14 hours ago
Johnny ‘Mad Dog' Adair says he was in ‘no danger' during visit to Belfast
Adair tells how he paused for a moment to pay his respects at a wall mural showing his late loyalist friend Jackie Coulter
Former loyalist terror chief Johnny 'Mad Dog' loves the old adage: 'You can take the boy out of Belfast, But you can't take Belfast out the boy'.
That's what he told us when we asked why the exiled terror chief made a visit from his home in Ayrshire to his old Shankill Road stomping ground last week.
'I still have a lot of very good friends in Belfast and I like to keep in touch with them. I'm back in Belfast often. It's only because I made a video of me driving around the lower Shankill that it became an issue,' he said.
He added: 'I know imaginations were running wild, but the simple truth is I was in Belfast to see my friends. I still have a lot of them.'
Last week, a short self-shot film appeared on the internet showing Adair on the cross-channel ferry as it docked in Belfast.
And by way of commentary, the former UDA Brigadier smiled as he said: 'Here we are on the big boat, just coming into Belfast.'
He added: 'Top of the world Johnny, top of the world.'
Later in the same film, he is seen driving around the lower Shankill estate, which was once the home base of Adair's notorious loyalist killer gang 'C Coy'.
'Here we are, lower Shankill. C Coy, here we go.' Adair said with a smile.
He paused for a moment to pay his respects at a wall mural showing his late loyalist friend Jackie Coulter, who was gunned down by the UVF in 2000 as part of an internecine feud.
Staring at the mural, Adair said: 'There's Jackie. Top of the morning to you, sir.'
Speaking to the Sunday World this week, Adair said he enjoyed his whistlestop tour of his old territory. And felt nostalgic remembering his many friends who went through the worst of the Troubles alongside him.
He said: 'Of course the area has changed greatly from when I lived there. It was just a big shining light when we were there.
'But it's like everywhere else. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same and you've got to move with the times.
'There's no doubt the place has changed and the atmosphere has changed, but that's a good thing. I still have good friends in the lower Shankill and I just decided to take a wee drive around the estate.'
Although Adair is still living under a paramilitary threat from at least two loyalist organisations, he said he wasn't aware of it during his recent visit.
'Realistically I wasn't in any danger. I took a short drive through the area, but I didn't really hang about for any length of time.
'The Shankill was a really thriving road in its day. And when we lived on the lower part of the road, it was a stronghold.
'But when I looked around, I realised lots of things have changed. The Good Friday Agreement has been in place for a long time now and it's working. The Good Friday Agreement changed everything.
A mural in memory of murdered UDA member Jackie Coulter in the Lower Shankill
'Lots of changes have taken place and are continuing to take place,' he said.
Adair remains convinced the days of paramilitary organisations are over. And he believes people are genuinely working towards that.
'I believe the organisations know it's over, although they're still going and trying to get as much money as they can in the meantime.
'The way I see it is, if the state is willing to give them money to keep quiet, then good luck to them.'
But Adair also emphasised: 'Some day soon though we will have to cross the finishing line as far as the paramilitaries are concerned. You can't keep putting the begging bowl out and saying: 'Give us another £1.2 million or else we're going back to war'.
'The paramilitaries have to be realistic. I believe that over the years they have been given millions. And they have made promises.
'I we look back at the conflict and then compare it to the present day, then there has been a big change. In fact it's a massive change within the communities where the UVF and UFF flourished.
'Clearly the Good Friday Agreement was about disbanding the paramilitary organisations. And yes, it maybe has taken a long time, but to me it looks as though it's going in the right direction.
'The Shankill is a great place and I'm just glad its not what it was like all those years ago,' he said.
Former loyalist terror chief Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair arrived in Belfast last week
Adair also said he was glad to note sectarian rioting appears to be largely a thing of the past.
'Of course interface rioting does happen, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. And yes, we have the dissident republicans, but they have proved they aren't a serious threat to society.
'Science has also changed everything. There are cameras everywhere. People have doorbell cameras and security systems on their homes and paramilitary groups will be well aware of that.
'It's not like the old days, when paramilitaries burned their clothes and even if the were arrested and held in a holding centre for seven days, if they kept their mouth shut, they were back out on the streets.
'The world has moved on. Police skills are much improved and the chances of being caught are far greater that ever before,' said the former UFF terror boss.
He added: 'That's the modern world and if you don't move with it, you'll be left behind.'
