The Shankill Road Butchers

By Sarah G.

This case has been a challenging one for me in terms of researching. I have one documentary and one book to work from. Resources have been limited, but we are here and I did the best I could do with what I had to help the victims feel important and have their story told. Unfortunately, in order to do that I had to talk about the monsters who were responsible. You can listen to the podcast here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bes4x-15ec743

This case has ups and downs of political and religious nature and I wasn’t sure if I could leave anything out, but I could not.

In the 1960’s there was a lot of strife that divided the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. A deadly battle between the two religions who worship the same God. In the middle of it, political boundaries between paramilitary groups, The IRA, Irish Republican Army, and the UVF/UDA, Ulster Volunteer Force/Ulster Defence Association. People were blowing up people, gunning them down and slitting throats.

The conflict in Northern Ireland began in 1968 & lasted 30years until 1998, where Protestant unionist known as loyalist, wanted to stay a part of the United Kingdom. The Roman Catholics, desired to become a part of the Republic of Ireland. You have two strong willed political sides, both backed by religion, ans now you are sitting, almost literally on a powder keg.
The Irish Republic Army, or IRA, became the defenders of the nationalists, while the Ulster Defence Association or UDA & the Ulster Volunteer Force, or UVF, backed the loyalist. Both sides would come to cause some mass casualties.
January 30, 1972 saw that powder keg combust. The is date would become known as Bloody Sunday. A rally of Catholic civil rights supporters were peacefully demonstrating in Londonderry area, when British paratroopers opened fire, killing 13 and injuring more. The IRA would retaliate, upping the violence level in attempt to push the British out. The worst of it taking place on July 21, 1972, when the IRA set off 20 explosions around Belfast.
What could possibly make these matters worse for civilians? A gang of Catholic-hating psychopathic serial killers! That’s what! Is it a stroke of genius to hide these nefarious deeds under the guise of the loyalist vs. Nationalist dispute? Maybe, but doesn’t make any of this right.

(-IRA= Irish Republican Army

-UVF=Ulster Volunteer Force (Formed by Lord Edward Carson)
-UDA=Ulster Defence Association

*Sectarian means denoting or concerning a sect or sects “ethnic and sectarian differences”
*Sect/Sects means a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs.)

To see where this starts, we unfortunately need to meet the mastermind and the leader of the Shankill Butchers; Lennie Murphy.
Lennie Murphy was the youngest of the Murphy family, Named Hugh Leonard Thompson Murphy and was born on March 2, 1952. Lennie was a bully at school by the age of 10. He would often relieve schoolmates of their pocket money while using a knife. He was not the best student in school, as he didn’t apply himself to his studies, and was remembered as being “devious”, “cunning”, “unstable” and as his parents frequently moved around Northern Ireland during his youth, he had felt a lot of that upheaval. He was street smart and used his older brothers as part of his threats and manipulations of his other school mates.
Murphy was first arrested at the age of 12 for breaking into a shop and was charged with larceny. He was given 2 years of probation and was ordered to pay either shillings, which is 14 cents Canadian. Seems hardly worth it.
In high school, Lennie had a small criminal enterprise going on. He was able to manipulate other students to threaten and steal their meal tickets, then turning around and selling them at a reduced rate. How this would work is, he’s getting the meal tickets or vouchers off of students for nothing, and then making money off of them by selling them for a cheaper price to other students than what they would originally be purchased for. That criminal instinct was something that clearly came natural to Lennie Murphy. He was able to manipulate others very easily.
Murphy found himself in trouble in 1968, when he was arrested for theft and received probation for 1 to 2 years.
He joined the junior wing of the Ulster Volunteer Force, or UVF as it will be referred to as from here on out.
In August 1969, Murphy was part of the violence that saw Protestants invade many of the Catholic streets all over Belfast, burning down hundreds of homes, causing thousands of Catholic families to leave the city for safety.
In 1970, paramilitary Ulster Defence Association or the UDA, was formed.
January 30, 1972, known as Bloody Sunday, was when the First Parachute Regiment shot and killed 13 innocent civilians in Londonderry, which would have the UVF and UDA seek revenge on the IRA and other Catholics.
Murphy took to making himself very familiar with the law, by attending many murder trials of this UVF family, as a Spectator. He also attended trials of IRA members in order to find out who was working in the IRA.
He had established his own small gang in 1970 & 1971, which was referred to as the “Murphy Gang”. It is alleged that this gang was responsible for the deaths of Catholics.
Murphy was working as a shop assistant and was seen as a very hardworking man, but there was no way this job was facilitating his lifestyle, which was clearly paid for by the criminal activities he was engaging in.

Time Line:

July 21, 1972: Francis Arthurs was a 43 year old Catholic man, who frequented the local pubs. On this unfortunate night, he was walking home on Crumlin Road which ran parallel to the Shankill Road, in the Protestant area of the city of Belfast. He was ambushed, and taken to the Lawnbrook Social Club, where he was tortured publicly in the UVF dominated club. Suffering severe beatings, and then stabbed repeatedly in parts of his body, interrogated and tortured for hours until he was ultimately shot. His body would be dumped miles away in the street.

August 13, 1972:48 year old Thomas Madden was a bachelor who was polite and devout Catholic who frequented mass. He was employed as a night time security guard. Three days before his murder, he was taken to a club on Shankill, where he was interrogated for 24 hours. He had his rosary, cigarettes, lighter, and money all taken away from him. He was asked which pubs he frequented, and if he knew of any IRA men in the area in which he lived. When he was released he got all his possessions back, with he exception of his money. On his way to work, he was picked up again around the Crumlin Road area and taken to a lock-up garage, and for 6 hours he was tortured, being suspended from a wooden beam after being stripped of all his clothing. Long cuts made by a knife were made down his back and thighs and was stabbed 147 times. If that wasn’t enough, his body was then dragged for 100 yards, and thrown over a metal grate to a shop’s doorway. His cause of death was listed as strangulation.

