James Craig (loyalist)
Encyclopedia
James Pratt "Jim" Craig (c.1941 – 15 October 1988) was a Northern Irish loyalist
, who served as a fund-raiser for the Ulster Defence Association
(UDA) and sat on its Inner Council. He also ran a large protection racket from west Belfast
's Shankill Road area, where he lived. Described by journalist David McKittrick
as "Belfast's foremost paramilitary extortionist", Craig also allegedly colluded with republican
organisations such as the Provisional IRA
and Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA), providing them with information on key loyalists, leading to their assassinations. Besides controlling rackets and extorting protection money from a variety of businesses, it was claimed that he participated in killings.
He was accused by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) of setting up the assassinations of their key members by IRA hit squads, such as Shankill Butcher
Lenny Murphy
, John Bingham
, and William "Frenchie" Marchant
in the 1980s. Craig was killed by the UDA, using their cover name of the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF), for alleged "treason" as it was suggested he had passed on information to the IRA regarding South Belfast UDA brigadier John McMichael
, who was blown up in an IRA booby-trap car bomb in December 1987. Craig was shot dead in "The Castle Inn", a pub in Beersbridge Road, east Belfast. An elderly pensioner was also killed after getting hit by stray gunfire.
to take control of the UDA prisoners inside, on account of his reputation as a "hard man".
It was stated by journalist Peter Taylor
in his book Loyalists that when Craig was asked by someone how he managed to maintain discipline amongst his fellow inmates, he replied "I've got this big fucking hammer and I've told them if anybody gives me trouble, I'll break their fucking fingers".
By this time the West Belfast UDA
no longer wanted him in their ranks, as they claimed they could no longer "afford him". Craig, who was ordered to leave the Shankill Road, went on to join forces with John McMichael
's South Belfast Brigade. In addition to being the principal fundraiser, Craig also sat on the UDA's Inner Council.
The rival UVF carried out an investigation after it was rumoured Craig had been involved in the death of UVF major William Marchant
, who was gunned down by IRA gunmen from a passing car in the Shankill Road on 28 April 1987. Marchant was the third high-ranking UVF man to be killed by the IRA during the 1980s. Although their inquiries revealed that Craig had quarrelled with Marchant as well as Lenny Murphy
and John Bingham
prior to their killings, the UVF felt that there was not enough evidence to warrant an attack on such a powerful UDA figure as Craig.
In December 1987, when South Belfast UDA brigadier John McMichael was blown up by an IRA booby-trap car bomb outside his home in Lisburn
's Hilden estate, it was believed that Craig had organised his death with the IRA. Allegedly Craig had feared McMichael was about to expose his racketeering business, thus putting an end to his lucrative operation. McMichael had reportedly set up an inquiry and discovered that Craig was spending money on a lavish scale, going on holidays at least twice a year and indulging in a "champagne lifestyle". At the same time it was suggested that Craig had made certain deals with republican paramilitary groups, dividing up the rackets in west Belfast, and he would have been doing the IRA a favour by helping them to eliminate a high-profile loyalist such as McMichael. Craig had established links with republicans during his time in prison, and the profitable deals and exchanges of information between them ensured that he would most likely never be a target for IRA assassination.
Craig was named as an extortionist in British Central Television's 1987 programme The Cook Report
. Craig planned to sue the programme's producers for libel; in January 1988, Jack Kielty (father of television presenter Patrick Kielty
), a building contractor from County Down
who had promised to testify as a key witness against Craig, was killed by the UFF. This killing was attributed to Craig, although it was never proved.
