Alan McCullough (loyalist)
| Alan McCullough | |
|---|---|
Alan McCullough
|
|
| Born | July 1981 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 28 May 2003 aged (21) Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland |
| Cause of death | Two gunshot wounds to the head |
| Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Known for | Ulster Defence Association (UDA) member and military commander of its C Company West Belfast Brigade |
| Parent(s) |
William "Bucky" McCullough Barbara McCullough |
Alan McCullough (July 1981 – 28 May 2003) was a leading Northern Irish loyalist and a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). He served as the organisation's military commander for the West Belfast Brigade's notorious C Company which was then headed by Johnny Adair.
McCullough was suspected of having organised the killing of South East Antrim brigadier John Gregg in February 2003. Gregg was a rival of Adair's who enjoyed much popularity among loyalists on account of his attempted assassination of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams in 1984. The killing provoked outrage amongst the other UDA leaders and as a result Adair and his associates, including McCullough, were forced to leave Northern Ireland. McCullough returned to Belfast in April 2003 but a month later he disappeared from his home in the company of two men. On 5 June his body was found in a shallow grave in Mallusk. The UDA claimed responsibility for the killing using their cover name Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).
Alan McCullough was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland into a loyalist Ulster Protestant family, the youngest of six children. He had four sisters and a brother, Kenny. He was brought up in Denmark Street in the Lower Shankill Road area. His father William "Bucky" McCullough was a prominent UDA member gunned down by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) outside his home on 16 October 1981 when McCullough was three months old. It was believed by many inside the UDA that he had been set up by UDA fundraiser and racketeer Jim Craig.
McCullough's family background led him to join the UDA at an early age. From an early age McCullough had idolised Johnny Adair. and he would soon become a trusted ally of the Brigadier. He had been one of a number of members of Ulster Young Militants whom Adair had promoted to the ranks of C Company around 2002, all of whom looked up to Adair as a father figure and were loyal to him personally. McCullough, who had joined UYM aged sixteen, wore a graven image of his late father on a gold chain around his neck and often spoke of wanting to rise up the ranks in the UDA to kill republicans in revenge for his father's death.
...
Wikipedia