Ulster Protestant Action
Encyclopedia
Ulster Protestant Action (UPA) was an loyalist
and Protestant fundamentalist
vigilante
group in Northern Ireland
.
The group was founded at a special meeting at the Ulster Unionist Party
's offices in Glengall Street, Belfast
, in 1956. Among the attendees were many loyalists
who were to become major figures in the 1960s and 1970, such as Ian Paisley
and Desmond Boal
. The independent unionist MP Norman Porter
also attended, but left immediately and took no further part in the group.
The meeting's declared purpose was to organise the defence of Protestant areas against anticipated Irish Republican Army (IRA) activity, as the old Ulster Protestant Association had done after the partition of Ireland
in 1920, often by organising assassination missions into Catholic areas of Belfast. The new body decided to call itself "Ulster Protestant Action", and the first year of its existence was taken up with the discussion of vigilante patrols, street barricades, and drawing up lists of IRA suspects in both Belfast and in rural areas.
The initial executive of the UPA consisted of John McQuade
, Billy Spence
, Charles McCullough
, Richard Fenton, Frank Millar
, Sammy Verner, Herbert Ditty
, Bob Newman and Noel Doherty
, with Paisley as an ex-officio member.
Even though no IRA threat materialised in Belfast, and despite it becoming clear that the IRA's activities during the Border Campaign
were to be limited to the border areas, Ulster Protestant Action remained in being. Factory and workplace branches were formed under the UPA, including one by Paisley in Belfast's Ravenhill area under his direct control. The concern of the UPA increasingly came to focus on the defence of "Bible Protestantism" and Protestant interests where jobs and housing were concerned.
Although initially opposed to professional politicians, specifically banning them from membership of the group, the UPA stood the former Belfast City Councillor and superintendent of an independent gospel mission, Albert Duff, against Brian Maginess
in Iveagh
at the Northern Ireland general election, 1958
. Maginess was perceived as being sympathetic to Catholics, having banned an Orange Order parade in 1952, and Duff was able to take 41.5% of the vote, although he failed to win the seat. Duff was more successful in May 1958, when he regained a seat on Belfast City Council, with Charles McCullough
also taking a seat for the UPA, while, in 1960, Boal won the Belfast Shankill
constituency at Stormont as an official Ulster Unionist Party
candidate.
As Paisley came to dominate Ulster Protestant Action, he received his first convictions for public order offences. In June 1959, a major riot occurred on the Shankill Road in Belfast following a rally he had spoken at. His moves to form a protestant unionist political party caused tensions in the group, and Paisley's supporters formed their own "Premier" branch of the UPA, serving to reinforce their control of the group.
In the 1960s, Paisley and the UPA campaigned against Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Terence O'Neill
's rapprochement with the Republic of Ireland
and his meetings with Taoiseach
of the Republic, Seán Lemass
, a veteran of the Easter Rising
of 1916 and the anti-Treaty IRA. He opposed efforts by O'Neill to deliver civil rights
to the minority nationalist
community in Northern Ireland, especially the proposed abolition of gerrymandering of local electoral areas for the election of urban and county councils. In 1964 his demand that the Royal Ulster Constabulary
remove an Irish Tricolour
from Sinn Féin
's Belfast offices led to two days of rioting after this was followed through. In the aftermath of these protests, Duff and James McCarroll were elected to Belfast City Council for the UPA. In 1966, the group reformed as the Protestant Unionist Party
.
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...
and Protestant fundamentalist
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
group in Northern Ireland
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...
.
The group was founded at a special meeting at 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...
's offices in Glengall Street, 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...
, in 1956. Among the attendees were many loyalists
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 were to become major figures in the 1960s and 1970, such as 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...
and Desmond Boal
Desmond Boal
Desmond Boal is a former Unionist politician and barrister from Northern Ireland.Boal had a legal career before he entered politics in 1960. He was the Unionist member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland for the Shankill constituency between 1960 and 1972...
. The independent unionist MP Norman Porter
Norman Porter
Norman Porter was a loyalist politician in Northern Ireland.A lay preacher, an Orangeman, an Apprentice Boy and a member of the Royal Black Institution, Porter became the leader of the National Union of Protestants in Northern Ireland in 1948. Ian Paisley joined the Union in about 1950, but left...
also attended, but left immediately and took no further part in the group.
The meeting's declared purpose was to organise the defence of Protestant areas against anticipated Irish Republican Army (IRA) activity, as the old Ulster Protestant Association had done after the partition of Ireland
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
in 1920, often by organising assassination missions into Catholic areas of Belfast. The new body decided to call itself "Ulster Protestant Action", and the first year of its existence was taken up with the discussion of vigilante patrols, street barricades, and drawing up lists of IRA suspects in both Belfast and in rural areas.
The initial executive of the UPA consisted of 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....