September 22, 1972: Four weeks after Madden’s murder, William Matthews was found dead with knife wounds, which match the same signs of torture and character of the wounds similar to the attacks on Maddens and Arthurs. His body was found in the Glencairn Estate.

September 28, 1972: Lennie Murphy and Mervyn John Connor who was 20 years old at the time, were ordered by the UVF to carry out a hit on a fellow Protestant, William Pavis. The reason behind the hit was that Pavis went to prison for illegally possessing firearms, and appearing in court with a Roman Catholic Priest, Father Eamon Corrigan, who Pavis had sold the shot gun to, illegally. When Pavis was released a year later, Lennie Murphy made sure he was all buddy-buddy with Pavis, and made him comfortable. When Pavis wasn’t paying attention, Murphy pulled out a gun and shot him at close range. There were witnesses to this shooting, which is sloppy by Murphy’s standards, and he and Connor were arrested.
If there was any signs of the level of Murphy’s intelligence, it came through during the police line-up. Murphy began yelling that he didn’t want to be a part of the line up, which was how he stood out. This was a strategy that would ultimately work in his favour in his defence. They could say because of the spectacle he made of himself, the witnesses picked him out because of that, and not based on what they actually saw. Clouding the judgment and the memory recall of the witnesses. Police struggled to make the charges stick, and Connor wasn’t stupid enough to just give up Murphy, because he was afraid of what Murphy could do to him.
January 1973: Mervyn Connor was offered a deal if he implicated Lennie Murphy in the murder of William Pavis. They kept up the pressure on Connor, and they did their best to safeguard any prison meetings by trying to keep them a secret. Not only were there loyalist paramilitary prisoners inside Crumlin Road, but there were also prison wardens who belonged to the UVF, and it didn’t take long for the word to spread to the UVF and with in 24 hours of Connor’s meeting, Murphy and the other Crumlin Road prisoners knew about it. Connor agreed to turn on Murphy and he was then deemed as a high-risk prisoner, and guards were assigned to him 24/7 for his safety and to be kept away from UDA and UVF members inside the prison, especially Murphy. Murphy was working in the prison hospital and had plans to kill Connors, and didn’t care who he took out in the process. In March, he poisoned a pot of custard with cyanide for Connor, but no one at the table where Connor was ate any of it, including Connors. He may have failed at that attempt but would find it funny.
In April, Murphy was some how given free reign of the prison. Luck would have it, the two guards who were assigned to protect Connor from Murphy and other UDA/UVF members got wrapped up in watching television with some of the other prisoners while Connors was in his cell. Murphy, with a pencil, piece of paper, and some cyanide, went to Connor’s cell, grabbed him by the throat and forced him to write on the paper. When Connors was done, Murphy poured the vial full of cyanide down Connor’s throat. On the paper in Connor’s handwriting was him saying he killed Pavis, and that Murphy had nothing to do with it. Prison wardens and police knew that it was Murphy who killed Connors and forced him to write such a confession. They wanted to know if anyone was working with Murphy, which allowed him the freedom to wander about.
Major Mullen launched an investigation into whether prison staff assisted Lennie Murphy, and interviewed the infirmary staff as well. Mullen wanted to know who gave Murphy the pass and he also investigated the guards who were responsible for guarding Connor. Major Mullen talked to Murphy, who told Mullen that he wasn’t the only person who wanted Connor dead, and he wasn’t the one who did it. Since then, the police report has gone missing. Murphy’s actions placed him in the good books of the UVF, by having one person take the fall without actually pointing the finger to them or to Murphy, but it also made it clear that Murphy was more than capable of reaching anyone out there willing to snitch on him, including in a high-max prison. Fear of Murphy was increasing, and despite the fact that he did the UVF a favour, they also knew they couldn’t control Murphy.
Despite Connor’s “forced” written confession, Murphy went to trial for the murder of Pavis on June 18th, 1973. Murphy was able to claim that he never even met Pavis, and that the eye witnesses and their bias against him for picking him out of the police line-up because he made a fiasco and lack of evidence as well as his own recollection, the jury decided to set Murphy free.
Murphy wouldn’t make it far, as he was quickly re-arrested and held under the Northern Ireland Special Powers Act; empowered certain authorities of the Government of Northern Ireland to take steps for preserving the peace and maintaining order in Northern Ireland, and for purposes connected there within. Under this act, Murphy was instantly returned to the Crumlin Road Prison
February 1974: Murphy was moved from the Crumlin Road prison to Long Kesh, which was located outside of Belfast. Long Kesh was operated more of a military style prison, where prisoners were taught to think in a less terrorist way of life, and more positive and politically. Murphy denounced authority and the duties assigned to him, he would refuse to do them, such as cleaning bathrooms and the huts. He felt that type of work was beneath him. While at Long Kesh, Murphy’s charisma and authoritative way, had some admirers gravitating to him. Robert “Basher” Bates was one of them. Bates was serving time for firearms. Like Murphy, Bates had conflict with the UVF area of the Long Kesh prison. They severely beatened an UVF officer. A UVF leader of the Long Kesh section described Murphy as a “back shooter”.

1975: An Anti-Sectarian Assassination Conference was held, where the Loyalist suggest that to stop the killing of non-combatant Catholics, the IRA should cease the killings of off-duty police officers, & soldiers who were members of the Ulster Defence Regiment. An UDA member, Sam Smyth made the comment that as far as he was concerned a 3 year old child or a 70 year old woman belonging to the Catholic community were just as much targets as anyone else, and then was quickly reprimanded by the leader of the West Belfast UDA Leader, Jim Craig. The agreement reached, wouldn’t make Lennie Murphy very happy who began to make plans for when he would be released. Three weeks later, Sam Smyth was assassinated, likely due to his comments at the conference and likely from under orders of the UDA to prevent further problems.

