Andy Tyrie

Andrew Tyrie (born 5 February 1940[1]) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who served as commander of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) during much of its early history.

[3] Tyrie's surname is an ancient Scottish clan name; his ancestors migrated from Scotland to Ireland in the early days of the Ulster Plantation.

[5] He soon fell in behind John McKeague, initially following him in the Ulster Protestant Volunteers, before joining his Shankill Defence Association (SDA) upon its foundation in 1969.

However once the strike was over he was shunned by Harry West and Ian Paisley and as such he built up a resentment towards mainstream unionism that would inform many of his political decisions as UDA leader.

[12] He broke further from the unionist position by calling for some coalitions with moderate nationalists in the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention, albeit whilst adding that he had prepared the UDA for civil war if the initiative failed[13] and severed all ties following the disastrous re-run of the UWC strike in 1977, during which the attempt not only failed but also saw four people inadvertently killed by the UDA and UVF.

[15] Tyrie sought to move the UDA towards more political activity and appointed Sammy Duddy, who had a reputation as a thinker within the movement, as his personal representative.

[16] Along with Duddy, Tyrie was one of the authors of the New Ulster Political Research Group document Beyond the Religious Divide which outlined a strategy of co-operation between the two communities within the framework of an independent Northern Ireland.

[18] Tyrie's political strategy took a blow in 1982 when he was arrested for being in possession of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) maps and charts, although he was acquitted of subsequent terror charges.

[19] Although under his leadership the UDA undertook a series of sectarian killings, Tyrie would later claim that he had been opposed to this strategy, arguing: "I was sickened every time I heard about the death of a Catholic taxi driver or shop keeper.

[26] However, McMichael's assassination by the IRA in December 1987 and his replacement in the party by the less well-known Ray Smallwoods placed some doubts upon the political strategy that Tyrie had long advocated.

[32] He would go on to become an enthusiastic supporter of the UDP in their campaign in favour of the Good Friday Agreement, claiming that it vindicated the strategy employed by John McMichael and himself.