Andy Tyrie
, the UDA's former supreme commander, was not convinced of Craig's complicity in McMichael's killing. In an interview with Peter Taylor
, he stated that after McMichael's death, the UDA set up an inquiry, but couldn't find any solid proof which linked Craig to McMichael's assassination. Tyrie maintained that the two men had been good friends, and that Craig had even given McMichael the sum of £20,000 to keep the latter's pub (The Admiral Benbow) from failing. Tyrie suggested that Craig was a suspect on account that his wife was Catholic
. Tyrie insisted that John Hanna, a prison officer in the Maze, had supplied the IRA with information about McMichael through a well-known Catholic actress with whom Hanna was infatuated. The actress was an Intelligence Officer of the IRA. McMichael's son, Gary
, however, firmly believed Craig to have been the person behind his father's killing. Less than three months after McMichael's death, Tyrie himself narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by a car bomb; he subsequently tendered his resignation as commander.
wrote that Craig was not intelligent; however, he was "cunning, boastful, and ruthless" in character.
There was also much antipathy between him and UDA brigadier Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle
due to Craig having allegedly made Lyttle's daughter pregnant. Later it was revealed that Lyttle worked as an informer for the Royal Ulster Constabulary
's Special Branch
. Lyttle died of natural causes in October 1995.
Craig reportedly invited RUC officers to an extravagant wedding reception held for his daughter. Author Sally Belfrage
who encountered Craig at an "Eleventh night
" party held at the UDA's east Belfast headquarters, summed him up as "the most personally powerful man I had ever met, with an air of animal force that inspired awe at the idea of its ever being let loose. He was also as drunk as I had ever seen anyone in my life who could still more or less negotiate a sentence and a sequence of steps." She claimed Craig had propositioned her; when she rebuffed his advances he took it in his stride, and grabbing a microphone, went on to lead the other revellers in a rendition of "The Sash My Father Wore".
Dillon, in his book about the violent loyalist gang, the Shankill Butchers
, recounted how Craig casually killed a man in a UDA club after a fellow UDA member handed him a jammed pistol. Craig, testing the weapon, allegedly pointed it at a man who was playing pool, and shot him in the head, killing him on the spot. Craig then gave orders for the man's body to be removed from the club and dumped in the adjacent alleyway. Dillon was also firmly convinced he had killed UDA commander William "Bucky" McCullough in October 1981 after the latter discovered Craig had been stealing funds from the UDA for his own personal use. The Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA) had claimed responsibility for the killing.
Jackie McDonald
, who was part of Craig's protection racket, was arrested in 1989. He had taken over McMichael's command of the South Belfast UDA, having been promoted to the rank of brigadier by Andy Tyrie in 1988. In January 1990, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment inside the Maze for extortion, blackmail, and intimidation. McDonald was released in 1994. In an interview with Peter Taylor, he made the following statement regarding his former association with Craig:
Dillon suggested that prior to Craig's killing, younger elements within the UDA, who were loyal supporters of McMichael, discovered (by means which Dillon did not divulge) that the RUC's anti-racketeering squad CI3 had videotaped a clandestine meeting between Craig and a member of the IRA's Northern Command
. It was this which had sealed Craig's fate.
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
, who served as a fund-raiser for the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
(UDA) and sat on its Inner Council. He also ran a large protection racket from west Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
's Shankill Road area, where he lived. Described by journalist David McKittrick
David McKittrick
David McKittrick is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971.-Professional career:McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the East Antrim Times. He joined the Irish Times in 1973 as a reporter in Belfast, becoming Northern editor in 1976 and London editor in...
as "Belfast's foremost paramilitary extortionist", Craig also allegedly colluded with republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
organisations such as the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
and Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA), providing them with information on key loyalists, leading to their assassinations. Besides controlling rackets and extorting protection money from a variety of businesses, it was claimed that he participated in killings.
He was accused by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) of setting up the assassinations of their key members by IRA hit squads, such as Shankill Butcher
Shankill Butchers
The Shankill Butchers is the name given to an Ulster loyalist gang, many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force . The gang conducted paramilitary activities during the 1970s in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was most notorious for its late-night kidnapping, torture and murder of random...
Lenny Murphy
Lenny Murphy
Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy, who commonly went by the name Lenny , was an Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Murphy was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and leader of the infamous Shankill Butchers a gang which became notorious for its torture and murder of Catholic men...
