seamus dubhghaill

Promoting Irish Culture and History from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Tag Archives: Firearm


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The Loyalist Volunteer Force’s 1998 Decommissioning Commitment

On November 12, 1998, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) publicly announces it has committed to an “act of decommissioning” within weeks, marking a significant political and security development in the Northern Ireland peace process.

The LVF, a breakaway faction of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) led by Billy Wright, has been active since 1996 and is involved in a campaign of gun and bomb attacks, most of them against Catholic civilians. It calls off its campaign in August 1998 and is in the process of decommissioning some weapons, but the group’s leadership seeks to make a more visible and timely gesture to support the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process.

According to the LVF’s own statement, the Ruling Army Council decides to proceed with a “second phase” of arms decommissioning, following an initial handover on December 18, 1998. The group pledges to physically hand over further “lethal weapons” from its armoury within weeks, with the exact time and place kept secret until the moment of delivery. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) is to be informed 24 hours before the handover to meet its destruction requirements.

The LVF’s move is intended as a voluntary act to demonstrate commitment to disarmament, while also pressuring the British government to end the harsh prison conditions of LVF leader Mark Fulton. It is seen as a potential incentive for other paramilitaries, including the Irish Republican Army (IRA), to follow suit, though republican leaders are skeptical.

The first batch of LVF weapons — nine firearms, 350 rounds of ammunition, two pipe bombs, six detonators, and some shotgun cartridges — is handed over on December 18, 1998, under the supervision of Canadian General John de Chastelain, chair of the disarmament commission. This is the first decommissioning in the process and is welcomed by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader David Trimble as a “very important occasion” for the peace process.

The November 12, 1998 commitment is a rare public pledge by a loyalist paramilitary to disarm, reflecting both the LVF’s strategic calculation and the political pressure to advance the Good Friday Agreement. It also signals a shift in the LVF’s posture from active conflict to a more conciliatory stance, even as the group later faces internal feuds and continued criminal activity.


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First Use of Rubber Bullets in Northern Ireland

rubber-bullet

Rubber bullets are used for the first time in Northern Ireland on August 2, 1970. Rubber bullets are invented by the British Ministry of Defence for use against rioters in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are rubber or rubber-coated projectiles that can be fired from either standard firearms or dedicated riot guns. They are intended to be a non-lethal alternative to metal projectiles. Like other similar projectiles made from plastic, wax and wood, rubber bullets may be used for short range practice and animal control but are most commonly associated with use in riot control and to disperse protests.

The British developed rubber rounds – the “Round, Anti-Riot, 1.5in Baton” – in 1970 for use against rioters in Northern Ireland. A low-power propelling charge gives them a muzzle velocity of about 200 feet per second and maximum range of about 110 yards. The intended use is to fire at the ground so that the round bounces up and hits the target on the legs, causing pain but not injury.

From 1970 to 1975, about 55,000 rubber bullets are fired by the British Army in Northern Ireland. Often, they are fired directly at people from close range, which results in three people being killed and many more badly injured. In 1975, they are replaced by plastic bullets. In Northern Ireland over 35 years (1970–2005), about 125,000 rubber and plastic bullets are fired – an average of ten per day – causing 17 deaths.

The baton round is made available to British police forces outside Northern Ireland from 2001. In 2013 however, Ministry of Defence papers declassified from 1977 reveal it is aware rubber bullets are more dangerous than was publicly disclosed. The documents contain legal advice for the Ministry of Defence to seek a settlement over a child who had been blinded in 1972, rather than go to court which would expose problems with the bullets and make it harder to fight future related cases. The papers state that further tests would reveal serious problems with the bullets, including that they were tested “in a shorter time than was ideal”, that they “could be lethal” and that they “could and did cause serious injuries.”

(Pictured: 37 mm British Army rubber bullet, as used in Northern Ireland)