Tommy Kirkham - UPRG Activity

UPRG Activity

From his base in Rathcoole Kirkham then became a member of the Ulster Democratic Party and stood as the party's candidate in a February 1995 by-election in Rathcoole but was unsuccessful. However returned to the council at the 1997 local elections in the Macedon electoral area. In 2001 when the UDP was dissolved and the UDA Inner Council decided to bring back the UPRG they chose Kirkham as one of the new faces to front the group. He became a leading spokesman for the UPRG whilst also serving as an independent on Newtownabbey Borough Council (with the UPRG not registered as a political party). He is registered as the leader of the Ulster Protestant League, although it is unclear whether or not this organisation exists beyond Kirkham, who is labelled as an Independent Unionist in Newtownabbey.

As a member of the council, Kirkham was twice deputy mayor of Newtownabbey, the first time in 1999 with the support of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and again in 2010 with support from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Kirkham's appointment was condemned by councillors representing that UUP and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, who accused the DUP of blocking their access to leading posts by appointing an independent. In 2006 the DUP had initially intimated their support for a plan to endorse Kirkham as mayor of the town before abandoning the plan. He lost his seat on the council in the 2011 elections.

Along with Frank McCoubrey and Frankie Gallagher, Kirham was one of the UPRG's three leading UPRG spokesmen and had been responsible for delivering statements from the UDA. As part of this three man group he met with Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2004, along with UDA leader Jackie McDonald and prisoners' spokesman Stanley Fletcher, in a meeting he described as 'historic, productive and amicable'. He was also involved in an initiative to move loyalism away from racism, joining David Ervine in backing the Loyalist Commission-led scheme that started up in response to allegations of links between the UDA and Combat 18 and the involvement of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in attacks on Belfast's Chinese community.

During the internal struggles within the UDA in late 2002 with regards to the attempts to expel Johnny Adair, Kirkham followed the orthodox anti-Adair line as espoused by his close friend John 'Grug' Gregg. As a consequence of this position his Carnmoney home was targeted for a gun attack by Adair's supporters over Christmas 2002, although no one was injured in the assault.

He remained an important spokesman for the UPRG, particularly following the removal of Johnny Adair in early 2003, and in February of that year it was Kirkham who was chosen to read a statement from the UDA leadership in which they announced an indefinite extension to their ceasefire.