May 13, 1975: Lennie Murphy walks out of Long Kesh and returned to North-West Belfast, where he decided to setup his own group that was not under the control of the UVF.
He established the Brown Bear Pub on Shankill road as his headquarters, dubbing themselves as the Brown Bear unit, and was soon joined up with Robert Bates, and needed about 15 others to round out his group. Bringing in close friends, Mr. A & Mr.B, who have never been named and never caught, as wells as Samuel McAllister, 26 year old William Moore, who were dubbed as his lieutenants. At that time, Moore was also driving a black taxi that resembled those black taxi’s found in England, and Moore had previously worked as a meat packer who stole several knives and meat cleavers before leaving.
Other recruits to Murphy’s gang were:
22 year old Arthur Armstrong McClay
24 year old Benjamin Edwards
23 year old Norman Waugh
21 year old William Arlow Green
19 year old Thomas Noel Green
31 year old Edward Leckey
22 year old David John Bell
22 year old Edward McIlwaine
14 year old William John Townsley

-The Brown Bear Unit had a rival unit who were set up at the Windsor Pub. Anthony Berry was the leader of the Windsor Unit. So the more people Murphy had surrounding him the better as it offered him protection against the other UVF groups and Berry’s as well.

October 2, 1975: Murphy, Moore, and the two Green brothers set out to attack a target in the Millfield area, a Catholic run business, Casey’s Wholesale Wine & Spirits. He told the appointed crew that this was a robbery and proceeded to hand out guns, in case of trouble. Casey’s was not only a Catholic family-owned business but also employed four Catholics as well; Frances Donnelly, Marie McGratton, Gerard Grogan and Thomas Osborne. When they entered the store, early in the morning, Murphy and William Green drew their guns, forcing both Frances Donnelly and Marie McGratton to the office, while Noel Green and William Moore held Gerard Grogan and Thomas Osborne in the storefront. The two women tried to tell Murphy and William Green that there was no money on the premises so early in the morning, but Murphy kept searching the office while Green kept his weapon trained on the two women. When Murphy found nothing, he shot Marie McGratton in the back of her head with his .45 colt semi-auto and William Green fired his .22 into the head of Frances Donnelly. Murphy and William Green joined Moore and Noel Green and inquired about Gerald Grogan and Thomas Osborne their religions, once they said they were Catholic, Murphy shot them both. When he and his team fled the shop, Thomas Osborne was able to make it out to the street and was taken to hospital, but would die a few weeks later. Marie McGratton’s husband arrived at the shop and discovered the bodies and called police.
Noel and William Green were caught by police and questioned about the shop shooting, but neither would give up Moore or Murphy. William Green would crack under the pressure but still managed to keep their names out of it and lie about his own role in the murders. He said that when the one woman was killed, he was startled and his own gun went off, killing the other, and that the whole thing kept him up at night because it sickened him (BULL SHIT). Noel Green said he didn’t even know the name of the men who drove them to the shop. They both were afraid of Murphy.

October 2, 1975:There was another crime that was not connected to Murphy and his gang on the same day as the Casey’s Wholesale Wine & Spirit quadruple murder. A photographer was killed inside his studio, a woman was killed in a bomb attack on a Catholic-owned bar, and many others were injured in shootings and bombing. A total of eleven were dead. Four UVF men died near Coleraine when their own bomb detonated while they were transporting it. The UVF took responsibility for the days actions and then the following day found they were banned by the Democratic Labour Party’s Merlyn Rees.

-Sadist need aggression and the conflict currently happening in Northern Ireland provided not only a trigger for the aggression, but an outlet. It became socially acceptable by expressing the prejudices against the other sect of Northern Ireland. Meaning Catholic on Protestant crime and Protestant on Catholic crime.

-Late 1975, Murphy took it upon himself to go it alone from the new Brigade staff of the UVF. This gives him more freedom to operate under his own mindset, while still enforcing his beliefs against the Catholic community. Shows his single mindedness, sense of omnipotence and invincibility.

-All Catholics were potential targets; man, woman, and child.

November 24, 1975: After reading an article that was published in a newspaper that dealt with the killings of soldiers in graphic detail and the overwhelming need for more tightened security and stricter protocols to deal with the IRA, prompted Murphy to call a meeting with the plan to hit another Catholic.
Murphy, and Moore with the other members of the Brown Bear unit decided to tour Antrim Road, finding it a suitable hunting ground for Catholics. Moore’s black taxi could act as a cover in case they are stopped by police or military that may be out on the streets. Moore could easily claim that he was carrying passengers, so Murphy mapped out a ten minute route.
Francis Crossen was a 34 year old Catholic who was leaving a club just around Midnight. At around 12:30, he was spotted walking down Library Street by Murphy and his gang. Murphy, Edwards and Waller rushed out of the taxi, with Murphy hitting Crossen over the head with a wheel brace (also known as a tire iron), then dragging him into the taxi where they continued to beat Crossen. When at their desired destination, Crossen was dragged out of the taxi, and into an alley where Murphy used a large butcher knife to hack Crossen’s throat until his head was nearly severed. His body was found the next day by an elderly woman out looking for her cat.
Glass from a broken beer bottle was logged in his forehead and his cause of death was from the throat cutting. The pathologist also noted that the root of his tongue was severed and he had suffered multiple abrasions and bruises.

-The UVF units were told by UVF Leaders, that anyone who strayed from their rules would be dealt with. Although they preferred not to work with units like Murphy, they knew that Murphy was the right person to do their clean-up. They brought Murphy in to find out who was responsible for threatening an elderly lady on Shankill road for the whereabouts of a small amount of money, and he was to turn them over to the UDA if they were UDA members to be dealt with. Murphy was smart enough not to use his own team so he recruited a few from the Windsor Bar unit to help track down the ones responsible.

-Roger McCrea, Edward Bell and Stewardie Robinson were the likely suspects and were set to be kneecapped (shot through the back of the knee to cause maximum damage). Murphy ordered Bates, Moore and McAllister to beat them but when Robinson decided to try to make a run for it, he was shot in the back and died. The other two suspects were ordered not to say a thing or they to would be killed. They then dumped Robinson’s body in a nearby alley.

