William McGrath (loyalist)

William McGrath was a loyalist from Northern Ireland who founded the far-right organisation Tara in the 1960s, having also been prominent in the Orange Order until his expulsion due to his paedophilia. A house master in Kincora Boys' Home in East Belfast,[1] in 1981 he was jailed for four years for paeodophile activities at this home.[2]

McGrath, who was a member of Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church, died in 1992.[3] In the course of the investigation surrounding the scandal, McGrath was dubbed "the Beast of Kincora" and it was alleged he had contacts with prominent politicians and political personalities in England such as Sir Anthony Blunt.[4] In his 1999 book The Dirty War, Martin Dillon claims that McGrath may have been employed by MI5 since the 1960s, having possessed an in-depth knowledge of loyalism in Northern Ireland.[5] According to Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack, McGrath provided information on fellow loyalists after being blackmailed by MI5, who were aware of his paedophilia but took no action regarding it.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Any threat to the majority Is not welcome", Irish News, 8 September 2004; retrieved 29 October 2009
  2. ^ Dillon, Martin (1999). God and the gun: The church and Irish terrorism. Routledge. ISBN 9780415923637. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7-vCs5N4K2EC&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235&dq=%22William+McGrath%22+paeodophile&source=bl&ots=B-7QcXvY83&sig=sQ0RhbYAq64tkKrkiJEP7HZZPXU&hl=en&ei=pPvpSuWJCIShjAfZiLGdDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
  3. ^ UVF The Endgame by Henry McDonald and Jim Cucask (ISBN 978-1-84223-326-9), page 97
  4. ^ Moore, Chris (1996). The Kincora Scandal: Political Cover-up and Intrigue in Northern Ireland. Marino Books. ISBN 978-1860230295. 
  5. ^ Dillon, Martin (1999). The Dirty War. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 041592281X. 
  6. ^ UVF The Endgame by Henry McDonald and Jim Cucask (ISBN 978-1-84223-326-9), page 379