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}} John "Big John" McMichael (9 January 1948 – 22 December 1987) was a leading Northern Ireland loyalist who rose to become the most prominent and charismatic figure within the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF), overseeing an assassination campaign against prominent republican figures whose details were included in a notorious "shopping list" derived from leaked security forces documents. The UDA used the UFF name when it wished to claim responsibility for attacks, thus allowing it to remain a legal paramilitary organisation until August 1992 when it was proscribed by the British Government. McMichael held political office as leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) from 1981 until his death. He was killed outside his home by a booby-trap car bomb which was carried out by the Provisional IRA. There were allegations that members within the UDA had colluded with the IRA in his death by passing on vital information about him and his activities, enabling the IRA to target his car. ==Ulster Defence Association== John McMichael was born in Lisburn, County Antrim on 9 January 1948, one of the children of John and Annie McMichael. He came from a working-class background,〔Wood, Ian S. (2006). ''Crimes of Loyalty: a History of the UDA''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p.92〕 and was brought up in the Church of Ireland religion. He had married twice and was the father of two sons, Gary and Saul.〔McMichael, Gary (1999). ''Ulster Voice: In Search of Common Ground in Northern Ireland''. Colorado: Roberts Rinehart. p.27〕 McMichael, who owned and operated the "Admiral Benbow" pub in his native Lisburn,〔Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p.169 ISBN 0-7475-4519-7〕 initially rose to prominence in the UDA in the 1970s as the commander of the South Belfast Brigade and a member of its Inner Council, where he became known for his belief in the unique identity of Ulster Protestants, as well as his talent as an organiser. He had taken over command of the South Belfast UDA from Sammy Murphy, who had also led the Sandy Row unit. According to McDonald and Cusack, Murphy appeared to have been a commander rather than brigadier.〔McDonald & Cusack, UDA, p.31〕 Described as the UDA's most "effective and strategic leader",〔Horgan, John (2009). ''Walking Away From Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements''. New York: Routledge. p.100〕 McMichael helped establish a political think tank called the ''New Ulster Political Research Group'' in 1977, and served as its chairman.〔(Cain Web Service: ''Common Sense'' ) Retrieved 27 March 2011〕 He also assisted in the composition of a document entitled ''Beyond the Religious Divide'' which promoted independence for Northern Ireland along with a constitutional Bill of Rights—acceptable to both nationalists and unionists—as the "only hope of achieving a united Northern Ireland". This was the first step on the UDA's road to political development.〔Taylor, p.162〕 He was a supporter of the ideas of Ian Adamson a gynaecologist, and subsequently a Unionist politician, who self-funded a series of books and pamphlets about the alleged ancient origins of Ulster people as a separate ethnic group to the Irish.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 106〕 By 1979 he had emerged as the leading figure within the UDA and the organisation's most charismatic senior member.〔 According to the ''Belfast Telegraph'', he drew up a 'shopping list' of targets (mostly members of Sinn Féin and other republican groups) that he felt the UDA should eliminate. Information about the individuals had been supplied to the UDA by individuals within the security forces who leaked the information.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 116〕 McMichael hand-picked his own squad for this task and throughout 1980 a number of the targets were assassinated.〔("The UDA's killer wing: murder goes by any name". ''Belfast Telegraph''. 12 November 2007 ) Retrieved 16 March 2011〕 The new commando unit, which was known internally in the UDA as the Ulster Defence Force, carried out four murders in 1979, three of which were from the "shopping list".〔 McMichael then turned his attention to members of the Relatives' Action Committee and on his orders Irish Independence Party leader John Turnly and Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) activist Miriam Daly, both prominent within this republican prisoners' rights group, were killed.〔 Rodney McCormick, a less prominent IRSP member, was killed in Larne soon afterwards before McMichael's team struck again, killing Ronnie Bunting and his friend Noel Lyttle at Bunting's Ballymurphy home on 15 October 1980.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 117〕 However the attacks came to an end in 1981, following an ambush by the Parachute Regiment after a failed attempt by the UFF on the lives of Bernadette McAliskey and her husband, Michael, during which the three-man unit (including Ray Smallwoods who acted as the getaway driver) were captured and later imprisoned. McAliskey, who was shot seven times in front of her children at her home in Coalisland, County Tyrone on 16 January 1981 survived the attack, as did her husband who was also wounded. McMichael himself was arrested in April 1981 in the wake of a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) raid on UDA headquarters. He was brought before the court as it was alleged he and his men had organised the McAliskey shootings.〔Taylor, p.168〕 Raymond Murray in his book ''SAS in Ireland'' claimed that McAliskey's shooting was planned in a room above McMichael's "Admiral Benbow" pub.〔Raymond Murray(1990). ''The SAS in Ireland''. Ireland: Mercier Press. p.263〕 Ultimately charges relating to McMichael's involvement, as well as his possession of classified information in the form of the details of republican activists leaked to him, were dropped along with similar charges against fellow arrestees Sammy McCormick, John McClatchey, Eddie Martin and Bobby McDevitt.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 124〕 McMichael's "shopping list" was published in the press soon after the failed assassination attempt on McAliskey, apparently leaked by his internal opponents within the UDA.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 118〕 Michael Farrell was named as the next target, although he moved to Dublin before any attack could occur.〔 The IRA responded to the revelations by killing two prominent Unionist figures, James Stronge and his father Norman at their Tynan Abbey home.〔 The Irish National Liberation Army also retaliated by shooting and wounding Shankill Road UDA activist Sammy Millar, leading a series of tit-for-tat shootings involving the UDA and INLA.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 119〕 McMichael would return to the idea at later times, and during the mid to late 1980s had Michael Stone working directly under him as a lone gunman with a remit to kill alleged republicans.〔McDonald & Cusack, p. 148〕 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「John McMichael」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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