, John Bingham
John Bingham (loyalist)
John Dowey Bingham was a prominent Northern Irish loyalist who led "D Company" , 1st Battalion, Ulster Volunteer Force . He was shot dead by the Provisional IRA after they had broken into his home...
, and William "Frenchie" Marchant
William Marchant (loyalist)
William "Frenchie" Marchant was a Northern Irish loyalist and a middle-ranking volunteer in the Ulster Volunteer Force . He was on a Garda list of suspects in the 1974 Dublin car bombings which left a total of 26 people dead, and close to 300 injured...
in the 1980s. Craig was killed by the UDA, using their cover name of the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF), for alleged "treason" as it was suggested he had passed on information to the IRA regarding South Belfast UDA brigadier John McMichael
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
, who was blown up in an IRA booby-trap car bomb in December 1987. Craig was shot dead in "The Castle Inn", a pub in Beersbridge Road, east Belfast. An elderly pensioner was also killed after getting hit by stray gunfire.
Beginnings
James Pratt Craig, also known by his nickname, "Jim", was born in Northern Ireland in about 1941 and grew up in the Shankill Road, west Belfast. He was raised in the Protestant religion. In the early 1970s, Craig, a former boxer, was sent to the Maze Prison for a criminal offence unrelated to paramilitary activities. While serving his sentence at the Maze he joined the UDA, and he was asked by the organisation's commander at the time, Charles Harding SmithCharles Harding Smith
Charles Harding Smith was a loyalist leader in Northern Ireland and the first effective leader of the Ulster Defence Association...
to take control of the UDA prisoners inside, on account of his reputation as a "hard man".
It was stated by journalist Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
in his book Loyalists that when Craig was asked by someone how he managed to maintain discipline amongst his fellow inmates, he replied "I've got this big fucking hammer and I've told them if anybody gives me trouble, I'll break their fucking fingers".
Racketeering
After his release in 1976, he set up his large protection racket and became the UDA's chief "fundraiser"; by 1985 he had managed to blackmail and extort money from a number of construction firms, building sites, as well as pubs, clubs, and shops in Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland, whose intimidated owners paid protection money out of fear of Craig and his associates. It was alleged that the UDA received hundreds of thousands of pounds some of which also found their way inside Craig's pockets as part of his "commission". It was in that same year—1985—that he was brought before the court after a number of businessmen had decided to testify against him, with the condition that their identities remained hidden. The case against Craig fell apart when his defence said that concealment of the witnesses' identities violated Craig's rights.By this time the West Belfast UDA
UDA West Belfast Brigade
The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association based in the western quarter of Belfast in the Greater Shankill area...
no longer wanted him in their ranks, as they claimed they could no longer "afford him". Craig, who was ordered to leave the Shankill Road, went on to join forces with John McMichael
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
's South Belfast Brigade. In addition to being the principal fundraiser, Craig also sat on the UDA's Inner Council.
The rival UVF carried out an investigation after it was rumoured Craig had been involved in the death of UVF major William Marchant
William Marchant (loyalist)
William "Frenchie" Marchant was a Northern Irish loyalist and a middle-ranking volunteer in the Ulster Volunteer Force . He was on a Garda list of suspects in the 1974 Dublin car bombings which left a total of 26 people dead, and close to 300 injured...
, who was gunned down by IRA gunmen from a passing car in the Shankill Road on 28 April 1987. Marchant was the third high-ranking UVF man to be killed by the IRA during the 1980s. Although their inquiries revealed that Craig had quarrelled with Marchant as well as Lenny Murphy
Lenny Murphy
Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy, who commonly went by the name Lenny , was an Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Murphy was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force and leader of the infamous Shankill Butchers a gang which became notorious for its torture and murder of Catholic men...
and John Bingham
John Bingham (loyalist)
John Dowey Bingham was a prominent Northern Irish loyalist who led "D Company" , 1st Battalion, Ulster Volunteer Force . He was shot dead by the Provisional IRA after they had broken into his home...
prior to their killings, the UVF felt that there was not enough evidence to warrant an attack on such a powerful UDA figure as Craig.
