The Billy Boy: The Life and Death of LVF Leader Billy Wright - Hardcover

Anderson, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1840186399 ISBN 13: 9781840186390

Publisher: Mainstream Publishing, 2002

Synopsis

A cult figure among loyalists, despised and feared by nationalists, Billy "King Rat" Wright is reputed to have been involved in a number of sectarian murders before he himself was shot dead by republican gunmen inside the Maze Prison in 1997. Wright became involved with loyalist paramilitaries at the age of 16, and in the early 1990s he emerged as the UVF commander in the Mid-Ulster area. The Billy Boy documents Wright's role in the Drumcree dispute of 1995-96 and his split from the UVF, recounting how he ignored both a death threat and an order to leave Northern Ireland, only to remain in Portadown and form the Loyalist Volunteer Force. It covers Wright's trial and subsequent imprisonment for a crime it has been claimed was set up by the State; recounts the circumstances of his killing inside a top-security prison; and investigates the allegations of State collusion in Wright's death. Terrifically gripping and often disturbing, The Billy Boy is an exhaustive account of a notorious figure whose life and death were surrounded by controversy and political debate.

About this title

About the Author

Chris Anderson is a former Officer of the Ulster Defence Regiment and also worked for five years in Intelligence Gathering. He is now a freelance journalist and contributes to numerous newspapers including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent and the Belfast Telegraph. He lives in Portadown.

Review

Terrifically gripping and often disturbing, The Billy Boy is an exhaustive account of a notorious Irish rebel with a cause, whose life and death were surrounded by controversy and political debate.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1840186399
• ISBN 13: 9781840186390
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224