Ken Gibson (loyalist)
Encyclopedia
Kenneth "Ken" Gibson was a Northern Irish
politician, who acted as the Chairman of the Volunteer Political Party
(VPP) which he had helped to form in 1974. He also served as a former spokesman and Chief of Staff of the loyalist
paramilitary organistion, the Ulster Volunteer Force
(UVF).
, Northern Ireland, Gibson was raised in the Free Presbyterian
religion. He later took up painting Orange Order banners. Author Sarah Nelson described him as a "skilled manual worker". In the early stages of The Troubles
, he joined the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force
(UVF) and soon had a seat on its Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership on the Shankill Road). According to journalist Joe Tiernan, Gibson, leader Jim Hanna
from the Shankill Road UVF, and senior West Belfast member Billy Mitchell
, comprised part of the UVF team that planted the Liberty Hall and Sackville Place car bombs in Dublin in December 1972 and January 1973, which left a total of three men dead and 133 people injured. Tiernan also maintained that Gibson and his bombing unit were directed and controlled by officers from the British Intelligence community operating out of Army Headquarters in Lisburn. Gibson was subsequently interned
in Long Kesh Prison for militant loyalist activities; however, he was released from prison that same year (1973). This brief experience inside Long Kesh left him a vehement opponent of internment. He then became a leading figure in the Loyalist Association of Workers
, a joint UVF-Ulster Defence Association
(UDA) front organisation which was eventually merged into the Ulster Workers' Council.
By 1974 Gibson was the UVF's Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General as well as the official spokesman. With the Supreme Commander Gusty Spence
in prison since 1966, Gibson became the organisation's "leading personality". Tim Pat Coogan
has stated that in 1974 Gibson was the "leader of the UVF". He was one of the organisation's strike leaders during the Ulster Workers' Council Strike
in May 1974, having been brought onto the UWC's central committee the previous March. Indeed Gibson had been one of only three paramilitaries to be invited to the secret meeting with Stanley Orme that was held immediately prior to the strike in an attempt to avoid the industrial action. The others in attendance were UDA kingpins Andy Tyrie
and Tommy Lyttle
. When asked a direct question by Orme, Gibson, who was the trio's representative, replied: "We are only here as observers". The general strike
had been called by unionists and loyalists to protest against the Sunningdale Agreement
. This was an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a Northern Ireland Executive
and a cross-border Council of Ireland
which would have given the Irish Government
a voice in running Northern Ireland. On 17 May 1974, the third day of the UWC strike, the UVF exploded three no-warning
car bombs in the city centre of Dublin and a fourth car bomb in Monaghan
, resulting in the deaths of 33 people. Almost 300 were injured; many scarred and maimed for life. Nobody was ever charged in connection with the bombings which were carried out by units from the UVF's Belfast and Mid-Ulster
brigades.
(VPP) that was formed in June 1974 by members of the UVF, which had been legalised two months before by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
, Merlyn Rees.
He publicly stated that the new party endorsed the idea of the establishment of an all-party talks forum, a policy that was seen as attractive to the British government. Gibson also added that if the UVF's efforts did not yield results then "there's going to be nothing left in Northern Ireland but for the Ulster Volunteer Force to go ahead and fight for Ulster". Gibson's campaign also focused on the poor standard of social housing on the Shankill Road, in particular the blocks of flats that were known colloquially as "Weetabix
" due to a supposed resemblance to the cuboid shaped, crumbly breakfast cereal.
In part due to their focus on social deprivation Gibson and the VPP were attacked by a number of unionist politicians, most notably Rev Martin Smyth
and John Taylor
of the Ulster Unionist Party
, who suggested that their working class approach to politics represented a form of communism
. Much of this stemmed from the "Ulster Citizens Army", a supposedly loyalist paramilitary group that wrote a series of letters to the press expressing left-wing views on paper headed with the left-wing republican starry plough emblem. Rumours circulated that this group was in fact the UVF and that they had gone over to communism, although in fact the Ulster Citizens Army had never existed and was simply black propaganda
spread by the British Army
press office in Lisburn, known colloquially as the "Lisburn Lie Machine". For their part the UVF issued a statment in their magazine Combat stating that they and the VPP were opposed to "all shades of communism, socialism
and liberalism
". Gibson also disavowed the Ulster nationalist ideas being proposed by the likes of Glenn Barr
and Kennedy Lindsay
at the time, arguing that Northern Ireland was too small to be economically viable as an independent state. Gibson, out of frustration with his party's inability to win support from ordinary, working class people, hit the table one night shouting: "Scum, rats [the politicians and Orangemen] 'I've told the people out there, but they're afraid. I've told them, you can run this country, you can have anything you want.'"