In December 1987, when South Belfast UDA brigadier John McMichael was blown up by an IRA booby-trap car bomb outside his home in Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
's Hilden estate, it was believed that Craig had organised his death with the IRA. Allegedly Craig had feared McMichael was about to expose his racketeering business, thus putting an end to his lucrative operation. McMichael had reportedly set up an inquiry and discovered that Craig was spending money on a lavish scale, going on holidays at least twice a year and indulging in a "champagne lifestyle". At the same time it was suggested that Craig had made certain deals with republican paramilitary groups, dividing up the rackets in west Belfast, and he would have been doing the IRA a favour by helping them to eliminate a high-profile loyalist such as McMichael. Craig had established links with republicans during his time in prison, and the profitable deals and exchanges of information between them ensured that he would most likely never be a target for IRA assassination.
Craig was named as an extortionist in British Central Television's 1987 programme The Cook Report
The Cook Report
The Cook Report was a British current affairs television programme shown on ITV, produced for the network by Central Television from 1987 to 1998.-History:...
. Craig planned to sue the programme's producers for libel; in January 1988, Jack Kielty (father of television presenter Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty is an Irish comedian and television personality from Dundrum, Northern Ireland.-Background:He was affected by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 25 January 1988 his father, businessman Jack Kielty, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association /"Ulster Freedom Fighters" , a...
), a building contractor from County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
who had promised to testify as a key witness against Craig, was killed by the UFF. This killing was attributed to Craig, although it was never proved.
Death
James Craig was shot dead by two gunmen from the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" in "The Castle Inn", a pub in Beersbridge Street, east Belfast on 15 October 1988, to where he had been lured in the belief that there was to have been a UDA meeting. He was drinking in the pub at the time of his fatal shooting by the two men, both of whom were wearing overalls and ski masks and carrying automatic weapons. Upon spotting Craig they opened fire, spraying the room with gunfire. Craig died instantly; an elderly pensioner was also killed in the attack, and four others wounded. The UFF claimed the killing was carried out on account of Craig's "treason" and involvement in John McMichael's death as they knew he had provided the IRA with the information which enabled them to successfully carry out the assassination. They also apologised for the accidental death of the pensioner. Craig was not given a paramilitary-style funeral, nor did any of the leading UDA members attend it.Andy Tyrie
Andy Tyrie
Andrew "Andy" Tyrie is an Ulster loyalist and served as commander of the Ulster Defence Association during much of its early history...
, the UDA's former supreme commander, was not convinced of Craig's complicity in McMichael's killing. In an interview with Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (Journalist)
Peter Taylor born in Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire is a British journalist and documentary-maker who had covered for many years the political and armed conflict in Northern Ireland, widely known as the Troubles...
, he stated that after McMichael's death, the UDA set up an inquiry, but couldn't find any solid proof which linked Craig to McMichael's assassination. Tyrie maintained that the two men had been good friends, and that Craig had even given McMichael the sum of £20,000 to keep the latter's pub (The Admiral Benbow) from failing. Tyrie suggested that Craig was a suspect on account that his wife was Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Tyrie insisted that John Hanna, a prison officer in the Maze, had supplied the IRA with information about McMichael through a well-known Catholic actress with whom Hanna was infatuated. The actress was an Intelligence Officer of the IRA. McMichael's son, Gary
Gary McMichael
Gary McMichael is the son of former Ulster Defence Association leader John McMichael and was the leader of the now defunct Ulster Democratic Party during the peace process....
, however, firmly believed Craig to have been the person behind his father's killing. Less than three months after McMichael's death, Tyrie himself narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by a car bomb; he subsequently tendered his resignation as commander.
Reputation
According to journalist David McKittrick, Craig's "notoriety and range of enemies meant he could have been killed by almost any paramilitary group, loyalist or republican". Described as stocky of build, he wore expensive clothing and jewellery, and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle from the proceeds of his racketeering. Author and journalist Martin DillonMartin Dillon
Martin Dillon is an author and journalist from Northern Ireland. He worked for eighteen years at the BBC and has written a number of plays and novels, but he is best known for his non-fiction books about the Troubles....
wrote that Craig was not intelligent; however, he was "cunning, boastful, and ruthless" in character.
