UVF leader Gusty Spence dies.
Obituaries for Gusty Spence, former commander of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force.
Gusty Spence obituary - The Guardian
Former UVF leader turned peacemaker in Northern Ireland
Gusty Spence epitomised the paramilitary who became a peacemaker - Irish Times
Editor's Viewpoint: Spence pivotal in ending UVF's war - Belfast Telegraph
The paramilitary who became a peacemaker - BBC
Gerry Kelly (Sinn Fein MLA): Spence was 'major influence' in move away from violence - Irish Examiner
As a socialist republican, Spence is a character I always found fascinating.
A convicted sectarian killer he nevertheless represented the more intelligent and self-professed "socialist" wing of Ulster Loyalism, he himself was intrigued by the "Official IRA"/Worker's Party's policy of rapprochement and unity with the loyalist working-class,a position which perhaps inevitably led the the "Stickies" into a "two-nation" rejection of republicanism and ultimately into turning their guns onto the movement they once led.
Spence was instrumental in bringing the loyalist paramilitary factions into the peace process and personally announced the ceasefire of the UVF and UDA as head of the Combined Loyalist Military Command. He is probably the only loyalist I have ever felt it would have been interesting to sit down and talk politics with. This not withstanding, there was the blood of innocents on his hands and he was as central to fuelling 30 years of war as he was to ending it, and that should never be overlooked.
Gusty Spence obituary - The Guardian
Former UVF leader turned peacemaker in Northern Ireland
Gusty Spence epitomised the paramilitary who became a peacemaker - Irish Times
Editor's Viewpoint: Spence pivotal in ending UVF's war - Belfast Telegraph
The paramilitary who became a peacemaker - BBC
Gerry Kelly (Sinn Fein MLA): Spence was 'major influence' in move away from violence - Irish Examiner
As a socialist republican, Spence is a character I always found fascinating.
A convicted sectarian killer he nevertheless represented the more intelligent and self-professed "socialist" wing of Ulster Loyalism, he himself was intrigued by the "Official IRA"/Worker's Party's policy of rapprochement and unity with the loyalist working-class,a position which perhaps inevitably led the the "Stickies" into a "two-nation" rejection of republicanism and ultimately into turning their guns onto the movement they once led.
Spence was instrumental in bringing the loyalist paramilitary factions into the peace process and personally announced the ceasefire of the UVF and UDA as head of the Combined Loyalist Military Command. He is probably the only loyalist I have ever felt it would have been interesting to sit down and talk politics with. This not withstanding, there was the blood of innocents on his hands and he was as central to fuelling 30 years of war as he was to ending it, and that should never be overlooked.
0