23 Facts About Tommy Herron

Tommy Herron was a Northern Ireland loyalist and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association until his death in a fatal shooting.

Tommy Herron was born in 1938 in Newcastle, County Down to a Protestant father and a Roman Catholic mother.

Tommy Herron was a member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and regularly attended services at the Martyrs' Memorial Church, the group's headquarters on the Ravenhill Road in south-east Belfast.

Tommy Herron worked as a car salesman in East Belfast and was married to Hilary Wilson, by whom he had five children.

Tommy Herron was a leading member of the UDA, which was the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland, from its formation and emerged at the group's top man in East Belfast.

Under the name of the Ulster Citizen Army, Tommy Herron declared war on the British Army.

Tommy Herron called this off after two days of gunfire due to a lack of support, two more loyalists having been killed.

On 20 October 1972 Tommy Herron sent word to Colonel Sandy Boswell, the army commander in Belfast, that the trouble would end and it was to the relief of many that Tommy Herron left Belfast the following month, in the company of Billy Hull, to launch a tour of Canada promoting loyalism.

Tommy Herron garnered a reputation for his involvement in racketeering, something that Harding Smith had strongly condemned.

Tommy Herron summoned Fogel to his east Belfast office on 13 January 1973; when Fogel arrived, he was placed under arrest and detained for several hours.

Tommy Herron told Fogel that he could only remain in charge of Woodvale if he agreed to accept Harding Smith's leadership in West Belfast as a whole.

Tommy Herron's position came under increasing pressure and, in an attempt to save face, he again threw his weight behind a new Harding Smith initiative.

Michael Stone, a young UDA member who ran errands for Tommy Herron, had been near the house, and afterward asked Tommy Herron if he wanted him to kill a Provisional IRA member in retaliation.

Tommy Herron told Stone "wrong side, kid", indicating that he believed the murder had been perpetrated by the rival faction of the UDA.

Tommy Herron was arrested in August 1973 under the terms of the Emergency Powers Act.

Tommy Herron was released soon afterwards, but the story of the money was widely circulated in the press and it increased the growing discontent with his leadership in East Belfast, where many felt that he was increasingly using his role in the UDA to personally enrich himself.

Tommy Herron was known for swaggering around in the style of a mafia don, visibly carrying his legally held handgun, as well as for his short temper and sudden changes in mood.

Tommy Herron had argued that those who had joined or supported the UDA should be able to vote for its members, although in the event Tommy Herron struggled to convert his reputation as a loyalist hard case into that of a political figure.

Tommy Herron was kidnapped in September 1973, and died by one gunshot to the head.

Tommy Herron's body was found in a ditch near Drumbo, County Antrim.

Tommy Herron's death has often been ascribed to other members of the UDA, either in protest at his involvement in racketeering or as part of the ongoing feud, while the UDA itself has claimed that the Special Air Service was responsible.

Tommy Herron received a paramilitary funeral, presided over by Reverend Ian Paisley.

Tommy Herron was buried at Roselawn Cemetery as a piper played "Amazing Grace".