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William Stephen "Billy" Wright (7 July 1960 – 27 December 1997) was a prominent Ulster loyalist during the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.〔(CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths:1997 )〕 He joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1975 and became commander of its Mid-Ulster Brigade in the early 1990s, having taken over from Robin "the Jackal" Jackson. According to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Wright was involved in the sectarian killings of up to 20 Catholics, although he was never convicted for any.〔 It has been alleged that Wright, like his predecessor, was an agent of the British security forces. Wright attracted considerable media attention at the Drumcree standoff, where he supported the Orange Order's desire to march its traditional route through the Catholic/Irish nationalist area of Portadown. In 1994, the UVF and other paramilitary groups called ceasefires. However, in July 1996, Wright's unit broke the ceasefire and carried out a number of attacks, including a sectarian killing. For this, Wright and his Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were stood down by the UVF leadership. He was expelled from the UVF and threatened with execution if he did not leave Northern Ireland. Wright ignored the threats and, along with many of his followers, defiantly formed the breakaway Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). In March 1997 he was sent to the Maze Prison for having threatened the life of a woman. While imprisoned, Wright continued to direct the LVF's activities. In December that year, he was assassinated inside the prison by Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) prisoners. The LVF carried out a wave of sectarian attacks in retaliation. Owing to his uncompromising stance as an upholder of Ulster loyalism and opposition to the Northern Ireland peace process, Wright is regarded as a cult hero, icon, and martyr figure by hardline loyalists. His image adorned murals in loyalist housing estates and many of his devotees have tattoos bearing his likeness. ==Early life== William Stephen "Billy" Wright, named after his grandfather, was born in Wolverhampton, England on 7 July 1960 to David Wright and Sarah McKinley, Ulster Protestants from Portadown, Northern Ireland. He was the only son of five children.〔 Before Wright's birth, his parents had moved to England when they fell out with many of their neighbours after his grandfather had challenged tradition by running as an Independent Unionist candidate and defeated the local Official Unionist MP. The Wright family had a long tradition in Northern Ireland politics; Billy's great-grandfather Robert Wright had once served as a Royal Commissioner. His father obtained employment in the West Midlands industrial city of Wolverhampton. In 1964 the family returned to Northern Ireland and Wright soon came under the influence of his maternal uncle Cecil McKinley, a member of the Orange Order. About three years later, Wright's parents separated and his mother decided to leave her children behind when she transferred once more to England. None of the Wright siblings would ever see their mother again. Wright and his four sisters (Elizabeth, Jackie, Angela and Connie) were placed in foster care by the welfare authorities. He was raised separately from his sisters in a children's home in Mountnorris, South Armagh (a predominantly Irish nationalist area). Wright was brought up in the Presbyterian religion and attended church twice on Sundays. The young Wright mixed with Catholics and played Gaelic football, indicating an amicable relationship with the local Catholic, nationalist population. Nor were his family extreme Ulster loyalists. Wright's father, while campaigning for an inquest into his son's death, would later describe loyalist killings as "abhorrent".〔 Two of Wright's sisters married Catholic men, one having come from County Tipperary and whom Wright liked. Wright's sister Angela maintained that he personally got on well with Catholics, and that he was only anti-Irish republican and anti-IRA.〔("Billy Wright: Dying by the sword". ''Politico''. Emer Woodful. 1 February 1998. ) Retrieved 4 September 2011〕 For a while David Wright cohabitated with Kathleen McVeigh, a Catholic from Garvagh. Whilst attending Markethill High School, Wright took a part-time job as a farm labourer where he came into contact with a number of staunchly unionist and loyalist farmers who served with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Reserve or the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). The conflict known as the Troubles had been raging across Northern Ireland for about five years by this stage, and many young men such as Wright would be swept up in the maelstrom of violence as the Provisional IRA ramped up its bombing campaign and sectarian killings of Catholics continued to escalate. During this time Wright's opinions moved towards loyalism and soon he got into trouble for writing the initials "UVF" on a local Catholic primary school wall. When he refused to clean off the vandalism, Wright was transferred from the area and sent to live with an aunt in Portadown. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Billy Wright (loyalist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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