-Archie Waller was name the shooter of Stewardie Robinson, and the UVF ordered his death. A three man assassination team was sent out to kill Waller, who was found sitting in his car, behind the wheel, next to Sam McAllister, who bolted when he spotted the crew coming up on Waller. Waller was shot point blank and died instantly. McAllister named named Waller’s killers as Noel Shaw, Dessie Balmer, and Roy Stewart. Shaw was found at the Windsor Bar and brought to the Lawnbrook Club, where he was beatened and tortured by Murphy and Mr.A, on a stage in front of everyone in retaliation for Waller’s death. Clearly sending a message that you don’t mess with Murphy and his team. Shaw was then interrogated and then Murphy shot him through the wrist and then four more, in quick succession, into his head. Murphy ordered Bates and McAllister to find Stewart and Balmer and shoot them where they’re found. Neither of the two were shot and killed, but Balmer was found, shot but he survived, and Roy Stewart was not found and never really pursued.

January 10, 1976: Deirdre and Ted McQuaid were walking home from a party, when Deirdre was spotted by Murphy and his gang. Her husband, Ted, was peeing in some bushes. The taxi stopped in front of Deidre and Murphy got out, pretending he was drunk when Ted McQuaid got in between the taxi and his wife, a gun was then pulled and pointed at Ted, and two shots were fired; first went into his chin and the second into his chest.

February 7, 1976: 55 year old Joseph Quinn was walking home from a pub, when Murphy hit him over the head with a wheel brace and dragged to the floor of Moore’s taxi, and beatened severely on the way to the Lawnbrook Social Club to pick up Benny “Pretty Boy” Edwards. Murphy took a butcher knife and drew it across Quinn’s neck making a 3 inch incision. Just some of the knife marks found on him. Once in the Glencairn Estates, they carried Quinn to a grassy area, placing him on his back where Murphy hacked away at his throat with the fatal cut going all the way back to his spine. When Quinn’s body was found, the police knew from the multiple footprints that he was murdered by more than one person.

February 9, 1976: Murphy had plans to take out multiple Catholics in one incident. It was his big goal, so when he received a tip about a lorry, or truck as we North Americans call them, carrying Catholics to a timber yard each morning took a route through Shankill road, Murphy made plans to hit it. Moore, Bates, Mr.A and Murphy picked up a Thompson sub-machine gun and a MkI Carbine, which was an American World War 2 rifle, and then hijacked a Ford Cortina to begin their plan. The truck was parked outside Adair’s, where the driver, Henry McClelland went to buy a news paper. On the truck were six others;

Harry McClelland
Mary Johnston
Raymond Carlisle
Archie Hanna
Louis Magee
James Wylie

Archie Hanna had also gone into the store to purchase a sandwich. As Henry McClelland exited the shop he spotted the gunman approaching his truck and began yelling to the gunman “PRODS!!! THEYR’RE ALL PRODS!!” But his warnings didn’t work. Murphy and Bates opened fire. Archie Hanna and Raymond Carlisle were killed and Louis Magee and James Wylie were injured. When the news broke later, that the dead and injured were Protestants, Murphy went crazy, vowing to shoot “twice as many Catholics”. Either he did not hear the warning from McClelland, or he ignored it on purpose? Was this a mistake or did he just not give two shits who he was killing and the reaction was an act? The UVF were convinced that this was the work of the Provisional IRA, and he didn’t correct them, and said he wanted revenge.

February 26, 1976: 24 year old Francis Dominic Rice was out playing snooker with friends, not drinking heavily enough to be drunk, when he left to walk his friend, Margaret, to the taxi depot. Once she was there, he turned up Donegall Street, when Murphy leaped out of Moore’s taxi with a wheel brace, hitting Rice as he turned to run. Bates helped Murphy get Rice into the vehicle and then continued to assault him punching and kicking him, also taunting him with a knife throughout the ride. They even cut him with the knife to torture Rice, just like the other victims. He was then carried into an alley and continued to be beatened, before being hacked by Murphy, taking several minutes to cut through his throat until the blade touched the spine.

Inspector Jimmy Nesbitt connected Rice’s murder to Crossen and Quinn’s murders, based on the similarities. There was a possibility of a taxi being used in Rice’s murder based on possible eyewitnesses seeing a black taxi in the area. Which was also seen in the vicinity of Crossen and Quinn’s as well.

Chief Insp. James Nesbitt

Nesbitt ordered his team to get the name of any taxi drivers who were under suspicion and bring them in. This plan was flawed, as it would not take very long before the rest of the taxi drivers would know what was going on. William Moore’s taxi was on the list, but when the police inspected his taxi, they found nothing. Shortly after, Murphy ordered Moore to get rid of the taxi asap, and he took it to a scrap yard where it was destroyed. Moore traded in his taxi for a beige MarkII Cortina.
Nesbitt wasn’t done with his investigation. He wasn’t planning on stopping. Problem was, he was not aware of the McQuaid murder, the Spirit shop murders, which took place in a different jurisdictions, and guns were used, not knives. Clearly their suspects preferred knives. Nesbitt created “Operation Knife Edge,”an undercover operation where plain clothed officers acting intoxicated were placed on the streets, with hidden wires on them, and team near by listening and watching them, but the entire operation was not successful and was quickly abandoned. Could it have been that maybe some of his team were connected to the UDA or UVF and Murphy caught wind of it?

-Using knives in a politically motivated conflict was actually unusual and very unprecedented in the history of Ulster terrorism, or in many non-Ulster politically motivate crimes around the world. Use of a knife is usually considered very personal, something used in an up close crime. Often seen in sexually motivated crimes. I’m not saying that it isn’t used, it’s just rare. There is sufficient evidence that suggests the use of knives have been used by fringe paramilitary groups. Not to mention, politically motivated murders usually took place during the day, where as the butchers operated at night, under that cloak of darkness.

