Loyalist: Encyclopedia II - Loyalist - Loyalists in Northern Ireland

Loyalist - Loyalists in Northern Ireland

See also: Ulster Loyalist

A loyalist in Northern Ireland is another name for a Unionist who feels strongly about the political union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In recent times, however, some sections of the media have devalued the term to refer to someone on the extreme fringe of unionism who resorts to murder, or threatens to do so, in what they perceive as their defence of their community, Protestantism, or Northern Ireland's position as part of the United Kingdom. Loyalists in Northern Ireland usually live in small working-class areas in the major urban centres, such as Belfast and Londonderry. The rest of this article mainly refers to this second definition.

A number of loyalist paramilitary groups exist; these include the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Though loyalists claim to speak on behalf of their communities and the unionist community in general, the evidence of electoral contests would tend to suggest that their support is minimal and exclusively urban, working-class based. Only one moderate pro-Belfast Agreement loyalist party (the PUP) won any seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1999. Ideologically, loyalism is typified by a militant opposition to Irish Republicanism and Catholicism. It stresses Protestant identity and community with its own folk heroes and events, e.g. the heroic exploits of the 36th (Ulster) Division during World War I and through its association with the Orange Order.

Loyalism has a diverse following ranging from left-wing sympathisers to supporters of an independent Ulster to the British National Front.

Officially most loyalist organisations are in ceasefire mode as a result of the Belfast Agreement, though numerous breaches of the ceasefire have been recorded. Many loyalist groups are heavily involved in the drugs trade.

Relatives of the victims of loyalist violence, whether nationalist or unionist, often contrast the vehemence with which the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party attack the IRA for killing and bombing, with their more muted responses to loyalist actions.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Loyalists in Northern Ireland", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki