1. John McMichael was a Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent and charismatic figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade.
30 Facts About John McMichael
1. 2.
John McMichael was commander of the "Ulster Freedom Fighters", a cover name for the UDA, overseeing an assassination campaign against prominent republican figures whose details were included in a notorious "shopping list" derived from leaked security forces documents.
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John McMichael was killed outside his home by a booby-trap car bomb which was carried out by the Provisional IRA.
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John McMichael was born in Lisburn, County Antrim on 9 January 1948, one of the children of John and Annie McMichael.
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John McMichael came from a working-class background, and was brought up in the Church of Ireland religion.
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John McMichael had married twice and was the father of two sons, Gary and Saul.
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John McMichael, who owned and operated the "Admiral Benbow" pub in his native Lisburn, initially rose to prominence in the UDA in the 1970s as the commander of the South Belfast Brigade and a member of its Inner Council, where he became known for his belief in the unique identity of Ulster Protestants, as well as his talent as an organiser.
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John McMichael had taken over command of the South Belfast UDA from Sammy Murphy, who had led the Sandy Row unit.
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John McMichael was a supporter of the ideas of Ian Adamson a paediatrician, and subsequently a Unionist politician, who self-funded a series of books and pamphlets about the alleged ancient origins of Ulster people as a separate ethnic group to the rest of the Irish.
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John McMichael hand-picked his own squad for this task and throughout 1980 a number of the targets were assassinated.
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Rodney McCormick, a less prominent IRSP member, was killed in Larne soon afterwards before John McMichael's team struck again, killing Irish republican Ronnie Bunting and his friend Noel Lyttle at Bunting's Turf Lodge home on 15 October 1980.
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John McMichael himself was arrested in April 1981 in the wake of a Royal Ulster Constabulary raid on UDA headquarters.
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John McMichael was brought before the court as it was alleged he and his men had organised the McAliskey shootings.
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John McMichael came to support the ideas of republican Danny Morrison regarding the Armalite and ballot box strategy and felt that the UDA should build up a political wing to this end.
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John McMichael himself put the failure down to the lack of bombing expertise in the UDA.
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John McMichael sat on the Ulster Clubs executive and its security committee.
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When he returned from the trip he reported his findings to John McMichael, who had previously received reports regarding Nelson's unsatisfactory conduct in South Africa.
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Four years earlier, John McMichael had hoped to draw Catholic support for Beyond the Religious Divide, having made the following statement.
19.
British journalist Peter Taylor, who met John McMichael, described him as having been "articulate and tough", and his son by his first marriage, Gary, said of his father:.
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John McMichael was a well-respected person within the loyalist community and his credentials were extremely strong.
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John McMichael was killed by a bomb attached to his car outside his Hilden Court home, in Lisburn's loyalist Hilden estate on 22 December 1987, shortly before his fortieth birthday.
22.
John McMichael was on his way to deliver Christmas turkeys to the families of loyalist prisoners.
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John McMichael lost both legs in the blast and suffered grave internal injuries.
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John McMichael was rushed to Lagan Valley Hospital but died shortly afterwards.
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John McMichael initially planned to take his two-year-old son Saul with him to deliver the turkeys, but had changed his mind at the last minute.
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John McMichael later told the inquest into his death that he had been away from home for two weeks and had returned the day he was killed.
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John McMichael was buried at the New Blaris Cemetery in Lisburn.
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John McMichael had been warned that the IRA had already made an attempt to kill him just one week before his assassination.
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John McMichael was killed because he was the best person we had and the Republican Movement didn't like him.
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John McMichael's widow, Shirley McMichael is a member of the Forum For Victims and Survivors, a group established to bring healing to those who were themselves victims or lost loved ones in The Troubles.