William "Bucky" McCullough (1949 – 16 October 1981) was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary with the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).
McCullough was a leading member of the UDA's West Belfast Brigade, holding the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, until 1981 when he was killed by the republican Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).
[1] Within the UDA he garnered an early reputation as a ruthless gunman and was frequently questioned by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) over his involvement in killings and bomb attacks, albeit without being charged.
[5] McCullough was particularly close to James Craig who was in charge of fundraising for the Brigade and who also maintained a series of shadowy links to some republican figures.
All of the republicans present, with whom Craig remained in contact, switched allegiance to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) soon after the meeting.
[7] According to Martin Dillon McCullough discovered that Craig was enriching himself through a number of extortion rackets, the proceeds of which were supposed to go to the upkeep of the UDA in West Belfast.
[16] Craig himself was eventually killed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters in 1988 in an attack that was publicly blamed on his role in setting up the murder of UDA South Belfast Brigadier and UFF commander John McMichael.
Privately however it was held that Craig had played a similar role in the killing of McCullough, as well as Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) leaders Lenny Murphy, John Bingham and William Marchant.