The UVF's last major attack was the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, in which its members shot dead six Catholic civilians in a rural pub. Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack.
The Mid-Ulster Brigade was also responsible for the 1975 Miami Showband killings, in which three members of the popular Irish cabaret band were shot dead at a bogus military checkpoint by gunmen in British Army uniforms. The no-warning car bombings had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades. The biggest of these was the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 34 civilians, making it the deadliest terrorist attack of the conflict. The group also carried out attacks in the Republic of Ireland from 1969 onward. During the conflict, its deadliest attack in Northern Ireland was the 1971 McGurk's Bar bombing, which killed fifteen civilians. The vast majority (more than two-thirds) of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism – particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The group is classified as a terrorist organisation by the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The Ulster Volunteer Force ( UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Progressive Unionist Party (political representation)ġ,500 at peak in the 1970s (hard core of 400–500 gunmen and bombers) Įstimated several hundred members in Active service units by 1990s May 1966 – present (on ceasefire since October 1994 officially ended armed campaign in May 2007) Above: the UVF emblem, with the Red Hand of Ulster and the motto "For God and Ulster"