During a career described by many in the security forces as that of the one of the most ruthless of Loyalist paramilitaries,Johnny Adair earned an infamous reputation.
He was blamed for directing what was a gruesome sectarian war against Northern Ireland's Catholic community.
But in doing so,the only person ever convicted and jailed for directing terrorism,turned himself into a top target for republican paramilitaries.
Freed in 1999 but jailed again in 2000 amid Loyalist feuding,the former leader of the UFF courted publicity in July 2000 when he publicly threw his weight behind the protest at Drumcree over the disputed Portadown Orange Order march.
Adair began his Paramilitary career in his home area of Belfast,the Loyalist Shankill road.
At the time of his arrest he was the leader of the Ulster Freedom Fighters(UFF)in the district-a position he held during some of the most violent years of UFF activity.During the early 1990's,one of the bloodiest periods of the troubles,loyalist paramilitaries were responsible for more killings than the IRA.Attacks conducted by Adair's group provoked retaliatory violence from republicans.
The IRA's infamous bombing of a fish shop on the Shankill road in 1993 was widely believed to have been an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adair.Believing Adair was in an office above the premises,two IRA men walked into the building in disguise,carrying a tray concealing a bomb.When it exploded prematurely,it killed an IRA bomber and nine protestant civilians.
Although Adair himself was not there at the time,he arrived soon after the blast.Within days,a UFF attack on the rising sun bar in Greysteel,near Londonderry,claimed seven lives.Adair himself was questioned by the RUC at the time.
Ultimately,Adair was undone by his inability to shy away from a public reputation which had led to him becoming the latest in a string of paramilitaries from both sides to earn the street nickname "Mad Dog".
Working undercover,an RUC officer recorded months of discussions with Adair.Gradually,the paramilitary leader started to boast of his exploits and role as a Commanding officer of the UFF,finally providing officers with enough useable evidence to charge him.Adair was charged with Directing Terrorism,a charge designed to deal with suspects known to be organising terrorism-but not pulling the trigger themselves.
At the 1995 trial,the prosecuting lawyer said Adair,then 31,was:"Dedicated to his cause,which was nakedly sectarian in its hatred of those it regarded as militant republicans-among whom he had lumped almost the entire catholic population."
He initially denied the charge but later changed his plea to guilty and acknowledged being a UFF commander for nearly three years up until May 1994.That admission earned him a 16 year prison sentence-but even within the Maze prison he continued to exercise his influence.
In May 1999,Adair was grazed on the head by a bullet while watching a rock concert at the Botanic Gardens in South Belfast,with his wife Gina.Theories about the likely attacker varied,including a possible Loyalist feud,but Adair blamed republicans.
Days before his re-arrest and return to jail in August 2000,he again claimed that he had been targeted by republicans-though others suggested that the growing feud between the UDA/UFF and the UVF may have played its part.Indeed hours before his re-arrest,journalists filmed Adair wearing a bullet proof vest in the heart of his own community on the Shankill road.In December 1999,the UFF named Adair as an intermediary with the body overseeing paramilitary disarmament and he has met General John De Chastelain,the head of the international commission,for talks.
