Ulster Resistance (UR), or the Ulster Resistance Movement (URM), is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary movement established by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in November 1986 in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Peter Robinson was the DUP's deputy leader and a prominent figure in the founding of Ulster Resistance
Ulster Hall in Bedford Street in Belfast city centre
DUP press officer Nigel Dodds first introduced Ulster Resistance to journalists
Ballymena town hall
Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a united Ireland independent of the UK. Unlike other strands of unionism, loyalism has been described as an ethnic nationalism of Ulster Protestants and "a variation of British nationalism". Loyalists are often said to have a conditional loyalty to the British state so long as it defends their interests. They see themselves as loyal primarily to the Protestant British monarchy rather than to British governments and institutions, while Garret FitzGerald argued they are loyal to 'Ulster' over 'the Union'. A small minority of loyalists have called for an independent Ulster Protestant state, believing they cannot rely on British governments to support them. The term 'loyalism' is usually associated with paramilitarism.
The Union Flag, Ulster Banner and Orange Order flags are often flown by loyalists in Northern Ireland.
Ulster Volunteers in Belfast c.1914
Loyalist graffiti and banner on a building in a side street off the Shankill Road, Belfast (1970)
A UDA/UFF mural in Belfast