Michael Stone (loyalist): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:15, 21 November 2005

Revision as of 07:59, 22 November 2005

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'''Michael Stone''' (born circa [[1955]] in [[Belfast]]) is a [[loyalist]] [[paramilitary]] from [[Northern Ireland]] who, despite convictions for several murders, became a free man and played a significant role in the [[Northern Ireland peace process]].

He is most famous for the "[[Milltown Massacre]]" in [[1988]], which took place at the republican Milltown Cemetery in [[Belfast]] during the funeral of three [[Irish Republican Army]] terroristsmembers, who were killed, while planningon aactive bomb attackservice, by the British Army in [[Gibraltar]]. Intending on killing top republicans, including [[Gerry Adams]], Michael Stone attacked the crowd with [[grenades]] and a pistol. He killed three people - one of them an IRA membervolunteer - and injured sixty others before he was arrested. The attack was caught on television cameras and provided some of the most vividsavage images of the conflict.

Stone, who apparently objected to the newspaper's portrayal of him as a mad [[Rambo]]-style gunman, also confessed to shooting dead three other Catholics between [[1984]] and [[1987]]. He claimed the victims were linked to the IRA, but none of them were. At his trial he pleaded not guilty, but refused to offer any defencedefense. Convicted of six murders, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation he serve at least thirty years.

While behind bars Stone became the leader of the [[Ulster Freedom Fighters]] and was among many prisoners in [[Her Majesty's Prison Service|HM Prison]] [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze]] to meet [[Mo Mowlam]] during the negotiations the government held with paramilitaries from both sides during peace negotations in the mid-1990s. He also collaborated with [[Martin Dillon]] on a book about his life entitled ''Stone Cold''.

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On [[July 24]], [[2000]], Stone was released from prison under the [[Good Friday Peace Agreement]] of [[1998]] that ruled that those convicted of terrorist crimes were to be set free. The jubilant and triumphant scenes that fellow loyalists greeted Stone with upon his release angered many [[Irish nationalism|Irish Nationalists]], although paramilitaries of both sides, especially "republicans", were often treated as heroes upon their release and this always caused offence and anger, particularly among the victims' relatives.

He now lives in [[East Belfast]] with his girlfriend and has adopted a more low profile in recent years, although in [[2004]] he published his [[autobiography]] titled ''None Shall Divide Us''. He is also a painter, and some of his work has been auctioned for 5 figure sums. He has nine children from two previous marriages.

== External links ==