March 2, 1976: Things were becoming increasingly difficult for Murphy and his gang as mobile military patrols and police were now out cruising the streets and on this particular night, Murphy had a few run ins as he walked from pub to pub just after 1:20am. Murphy met up with some of his crew and left a pub, decided to cause some trouble. At 2:50am, 25 year old Mary Murray and 28 year old Margaret McCartney, who were both Catholic were driving in Mary’s car through the same area where a lot of the murders had been taken place, but neither felt unsafe as they were safely in their car. A car behind them flashed their headlights at them, which was common practice by police and military units, so Mary stopped and pulled over. The other car, a bronze Cortina, pulled up next to them and fired shots at them. Mary was hit once in the shoulder and twice in the chest, and Margaret ducked and avoided being hit. The cortina drove off.
Military mobile patrol Gunner Michael Mallinson heard the shots fired and quickly mobilized his team to head towards Ballysillan area in anticipation of the gunman making their way to the Glencairn Estates. They had their vehicles pulled across the road to block, but the Cortina just sailed passed them, partial on the road and partially not. The patrol fired at the car, hitting the car but not the occupants inside.
The gang dumped the car, and took off, with Murphy tossing the gun into a tall hedge behind a cement wall. A car was hijacked, and at 4:05am, Corporal Frank Harnett pulled over a red Fiat, with Murphy, Bates and two others inside. They let the others go, but kept Murphy and handed him over to the police. While waiting to be questioned, another officer allowed Lennie Murphy to use the washroom, without supervision, and Murphy took the time to wash his hands and the sleeves of his jacket to remove any GSR. With Murphy in custody, the authorities went out to canvas the area for anything they could use against Murphy, and actually located the gun that Murphy ditched in the hedge. After the decision was made to leave the gun there and see if Murphy would return to retrieve it. After hours of questioning, and getting nothing from Murphy, they released him in hopes that he might get the gun he discarded, and a surveillance team was set up to watch the hedge and surrounding area.
March 3, 1976: Murphy showed up in a truck and was taken into custody again at the scene where he ditched the gun. During questioning, he claimed he never went near the hedge and didn’t know anything about the gun. He was then charged with 2 attempted murder charges of Mary Murray and Margaret McCartney and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
With Lennie Murphy behind bars, law enforcement believed they had the butcher in custody, and they did, but Murphy wasn’t going to go down for it.

-Matters and decisions would be made in the name of Murphy while he behind bars;

June 5, 1976: Four gunman entered the Chlorane Bar, and began shooting. They were wearing what was described by surviving witnesses as linen bags over their heads with eye and nose holes cut into it. Inside the Bar were eleven patrons and the Bar owner who was also the bartender.

Roland Cargill
Robert Emerson
John Emerson
Daniel McNeill
Fredrick Graham
Patricia Mahood
William Greer
Francis Carrothers
Samuel Corr
John Martin
Bar owner and bartender (Catholic) Jimmy Coyle
Edward Farrell (Catholic)

When William Greer was exciting the washroom, he saw the gunman, and ran back in, using his feet to hold the door shut. Greer was shot through the door with bullets hitting him on both sides of his neck and once in his right leg. He was lucky he survived. Edward Farrell was shot twice in the back and died, he was Catholic and the bartender/owner who was also Catholic, Jimmy Coyle was shot in the heart, point blank and died instantly. Daniel McNeill, Samuel Corr, and John Marin died and three others were injured. With the exception of Farrell and Coyle, they were protestants. The attack on the Chlorane Bar was a joint operation set up by the UVF using the Brown Bear and Windsor Bar teams.

August 1, 1976:William Moore and Sam McAllister decided to work independently of the Brown Bear time and go rogue. The two set out on Clifftonville Road, where they came across 49 year old Cornelius Neeson, who was leaving the Bingo Hall where he worked as a Bingo caller. McAllister got out of the vehicle and struck Neeson over the head with a hatchet. Moore joined in as they continued to beat him. They thought that they may have been seen by a passing motorist, and left. Leaving Neeson behind. He was taken to hospital but died just a few hours later.

A plea deal was reached between the Crown and the defence. Murphy’s lawyers knew that the evidence they had linking Murphy to the attempted murders of Mary Murray and Margaret McCartney was circumstantial, so they offered the Crown Prosecution that if they were to drop the two charges of attempted murder, then Murphy would plead guilty to the firearms charge. The crown accepted and Murphy would be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Murphy would only serve six years, due to the 50% Remission rule, which basically was introduced solely in Northern Ireland, in the mid 1970’s, with the phasing out of Special Category Status which was a provision for prisoners who claimed paramilitary allegiances.

Moore was requested by Murphy to run the brown bear unit in his absence, with Mr.A acting as a go-between and available for support to Moore, supplying weapons.

October 29, 1976: 21 year old Stephen McCann and his 17 year old girlfriend Frances Tohill were out for the night, enjoying each others company. The two met up with Stephan’s youngest sister and her boyfriend at the Queen’s Student’s Union Bar around 7pm. While there, Stephen and Frances were invited to a party, but Frances wasn’t sure if the was going to go with Stephen, as she had a curfew at midnight, and he had planned on staying at the house where the party was at over night. She decided to join him for a little while and went with him. They left the party at around 2am, walking home towards Millfield area. William Moore, Sam McAllister, William Townsley and Artie McClay jumped them, one knocked down Frances and restrained her, while the other two knocked Stephen out and pulled him into a vehicle, where they got Stephen onto the floor. They beat him, and asked him his religion. They stopped at Mr.A’s house where Moore retrieved a butcher knife and a .22 calibre gun. Mr. A gave specific instructions to make sure he cuts the throat. Moore and the gang head to the Glencairn area, at a community centre, dragging McCann out of the car, before shooting him in the head, and then used the knife to cut Stephen’s throat. When the police arrived on the scene, it was evident that the body had been staged. Stephen McCann was found on his back, with his legs bent back underneath him, head back and hands upwards on his chest. Nesbitt and his team were now second guessing whether Murphy was indeed the butcher.

