It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire.

In a two-year period from August 1996, the LVF waged a paramilitary campaign in opposition to Irish republicanism and the Northern Ireland peace process.

The LVF called off its campaign in August 1998 and decommissioned some of its weapons, but in the early 2000s a loyalist feud led to several killings.

Professor Peter Shirlow, of Queen's University Belfast, noted that many LVF members believed that Irish nationalism/republicanism and Catholicism were interlinked.

[13] Billy Wright was the leader of the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF),[14] having taken over the command from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson in the early 1990s upon the latter's retirement.

Internal differences between Wright and the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast came to a head in July 1996, during the Drumcree parade dispute.

Wright was angered that the march was being blocked, and was often seen at Drumcree with Harold Gracey, head of the Portadown Orange Lodge.

[15] On 7 July, a day into the standoff, members of Wright's brigade[15][16] shot dead Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick near Aghagallon.

The man who killed McGoldrick said he had also planned, along with Billy Wright and Mark Fulton, to kidnap three priests from a parochial house in County Armagh and shoot them unless the march was allowed to continue.

[18] After four days of loyalist protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, the police reversed their decision and allowed the march to continue.

[20] Although behind many attacks in the Mid-Ulster area, especially in Portadown and Lurgan, Wright was arrested in January 1997 on charges of issuing death threats and perverting the course of justice.

The authorities agreed and the wing became a gathering point for loyalists opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process, including many men from Belfast and north Down.

[24] They also delivered a statement: "Billy Wright was executed [...] for directing and waging his campaign of terror against the nationalist people from his prison cell".

The Northern Ireland Office accepted its ceasefire in November, making LVF prisoners eligible for early release under the Agreement.