Gibson stood as the VPP's candidate for the West Belfast constituency
in the October 1974 General Election
. His candidacy came in for criticism from within the UVF. Gusty Spence, who supported the formation of the VPP, criticised Gibson's decision to run for election, arguing that it was much too soon for the party to think about making any inroads on the mainstream unionist vote. Stronger criticism came from an anonymous commentator, identified by Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald
as a "senior west Belfast UVF figure at the time", who claimed that not only did Gibson attempt to force him out of his role as head of the Young Citizen Volunteers
but even accused Gibson of orchestrating the assassination of former UVF Chief of Staff Jim Hanna, who was killed on 1 April 1974. Although Gibson received the support of West Belfast UDA
leader Charles Harding Smith
, Glenn Barr of Vanguard
and independent Shankill councillor Hugh Smyth
, he finished fourth behind the Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP) candidate John McQuade
, who garnered 16,265 votes against Gibson's 2,690, with the seat won by the incumbent MP, Gerry Fitt
of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP).
The VPP was dissolved shortly afterwards as the UVF accepted there was little interest in their forming a political arm. As a result Hugh Smyth was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
in 1975 as an independent Unionist
.
between the UVF and the UDA broke out in east Belfast, where the UDA was much larger, as part of a wider deterioration in relations between the two paramilitary groups. As part of this strife Gibson had a grenade lobbed at his house by local UDA members. Gibson publicly accused the UDA of "gangster activities" in the aftermath of the attack. As the conflict escalated the UDA attempted to abduct Gibson outside an east Belfast bar on 6 May 1975. He broke free but broke his arm in the struggle before UVF members drinking at the bar came out to help him. In the resulting struggle one UDA member was shot and another stabbed, neither fatally. The UVF responded to the attack on Gibson by attempting to blow up the Newtownards Road headquarters of the east Belfast UDA, although the bomb was intercepted by security forces whose presence in the area had increased as a result of the feud.
Around this time Gibson and Billy Mitchell met with Ian Paisley
at his Martyrs' Memorial Church in a largely unsuccessful attempt to heal rifts that had opened between the paramilitaries and the United Ulster Unionist Council
with the UVF feeling that they had been sidelined in the new coalition. Gibson had already criticised Paisley for his failure to take the Carson route of publicly supporting the UVF. Both Gibson and Mitchell had been members of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
, although by the time of the meeting that had both long since left the religion.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
politician, who acted as the Chairman of the Volunteer Political Party
Volunteer Political Party
The Volunteer Political Party was a loyalist political party launched in Northern Ireland on 22 June 1974 by members of the then recently legalised Ulster Volunteer Force . The Chairman was Ken Gibson from East Belfast, an ex-internee and UVF chief of staff at the time...
(VPP) which he had helped to form in 1974. He also served as a former spokesman and Chief of Staff of the loyalist
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...
paramilitary organistion, the Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...
(UVF).
Ulster Volunteer Force
Born in staunchly loyalist East BelfastBelfast
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...
, Northern Ireland, Gibson was raised in the Free Presbyterian
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
The Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination founded by the Rev. Ian Paisley in 1951. Most of its members live in Northern Ireland...
religion. He later took up painting Orange Order banners. Author Sarah Nelson described him as a "skilled manual worker". In the early stages of The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
, he joined the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...
(UVF) and soon had a seat on its Brigade Staff (Belfast leadership on the Shankill Road). According to journalist Joe Tiernan, Gibson, leader Jim Hanna
Jim Hanna (loyalist)
James Andrew "Jim" Hanna, also known as Red Setter, was a senior member of the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force until he was shot dead by fellow members, for being an alleged informer. Journalists Joe Tiernan and Kevin Myers described him as having...
from the Shankill Road UVF, and senior West Belfast member Billy Mitchell
Billy Mitchell (loyalist)
Billy Mitchell was a Northern Irish community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party. Mitchell was a leading member of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force and served a life sentence for his part in a double murder but later abandoned UVF membership and took up cross-community...
, comprised part of the UVF team that planted the Liberty Hall and Sackville Place car bombs in Dublin in December 1972 and January 1973, which left a total of three men dead and 133 people injured. Tiernan also maintained that Gibson and his bombing unit were directed and controlled by officers from the British Intelligence community operating out of Army Headquarters in Lisburn. Gibson was subsequently interned
Operation Demetrius
Operation Demetrius began in Northern Ireland on the morning of Monday 9 August 1971. Operation Demetrius was launched by the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary and involved arresting and interning people accused of being paramilitary members...
in Long Kesh Prison for militant loyalist activities; however, he was released from prison that same year (1973). This brief experience inside Long Kesh left him a vehement opponent of internment. He then became a leading figure in the Loyalist Association of Workers
Loyalist Association of Workers
The Loyalist Association of Workers was a militant unionist organisation in Northern Ireland that sought to mobilise trade union members in support of the loyalist cause...