December 20, 1976: Sam McAllister was a hot head, not so different than Murphy, and on this particular night, he found himself involved in an altercation with a UDA member, Thomas Easton. Sam was a short and stocky type fella, but tough as balls. Easton made fun of him and his size. Around 1am, when Easton left the club, he was confronted by a very pissed off McAllister, who knocked him out. McAllister proceeded to beat him and then dragged his body into a churchyard. UDA members at the club earlier who witnessed the first confrontation took it to their leaders, who demanded that the UVF punish McAllister. The UVF decided to punish McAllister by kneecapping him. He asked if his punishment could wait until after his wife had their child. Two months later, McAllister received his punishment, but instead was shot in the arm, so he could still perform his domestic duties as a father. The arms healed quickly and the damage was minimal.

January 29, 1977: 30 year old James Curtis Banks Moorehead left the Rumford Street Social Club on Shankill road, and was a leading staff officer in the UDA. Two days later, his body was found by a lorry driver. It had looked as if Moorehead’s body had been dragged approximately 12 feet, and fragments of his skull were found close to his body. He was also missing the middle of his forefinger. Multiple abrasions and injuries to his head and face indicated he had been tortured. His body was dumped in a different district. The authorities in that district believed this was the work of the Provisional IRA, bit it was done by Robert Bates, McAllister and Moore.

February 2, 1977: Joseph Morrissey was a 52 year old Catholic who was leaving the National club after a few drinks. On his way home, he was attacked by McAllister, Moore, and McClay and hit several times with a hatchet, and dragged into the car, where the torture continued with a knife. Once they reached Glencairn Estates, Morrissey was dragged from the car and Moore cut his throat and attempted to severe his head.

-Despite being behind bars, Lennie Murphy had all the power over his Brown Bear unit. He loved still calling the shots from behind bars and the influence he had over the group, but what made it all the better was he knew he was undermining the police’s belief that he was behind the cut-throat murders. With the murders continuing, Nesbitt and Fitzsimmons were questioning his involvement.

-Lennie Murphy is a power driven murderer, getting off on the power and control he exerts over people, whether it’s having them do his dirty work, fearing him, or wielding that knife himself.

March 29, 1977: Mr. A gave William Moore the same gun Lennie Murphy had used to kill Ted McQuaid to use in another murder. No doubt this order came from Murphy himself. 24 year old Davy Bell accompanied William Moore, along with 25 year old Norman Waugh and a guy only referred to as “Winkie”. The group came across 43 year old Catholic, Francis Cassidy, being approached by Waugh and Bell who laid a beating on him before getting him into the car. His throat was slashed and he was shot with the gun provided by Mr.A.

April 1977: Ulster Volunteer Force had only one bomb maker, James “Tonto” Watt. He was not nearly as efficient as the IRA bomb makers or bombers. Lennie Murphy never requested any of Watt’s services due to the fact that he would have had to obtain permission from the West Belfast UVF leadership, which would mean he’d have to give up his independence, and let them in on whatever plan he had. Mr.A decided that he wanted to execute one of Murphy’s plans to take out a group of Catholics and devised a plan to bomb Republicans in the heart of the Falls area. He was sure that the UVF leadership would approve of his plan. He planned to use the fact that the Republicans hold a large demonstration on Easter Sunday, which would fall on April 10th, and that would be the best time to strike the IRA. On April 4th, Mr.A obtained permission from the UVF and the assistance of James “Tonto” Watt. In order to execute his plan, he brought in Mr. B, Benny “Pretty Boy” Edwards, Norman Waugh, and two others, purposely leaving out Moore, as he was the main one working on Murphy’s orders. Watt sent some of the team members out to stake out a good location to load the bomb off, but they were unable to find a suitable place, so Watt went back out with them. Beer kegs were set out to block side streets leading to predominately Protestant areas to keep Catholics out, Watt figured this was perfect and planned to set up the bomb inside a beer keg, in order for it to blend in without suspicions.
April 10, 1977, Easter Sunday: The bomb Watt made was carefully transported in a beer keg, earlier in the morning with two car teams, and was set to go off at 2pm, during the official Republican movement. Instead it went off during the Provisional march, killing a 10 year old boy, Kevin McMenamin, and injuring many others.

April 20, 1977: Watt provided another bomb for the UVF, where they planted it a funeral which killed two civilians.
May 1977: Jimmy Nesbitt felt like he was closer to capturing the Butcher
May 2, 1977: Another bomb made by Watt, killed Corporal John Geddis of the Ulster Defence Regiment. Watt was eventually caught and given nine life sentences.

May 11, 1977: 20 year old Gerard McLaverty was attacked off Emerson. He wasn’t killed but left unconscious. He was taken to the hospital where he was in critical for a while, but eventually recovered. The police stood by so that he was protected round the clock. At first, Nesbitt didn’t think that McLaverty’s attack was connected to the butchers, as they never left anyone alive. There were knife wounds found on each of McLaverty’s wrists, and he told police he was taken at gunpoint on Clifftonville Road.

May 18, 1977: Nesbitt took advantage of a general strike, knowing that the streets would be filled with UVF & UDA members. He instructed two constables to disguise McLaverty and drive him around to see if he can spot any of his Attackers. Shankill Road was indeed filled with members from the UVF & UDA. McLaverty was able to identify two of his attackers; Sam McAllister and Benny “Pretty Boy” Edwards. Nesbitt issued a warrant for their arrests and included William Moore, based on the fact that Moore owned a yellow Cortina and eyewitnesses said they had seen a yellow Cortina during some of the abductions. Moore was arrested under Section 12 of the Prevention of Terrorist Act 1976. During the arrest, McAllister was in bed with his wife, and the police found a butcher knife sticking out of a floorboard beside McAllister’s bed, and another one found under his bed. He claimed they were there for protection in case the IRA stormed his home. More knives were collected from his kitchen. Moore’s Cortina was found at an associates house and was brought in fro testing, along with the knives from the McAllister’s home for blood.

blood evidence on the rubber mat lining & on the rubber seal of the trunk
wide spread blood evidence on the rubber mat taken from the trunk
blood from the seal and the mat was consistent with sheep’s blood (no one offered why there was sheep’s blood)
fibres from the car matched those taken from McLaverty’s clothing
no blood evidence was found on any of the knives found in the McAllister home

May 23, 1977:Bates and Townsley were arrested. Nesbitt assumed that Townsley would be easy to break because he was a juvenile, but he was a tougher nut to crack than what he anticipated.

