John McKeague

John McKeague
McKeague in a BBC interview in 1976
Born	John Dunlop McKeague 1930 Bushmills, County Antrim
Died	29 January 1982 Albertbridge Road, Belfast
Cause of death	Gunshot wounds
Nationality	British
Occupation	Shopkeeper
Notable work	Loyalist Song Book
Home town	Belfast
Title	Leader of the Red Hand Commando
Term	1972–1973
Predecessor	new position
Successor	Winston Churchill Rea
Political party	Protestant Unionist Party Ulster Independence Association
Movement	Ulster Protestant Volunteers Shankill Defence Association Red Hand Commando
Criminal charge	Bombing Incitement to hatred
Criminal penalty	Acquitted of both charges

John Dunlop McKeague (1930 – 29 January 1982) was a prominent Ulster loyalist and one of the founding members of the paramilitary group the Red Hand Commando in 1970. Authors on the Troubles in Northern Ireland have accused McKeague of involvement in the Kincora Boys' Home scandal but he was never convicted. He was shot dead by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in Belfast in January 1982.

A native of Bushmills, County Antrim, McKeague, who long had a reputation for anti-Catholicism, became a member of Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church in 1966. McKeague and his mother moved to east Belfast in 1968, where he became a regular at Paisley's own Martyrs' Memorial Church on the Ravenhill Road and joined the Willowfield branch of the Ulster Protestant Volunteers. Before coming to Belfast he had already been questioned in relation to a sexual assault on two young boys. The charges were dropped after the intervention of some friends who held prominent positions in Northern Irish society.

McKeague split from Paisley in late 1969 under uncertain circumstances. Rumours that a young man with whom McKeague was living was his boyfriend had been rife but McKeague did not discuss the details. He stated only that he had been summoned to a meeting by Paisley where he was told he was an "embarrassment" and would have to leave the Free Presbyterian Church. While giving evidence to Lord Justice Scarman as part of his tribunal investigating the 1969 Northern Ireland riots Paisley stated that he and other Ulster Constitution Defence Committee leaders had agreed to expel McKeague from the UPV in April 1969 after he breached Rule 15 of the group's code, which banned members from supporting "subversive or lawless activities". Whatever the circumstances, the two became bitter enemies, with McKeague frequently criticising Paisley in print.