, a joint UVF-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) front organisation which was eventually merged into the Ulster Workers' Council.
By 1974 Gibson was the UVF's Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General as well as the official spokesman. With the Supreme Commander Gusty Spence
Gusty Spence
Augustus Andrew "Gusty" Spence was a leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force and a leading loyalist politician. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade but later renounced violence and joined the Progressive Unionist...
in prison since 1966, Gibson became the organisation's "leading personality". Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
has stated that in 1974 Gibson was the "leader of the UVF". He was one of the organisation's strike leaders during the Ulster Workers' Council Strike
Ulster Workers' Council Strike
The Ulster Workers' Council strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "The Troubles". The strike was called by loyalists and unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had been signed in December 1973...
in May 1974, having been brought onto the UWC's central committee the previous March. Indeed Gibson had been one of only three paramilitaries to be invited to the secret meeting with Stanley Orme that was held immediately prior to the strike in an attempt to avoid the industrial action. The others in attendance were UDA kingpins 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...
and Tommy 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...
. When asked a direct question by Orme, Gibson, who was the trio's representative, replied: "We are only here as observers". The general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
had been called by unionists and loyalists to protest against the Sunningdale Agreement
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...
. This was an attempt at power-sharing, setting up a Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
and a cross-border Council of Ireland
Council of Ireland
The Council of Ireland may refer to one of two councils, one established in the 1920s, the other in the 1970s.-Council of Ireland :...
which would have given the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
a voice in running Northern Ireland. On 17 May 1974, the third day of the UWC strike, the UVF exploded three no-warning
Dublin and Monaghan Bombings
The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of car bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300 – the highest number of casualties in any single day during the conflict known as The Troubles.A loyalist...
car bombs in the city centre of Dublin and a fourth car bomb in Monaghan
Monaghan
Monaghan is the county town of County Monaghan in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 7,811 . The town is located on the main road, the N2 road, from Dublin north to both Derry and Letterkenny.-Toponym:...
, resulting in the deaths of 33 people. Almost 300 were injured; many scarred and maimed for life. Nobody was ever charged in connection with the bombings which were carried out by units from the UVF's Belfast and Mid-Ulster
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the...
brigades.
Volunteer Political Party
Following his release from prison in 1973, Gibson was chosen to serve as the public spokesman for the UVF. He was subsequently appointed as the Chairman of the short-lived Volunteer Political PartyVolunteer Political Party
The Volunteer Political Party was a loyalist political party launched in Northern Ireland on 22 June 1974 by members of the then recently legalised Ulster Volunteer Force . The Chairman was Ken Gibson from East Belfast, an ex-internee and UVF chief of staff at the time...
(VPP) that was formed in June 1974 by members of the UVF, which had been legalised two months before by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
, Merlyn Rees.
He publicly stated that the new party endorsed the idea of the establishment of an all-party talks forum, a policy that was seen as attractive to the British government. Gibson also added that if the UVF's efforts did not yield results then "there's going to be nothing left in Northern Ireland but for the Ulster Volunteer Force to go ahead and fight for Ulster". Gibson's campaign also focused on the poor standard of social housing on the Shankill Road, in particular the blocks of flats that were known colloquially as "Weetabix
Weetabix
Weetabix is a whole grain wheat breakfast cereal produced by Weetabix Limited of the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized biscuits. Variants include organic and Weetabix Minis versions. The UK cereal is manufactured in Burton Latimer, Kettering, United Kingdom and in Canada and...
" due to a supposed resemblance to the cuboid shaped, crumbly breakfast cereal.
In part due to their focus on social deprivation Gibson and the VPP were attacked by a number of unionist politicians, most notably Rev Martin Smyth
Martin Smyth
Reverend William Martin Smyth is a Northern Irish unionist politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 1982-2005...
and John Taylor
John Taylor, Baron Kilclooney
John David Taylor, Baron Kilclooney, PC , is a former Ulster Unionist Party MP and a life peer. He was deputy leader of the UUP from 1995 to 2001, and a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.-Career and family:...
of the Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
, who suggested that their working class approach to politics represented a form of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Much of this stemmed from the "Ulster Citizens Army", a supposedly loyalist paramilitary group that wrote a series of letters to the press expressing left-wing views on paper headed with the left-wing republican starry plough emblem. Rumours circulated that this group was in fact the UVF and that they had gone over to communism, although in fact the Ulster Citizens Army had never existed and was simply black propaganda
Black propaganda
Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side. It is typically used to vilify, embarrass or misrepresent the enemy...
spread by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
press office in Lisburn, known colloquially as the "Lisburn Lie Machine". For their part the UVF issued a statment in their magazine Combat stating that they and the VPP were opposed to "all shades of communism, socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
". Gibson also disavowed the Ulster nationalist ideas being proposed by the likes of Glenn Barr
Glenn Barr
Glenn Barr, OBE , is a former politician from Derry, Northern Ireland who was an advocate of Ulster nationalism. For a time during the 1970s he straddled both Unionism and Loyalism due to simultaneously holding important positions in the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Defence...