May 25, 1977:McClay, Bates, Bell & Waugh were all in custody.

June 13, 19977:McIlwaine and Edwards were arrested after going on the run.

William Moore ended up spilling a lot of the tea, except he did not take any direct responsibility for the cut-throat murders, nor did he name Lennie Murphy as the mastermind or having any part in the murders. During this, Bates also talked, doing a lot of the same things as Moore. He wouldn’t take any direct responsibility and would not name names. McAllister blamed any of his involvement on alcohol.

Nesbitt was hoping to get someone he arrested to give him Lennie Murphy and detail his involvement. He worked hard with Moore and Bates to do just that, even going as far as keeping a small contingent of people in the jail, as to protect them and keep them safe as potential witnesses. The plan did ultimately work, and both Bates and Moore talked but were still very much afraid of Murphy and the reach he had. Not only did they give up Murphy but Mr. A & Mr. B. as well. But by the time the Director of Public Prosecutions actually got to the statements, 18 months later, both Bates and Moore had recanted, making them unusable.

June 18, 1977: Moore, Townsley and 21 year old James Potts, as well as Lennie Murphy’s 27 year old brother, John Alexander Murphy, were arrested and charged with assault on Harold Underwood, which happened the day after the Easter bombings.
July 22, 1977: Lennie Murphy was brought from his prison cell to talk about the murders, but Murphy wouldn’t talk, instead he just chuckled, and said they had nothing that connected him to the murders. Which they didn’t. Nesbitt was planning on telling Murphy that he had evidence directly connecting Murphy to the cut-throat killings and Shaw, as well as the Lorry killings of two men, but Murphy’s response was to just laugh. It turned out to be a waste of time.

January 25, 1979:The butchers who had been arrested entered their pleas of “Not Guilty”, but after lunch and after their council gave them advice, some of them changed their plea to “Guilty”. McClay and Townsley decided to maintain their “not guilty” pleas. McClay said that his statement was made under duress, whereas Townsley attempted to plea down his charges to a lesser charge. Both were denied by the Judge.
February 18, 1979: Eleven accused Butchers appeared in court and were charged with 19 murders; Moore, McAllister, Bates, Edwards, Townsley, Bell, McClay, Waugh, Leckey, Watt and McIlwaine.
February 20, 1979: The judge began to hand down their sentences;

Bates pleaded guilty to ten murders and Moore pleaded guilty to eleven. Together their sentence equalled to 2,000 years to run concurrent
McAllister, McClay, and Edwards were sentenced to 20 years to life
Waugh received 2 life sentences, and to serve no less than 18 years
Watt was given another life sentence to run concurrently with the other eight life sentences he was already serving
Bell was given on life sentence
Townsley, because he was a minor, was ordered to be detained at the pleasure of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Leckey & McIlwaine were each given ten years.

-Judge handed down 42 life life sentence in one sitting, which was the largest handed down in a single court in the British legal history

If you think that’s where this story ends, you would be mistaken.

July 16, 1982: Just three years after the Brown Bear unit was convicted, Lennie Murphy was released. His life was going to be different on the outside as his wife and daughter had moved on. He didn’t seem to care all that much, which is actually very common among sociopaths. They care only of themselves. He was more focused on himself, and regaining his power and control on Shankill Road, and he was already seeing a younger woman named Hillary. Not even a day after his release, Murphy, Mr. A. and Mr. B, were at the Rumford Street Loyalist Club when a 33 year old named Alexander Maxwell, irritated Murphy. Maxwell was a protestant but it didn’t seem to matter to Murphy. He suggested to Maxwell that they take a walk to the yard, where Murphy then proceeded to kick and beat him, leaving him there and leaving to retrieve his car and then proceeded to run him over.

-It took six weeks after his release to rebuild a new unit, and he was able to obtain a car from a fella named Brian Smyth, with the promise that he would pay off the car soon. He was back to being a hot-shot. Murphy, of course, relented on his debt to Smyth, but Smyth wasn’t going away. The two men agreed to meet at the Rumford Club, which Smyth was smart enough to bring two guys with him as back up. Smyth and Murphy got into an argument, eventually ending when Murphy agreed that he would pay of the car in a few days. To seal the deal, Murphy bough Smyth a drink and within minutes, Smyth wasn’t feeling well. He left with his two buddies to go to the washroom, and when they returned, Murphy had slipped out. HE was convinced that Murphy had poisoned him and his buddies were accompanying him to the hospital. During the trip there, a motorcycle was noticed following them, and they stopped the car. Eight shots were fired directly into Smyth, killing him instantly.

-The UVF suspected that Murphy was behind it, and they weren’t keen on having him back in the fray, and being on the loose again. The UVF and the UDA felt that Murphy brought way too much unwanted attention to them from the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary).

October 22, 1982: Murphy, along with the members of his new group; William Mahood, Noel Large, William “Wingnut” Cowan, and another man, were discussing a Protestant British Army Officer’s abduction, Tommy Cochrane, by the IRA. Murphy felt that they should abduct a Catholic, but when he brought it up to one of the UVF leaders, they said no. Murphy was pissed, and when he left the club, he mentioned it again to another UVF member, but again was told no. So he and Cowan waved down a black taxi, and ordered the driver to wait until the next day to report it. Joseph Donegan, a 48 year old Catholic, waved down a taxi after leaving a pub, but he was not intoxicated. Unfortunately it was the taxi that Murphy and Cowan just hijacked. Donegan put up one hell of a fight, which just infuriated Murphy and he began beating him and forced him into the taxi. They took him to Murphy’s former home, which was now vacant, but also across the street from his current home. This was a stupid mistake, which is something all criminals eventually do. Murphy would torture Donegan, and even pulling out all but three of his teeth with pliers. Murphy had zero intention of ever letting Donegan leave alive, but was still planning on using his abduction as leverage to try to get back Cochrane from the IRA. The plan worked to a degree, as the abduction of Donegan was used by the Loyalist to bargain for Cochrane, but the IRA said that Cochrane was a serving British Army officer and Donegan was not. Donegan’s body was suppose to be moved in the middle of the night, but a couple of Murphy’s team struggled to get him into the trunk of the car, and was seen by witnesses, so they dropped him in the alley behind Murphy’s former home. When the police and news reporters were all there, they found that the inside of the vacant home, was covered in blood. Police spotted Murphy amongst the spectators and arrested him.

