Frankie Gallagher

Frankie Gallagher was a loyalist community worker from Northern Ireland and was along with Tommy Kirkham and Sammy Duddy one of the first leading spokespeople for the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) which offered political advice to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) during the Troubles.

Gallagher had little involvement in politics prior to the dissolution of the Ulster Democratic Party, but rather was a community worker in East Belfast who was known to count convicted murderer of six people Michael Stone amongst his friends.

[1] During this time he also worked for Gae Lairn, an Ulster Scots based community project for former prisoners.

[2] Nevertheless, despite his comparatively low profile, when the UDA decided to recall the UPRG Gallagher was chosen along with the likes of Tommy Kirkham and Sammy Duddy to provide a new team of spokesmen for their political arm.

[4] Subsequently he joined Kirkham, Frank McCoubrey, Jackie McDonald and Stanley Fletcher in a historic meeting with Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2004.