and Kennedy Lindsay
Kennedy Lindsay
Kennedy Lindsay was a Northern Ireland politician and a leading advocate of Ulster nationalism.Born in Saskatchewan, Canada of Ulster Scots descent, Lindsay was educated at Trinity College, Dublin...
at the time, arguing that Northern Ireland was too small to be economically viable as an independent state. Gibson, out of frustration with his party's inability to win support from ordinary, working class people, hit the table one night shouting: "Scum, rats [the politicians and Orangemen] 'I've told the people out there, but they're afraid. I've told them, you can run this country, you can have anything you want.'"
Gibson stood as the VPP's candidate for the West Belfast constituency
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
in the October 1974 General Election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
. His candidacy came in for criticism from within the UVF. Gusty Spence, who supported the formation of the VPP, criticised Gibson's decision to run for election, arguing that it was much too soon for the party to think about making any inroads on the mainstream unionist vote. Stronger criticism came from an anonymous commentator, identified by Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald
Henry McDonald (writer)
Henry McDonald is a writer and is the Irish editor for The Observer, the sister paper of The Guardian.McDonald has written extensively about The Troubles, its precedents, its consequences, its demographics, and such. He was born in the nationalist Markets area of Belfast and attended St. Malachy's...
as a "senior west Belfast UVF figure at the time", who claimed that not only did Gibson attempt to force him out of his role as head of the Young Citizen Volunteers
Young Citizen Volunteers
The Young Citizen Volunteers of Northern Ireland had its first meeting just prior to the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant , opposing Home Rule, in Belfast City Hall on September 10, 1912...
but even accused Gibson of orchestrating the assassination of former UVF Chief of Staff Jim Hanna, who was killed on 1 April 1974. Although Gibson received the support of West Belfast UDA
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"...
leader Charles Harding Smith
Charles Harding Smith
Charles Harding Smith was a loyalist leader in Northern Ireland and the first effective leader of the Ulster Defence Association...
, Glenn Barr of Vanguard
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
and independent Shankill councillor Hugh Smyth
Hugh Smyth
Cllr Hugh Smyth is a former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He is a long-serving member of Belfast City Council and former Lord Mayor of Belfast. He is also the longest-serving member of the council, having represented the Upper Shankill areas since 1973...
, he finished fourth behind the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP) candidate John McQuade
John McQuade
John McQuade , known as Johnny McQuade, was a Northern Ireland politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins....
, who garnered 16,265 votes against Gibson's 2,690, with the seat won by the incumbent MP, Gerry Fitt
Gerry Fitt
Gerard Fitt, Baron Fitt was a politician in Northern Ireland. He was a founder and the first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party , a social democratic and Irish nationalist party.-Early years:...
of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP).
The VPP was dissolved shortly afterwards as the UVF accepted there was little interest in their forming a political arm. As a result Hugh Smyth was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....
in 1975 as an independent Unionist
Independent Unionist
See also Independent .Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state....
.
Feud
In July 1974 a loyalist feudLoyalist feud
A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups since they were founded shortly before and after the religious/political conflict known as The Troubles broke out in the late 1960s...
between the UVF and the UDA broke out in east Belfast, where the UDA was much larger, as part of a wider deterioration in relations between the two paramilitary groups. As part of this strife Gibson had a grenade lobbed at his house by local UDA members. Gibson publicly accused the UDA of "gangster activities" in the aftermath of the attack. As the conflict escalated the UDA attempted to abduct Gibson outside an east Belfast bar on 6 May 1975. He broke free but broke his arm in the struggle before UVF members drinking at the bar came out to help him. In the resulting struggle one UDA member was shot and another stabbed, neither fatally. The UVF responded to the attack on Gibson by attempting to blow up the Newtownards Road headquarters of the east Belfast UDA, although the bomb was intercepted by security forces whose presence in the area had increased as a result of the feud.
Around this time Gibson and Billy Mitchell met with Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
at his Martyrs' Memorial Church in a largely unsuccessful attempt to heal rifts that had opened between the paramilitaries and the United Ulster Unionist Council
United Ulster Unionist Council
The United Ulster Unionist Council was a body that sought to bring together the Unionists opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement in Northern Ireland.-Formation:The UUUC was established in January 1974...
with the UVF feeling that they had been sidelined in the new coalition. Gibson had already criticised Paisley for his failure to take the Carson route of publicly supporting the UVF. Both Gibson and Mitchell had been members of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
The Free Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination founded by the Rev. Ian Paisley in 1951. Most of its members live in Northern Ireland...
, although by the time of the meeting that had both long since left the religion.