Alley way where Joseph Donegan’s body was discovered

Problems arose quickly, as the residence where the murder took place, used to belong to Murphy, and his finger prints would be in the house. The Defence could easily explain that away and a conviction would not likely to happen. Police could not prove that Murphy killed Donegan and had to release him. Murphy had created a mess for the UVF and were not happy, and in the end, the IRA still killed Tommy Cochrane, and his body was found beatened and shot at the border.

After Murphy was released from his recent arrest, Murphy was receiving death threats. His behaviour reflected a sense of paranoia, as he was becoming less predictable and more erratic. The only thing that was a constant, was that he would stay at his girlfriend’s home in the Glencairn Estates. He would always park his car in the back alley and using her back entrance. He was also fully aware that the UVF no longer supported him, and the UDA felt the same way, viewing him as a psychopath.

November 16, 1982: At 6:40pm, Murphy made his way over to his girlfriend’s home in the Glencairn Estates. For someone who was extra paranoid about the people around him, he was totally unaware that he had been followed by a blue van. When he parked his vehicle, and turned off the ignition, the van pulled in front of him, and the back doors opened. Two armed gunmen stepped out, one with a .9mm sub-machine gun, and the other with a .38 special, and opened fire, killing Lennie Murphy.

The Provisional IRA staked their claim the following day via the media, giving details of the type of weapons they used, but there was some conspiracy in regards to this claim. With the Provisional IRA, and the UDA/UVF being bitter enemies, and Murphy being murdered in a protestant dominated area, it would have made it extremely difficult for the IRA to do their recognizance work before executing the hit. There was no doubt that the Provisional IRA had hit teams ready at different parts of the Catholic sector of Belfast, who were ready to go when they were told to, but that would only be if Murphy was near by. Both the Provisional IRA and the Loyalist UDA/UVF, were in agreement about one thing; Lennie Murphy had to go. So what happened? Did they work together to get the job done in secret? No doubt that if many in the UVF knew about the plan to get rid of Murphy, news would have trickled down to him, and we all know that he would have struck first and not bothered to ask questions later. He would have just taken anyone out he thought was after him. I find it strange that with all of his paranoia, and him knowing that he was not in good books with the UVF, that he didn’t already strike first.

Six months after Murphy’s death, Noel Large told the police that he didn’t know who killed Murphy, but that he suspected his own side was behind it and that he was afraid that if he said too much, that he would suffer the same fate as Murphy.

Lennie’s mother, Joyce Murphy, was quoted in the one paper as saying, “My Lennie would not have hurt a fly.” (discuss this more)

Lennie Murphy received a heroes funeral, with the epitaph on his head stone reading “Here Lies a Soldier”. Some regarded him as just that, a hero, but most saw him as more of a monster. A monster who used the strife between the Catholics and the Protestants as an excuse to murder innocent people. He wasn’t concerned whether or not they were part of the IRA, he asked I think to make his gang believe in the cause, when there really was no cause. Victims like;

Marie McGratton
Francis Donnelly
Gerard Grogan
Thomas Osborne
Francis Crossen
Noel Shaw
Ted McQuaid
Thomas Quinn
Archie Hanna
Raymond Carlisle
Francis Rice
Cornelius Neeson
Stephen McCann
Thomas Easton
James Moorehead
Joseph Morrissey
Francis Cassidy
Kevin McMenamin
Gerard McLaverty
Norman Maxwell
James Galaway
Brian Smyth
Joseph Donegan

Many of the other Members of the Brown Bear squad have since been released from prison, or have died. Joseph Morrissey’s daughter said in a documentary that I was able to find that during the funeral of Robert Bates in 1997, when more than 1,000 people lined the streets to, I guess celebrate him as hero, and that she was stuck in traffic for 2 1/2 hours. Can you imagine being stuck in traffic as the funeral for one of the monsters who killed your father or loved one’s life was being celebrate. She had to be physically ill.

William Moore died in 2009, and on his headstone, it read the same as Murphy’s, “Here Lies A Soldier”

All of the convicted Shankill Butchers are free from jail now, with nine still alive and living in Northern Ireland. Justice was not served here. I may not know a whole lot about Ireland’s justice system, or their religious or political divide, but to me that’s a lot of violent people out on the streets. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of them have to be old now and maybe unable to operate, but that is still NOT justice for the victim’s or the victim’s families.

Sectarianism is still very much a part of the communities today in Northern Ireland.

“To understand sectarianism in Northern Ireland is to view the key issues that drive division and antagonism. To return to the beginning, the main cleavage in Northern Ireland is mutually exclusive forms of national self-determination. This dynamic fuelled the conflict known as the Troubles, resulting in 3,500 deaths and in the region of 100,000 serious injuries. Political and social divisions unsurprisingly were intensified in this period, particularly in relation to political polarisation and residential segregation.” –fpc.org.uk article by Professor John Nagle

Because of the Shankill Butchers, 19 people died, 9 were protestants. Showing they didn’t seem to care who they hurt, or the destruction they inevitable would leave behind.

Recently a mural honouring the UVF was placed on Glennwood avenue, just of the Shankill road area, infuriated many as it also honoured the Shankill butchers. Among a list of dead UVF men it includes Lenny Murphy, his brother John Murphy, Robert ‘Basher’ Bates and John Townsley. All convicted murders.
The Butchers used issues in their communities to simply kill. They were serial killers, not heroes. It was all fuelled by hatred based on religion. Or was it simply disguised as their reason for killing innocent people?

To hear our podcast on the Shankill Butchers, you can check it out here; https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-bes4x-15ec743

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