, Billy Spence
Billy Spence
Billy Spence was a loyalist activist in Northern Ireland. A native of the Shankill Road area of Belfast Spence was a leading figure with both Ulster Protestant Action and the Ulster Volunteer Force.-Early life:...
, Charles McCullough
Charles McCullough
Charles McCullough, sometimes known as Charlie McCullough, is a former unionist politician in Northern Ireland.McCullough was based on the Shankill Road. He was a member of the founding executive of Ulster Protestant Action, in 1956. He was elected to Belfast City Council for the group in 1958,...
, Richard Fenton, Frank Millar
Frank Millar
Frank Millar was a Northern Irish unionist politician.Millar worked in the shipyards, where he became a shop steward, before becoming a founder member of Ulster Protestant Action in 1956....
, Sammy Verner, Herbert Ditty
Herbert Ditty
Herbert Ditty was a lifelong Ulster Unionist politician, representing the Shankill Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland.Ditty was a founding member of the Ulster Protestant Action executive in the 1950s....
, Bob Newman and Noel Doherty
Noel Doherty
Noel Doherty was a Northern Irish loyalist activist who was close to Ian Paisley during his early years in politics. He served as leader of the Ulster Protestant Volunteers and was imprisoned for his involvement in procuring explosives for that movement.-Early years:As a young man in school...
, with Paisley as an ex-officio member.
Even though no IRA threat materialised in Belfast, and despite it becoming clear that the IRA's activities during the Border Campaign
Border Campaign (IRA)
The Border Campaign was a campaign of guerrilla warfare carried out by the Irish Republican Army against targets in Northern Ireland, with the aim of overthrowing British rule there and creating a united Ireland.Popularly referred to as the Border Campaign, it was also referred to as the...
were to be limited to the border areas, Ulster Protestant Action remained in being. Factory and workplace branches were formed under the UPA, including one by Paisley in Belfast's Ravenhill area under his direct control. The concern of the UPA increasingly came to focus on the defence of "Bible Protestantism" and Protestant interests where jobs and housing were concerned.
Although initially opposed to professional politicians, specifically banning them from membership of the group, the UPA stood the former Belfast City Councillor and superintendent of an independent gospel mission, Albert Duff, against Brian Maginess
Brian Maginess
William Brian Maginess, QC was a member of the Government of Northern Ireland, who was widely seen as a possible successor to Lord Brookeborough as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland....
in Iveagh
Iveagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Iveagh was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Iveagh was a county constituency comprising part of northern County Down, south west of Belfast. It was created when the House of Commons Act 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland...
at the Northern Ireland general election, 1958
Northern Ireland general election, 1958
-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1958...
. Maginess was perceived as being sympathetic to Catholics, having banned an Orange Order parade in 1952, and Duff was able to take 41.5% of the vote, although he failed to win the seat. Duff was more successful in May 1958, when he regained a seat on Belfast City Council, with Charles McCullough
Charles McCullough
Charles McCullough, sometimes known as Charlie McCullough, is a former unionist politician in Northern Ireland.McCullough was based on the Shankill Road. He was a member of the founding executive of Ulster Protestant Action, in 1956. He was elected to Belfast City Council for the group in 1958,...
also taking a seat for the UPA, while, in 1960, Boal won the Belfast Shankill
Belfast Shankill (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Belfast Shankill was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Shankill was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast...
constituency at Stormont as an official 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...
candidate.
As Paisley came to dominate Ulster Protestant Action, he received his first convictions for public order offences. In June 1959, a major riot occurred on the Shankill Road in Belfast following a rally he had spoken at. His moves to form a protestant unionist political party caused tensions in the group, and Paisley's supporters formed their own "Premier" branch of the UPA, serving to reinforce their control of the group.
In the 1960s, Paisley and the UPA campaigned against Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
's rapprochement with the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and his meetings with Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
of the Republic, Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....
, a veteran of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916 and the anti-Treaty IRA. He opposed efforts by O'Neill to deliver civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
to the minority nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
community in Northern Ireland, especially the proposed abolition of gerrymandering of local electoral areas for the election of urban and county councils. In 1964 his demand that 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...
remove an Irish Tricolour
Flag of Ireland
The national flag of Ireland is a vertical tricolour of green , white, and orange. It is also known as the Irish tricolour. The flag proportion is 1:2...
from Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
's Belfast offices led to two days of rioting after this was followed through. In the aftermath of these protests, Duff and James McCarroll were elected to Belfast City Council for the UPA. In 1966, the group reformed as the Protestant Unionist Party
Protestant Unionist Party
The Protestant Unionist Party was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was set up by Ian Paisley, and was the forerunner of the modern Democratic Unionist Party and emerged from the Ulster Protestant Action movement.The UPA had two councillors elected,...
.