The Orange Volunteers (OV) are a break-away Loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. For the township in Canada, see Loyalist, Ontario In general, a loyalist is an individual who is loyal to the powers that be. ... A paramilitary is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... Northern Ireland is one of four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. ...

OV emerged during the 1998 Drumcree Crisis. They are comprised largely of militants who disapproved of the Northern Ireland peace process. They are known for attacks on Catholic civilian interests in Northern Ireland, in an attempt to prevent political settlements with Nationalists. At the height of their activity they were known to have as many as 20 members, some of whom were experienced with munitions and bomb-making. Several pipe bomb attacks were attributed to them. 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Troubles is a generic term used to describe a period of sporadic communal violence involving paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until the mid-1990s. ... When discussing Northern Irish history, the Peace Process is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of The Troubles, the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement, and subsequent political developments. ... Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Munition is often defined as a synonyn for ammunition. ... A pipe bomb is a simple type of improvised explosive device favored by criminals, a piece of pipe filled with an explosive material. ...

Image File history File links Orange Volunteers logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

The group has not been active since 2000, when they declared a ceasefire. In Februrary 2001, the group called off its ceasefire with a "Back to War" statement, but has not been thought to be active since then. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war, for any of various reasons. ...

References

• BBC: The Search for Peace 1
• BBC: The Search for Peace 2
• The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base

External links

• Loyalist Voice
• Scottish Loyalists