There was also much antipathy between him and UDA brigadier Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle
Tommy Lyttle
Tommy "Tucker" Lyttle , was a high-ranking Northern Irish loyalist who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association . He served as the UDA's spokesman as well as the leader of the organisation's West Belfast Brigade from 1975 until his arrest and imprisonment in 1990...
due to Craig having allegedly made Lyttle's daughter pregnant. Later it was revealed that Lyttle worked as an informer for the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
's Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
. Lyttle died of natural causes in October 1995.
Craig reportedly invited RUC officers to an extravagant wedding reception held for his daughter. Author Sally Belfrage
Sally Belfrage
Sally Belfrage was an United States-born British-based 20th century non-fiction writer and international journalist...
who encountered Craig at an "Eleventh night
Eleventh night
In Northern Ireland, the Eleventh Night or 11th Night refers to the night before the Twelfth of July, an annual Protestant commemoration of the Battle of the Boyne . On this night, many Protestant, unionist and loyalist communities in Northern Ireland light bonfires...
" party held at the UDA's east Belfast headquarters, summed him up as "the most personally powerful man I had ever met, with an air of animal force that inspired awe at the idea of its ever being let loose. He was also as drunk as I had ever seen anyone in my life who could still more or less negotiate a sentence and a sequence of steps." She claimed Craig had propositioned her; when she rebuffed his advances he took it in his stride, and grabbing a microphone, went on to lead the other revellers in a rendition of "The Sash My Father Wore".
Dillon, in his book about the violent loyalist gang, the Shankill Butchers
Shankill Butchers
The Shankill Butchers is the name given to an Ulster loyalist gang, many of whom were members of the Ulster Volunteer Force . The gang conducted paramilitary activities during the 1970s in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was most notorious for its late-night kidnapping, torture and murder of random...
, recounted how Craig casually killed a man in a UDA club after a fellow UDA member handed him a jammed pistol. Craig, testing the weapon, allegedly pointed it at a man who was playing pool, and shot him in the head, killing him on the spot. Craig then gave orders for the man's body to be removed from the club and dumped in the adjacent alleyway. Dillon was also firmly convinced he had killed UDA commander William "Bucky" McCullough in October 1981 after the latter discovered Craig had been stealing funds from the UDA for his own personal use. The Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA) had claimed responsibility for the killing.
Jackie McDonald
Jackie McDonald
John "Jackie" McDonald is a senior Northern Irish loyalist and the incumbent Ulster Defence Association brigadier for South Belfast, having been promoted to the rank by former UDA commander Andy Tyrie in 1988, following John McMichael's killing by the Provisional IRA in December 1987...
, who was part of Craig's protection racket, was arrested in 1989. He had taken over McMichael's command of the South Belfast UDA, having been promoted to the rank of brigadier by Andy Tyrie in 1988. In January 1990, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment inside the Maze for extortion, blackmail, and intimidation. McDonald was released in 1994. In an interview with Peter Taylor, he made the following statement regarding his former association with Craig:
"I would say without a shadow of doubt the worst thing that ever happened to South Belfast, John McMichael and myself especially, was that Jim Craig ever had anything to do with our organisation".One builder who later assisted the RUC when they set up an anti-racketeering unit, admitted that he had paid out protection money throughout the 1980s to Craig and his henchmen. The amount of money he handed over increased steadily with each passing year.
Dillon suggested that prior to Craig's killing, younger elements within the UDA, who were loyal supporters of McMichael, discovered (by means which Dillon did not divulge) that the RUC's anti-racketeering squad CI3 had videotaped a clandestine meeting between Craig and a member of the IRA's Northern Command
IRA Northern Command
Northern Command was a command division in the Irish Republican Army and Provisional IRA, responsible for directing IRA operations in the northern part of Ireland.-IRA:...
. It was this which had sealed Craig's fate.