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UVF: Behind the Mask
UVF: Behind the Mask is the gripping new history of the Ulster Volunteer Force from its post-1965 incarnation to the present day. Aaron Edwards blends rigorous research with unprecedented access to leading members of the UVF to unearth the startling inner-workings of one of the world’s oldest and most ruthless paramilitary groups.
Through interviews with high-profile UVF leaders, such as Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson and Gary Haggarty, as well as their loyalist rivals including Johnny Adair, Edwards reveals the grisly details behind their sadistic torture and murder techniques and their litany of high-profile atrocities: McGurk’s Bar, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Miami Showband massacre and the Shankill Butchers’ serial-killing spree, amongst others. Edwards’ life and career has led him to the centre of the UVF’s long, dark underbelly; in this defining work he offers a comprehensive and authoritative study of an armed group that continues to play a pivotal role in Northern Irish society.
Through interviews with high-profile UVF leaders, such as Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson and Gary Haggarty, as well as their loyalist rivals including Johnny Adair, Edwards reveals the grisly details behind their sadistic torture and murder techniques and their litany of high-profile atrocities: McGurk’s Bar, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Miami Showband massacre and the Shankill Butchers’ serial-killing spree, amongst others. Edwards’ life and career has led him to the centre of the UVF’s long, dark underbelly; in this defining work he offers a comprehensive and authoritative study of an armed group that continues to play a pivotal role in Northern Irish society.
- GenresIrelandHistoryNonfiction
458 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 8, 2017
34 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Edwards
32 books20 followersWelcome to my Goodreads Page!
I’m a reader first and a writer second.
My several books include the critically acclaimed Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire (Transworld Books, 2014; paperback 2015) and UVF: Behind the Mask (Merrion Press, 2017).
I have taught in the Faculty for the Study of Leadership, Security and Warfare at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since 2008, traveling the world to instruct on global security challenges, including terrorism, war and peace.
In my spare time beyond reading, writing and teaching I love walking, trekking and running.
I’m a reader first and a writer second.
My several books include the critically acclaimed Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire (Transworld Books, 2014; paperback 2015) and UVF: Behind the Mask (Merrion Press, 2017).
I have taught in the Faculty for the Study of Leadership, Security and Warfare at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since 2008, traveling the world to instruct on global security challenges, including terrorism, war and peace.
In my spare time beyond reading, writing and teaching I love walking, trekking and running.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 23, 2018
Interesting to read a more up to date history of the paramilitary organisation, written by an academic who grew up in the same area from which many of the strategists and footsoldiers of the organisation came, and which pulls no punches about the atrocities they committed, while trying to understand their psyche and explain their difficulty in leaving the conflict behind. Just felt that the book glossed over some of the most controversial killings of the troubles, those perpetrated by the 'Glenanne Gang' in the 1970s - while some of their atrocities were mentioned, and their leader name checked a few times, the enormity and significance of their campaign wasn't clear.
Saying that, the fact that I finished the book in less than a working week shows how, for someone like me who has an interest in the history of NI, this book was an engaging read.
Saying that, the fact that I finished the book in less than a working week shows how, for someone like me who has an interest in the history of NI, this book was an engaging read.
July 5, 2019
Aaron Edwards certainly knows his subject and he does not allow his respect for some of the protagonists used as sources to cloud his analysis. A very timely work that should be read widely it adds significantly to a better understanding of the events and motivations of loyalist paramilitaries.
December 31, 2020
An academic book, not that easy to read. After a while my thought was, “Why do I want to know about these thugs?”. I didn’t finish the book.
March 14, 2026
Bar a couple of chapters, it reads less like an exploration of the story of the UVF—their motivations, their politics, their evolution—and more like a graphic summary of every wicked thing they ever did. Several hundreds of pages of names that you forget with each passing page/graphic murder. The result is the opposite of what the book intended—it just makes the victims feel like statistics.
Not to mention, the author is clearly partial towards the PUP-oriented figures, which allows him to somewhat overlook some of the crimes of the figures involved in it.
I learned very little from this that I couldn’t have gleaned from a Wikipedia article.
Not to mention, the author is clearly partial towards the PUP-oriented figures, which allows him to somewhat overlook some of the crimes of the figures involved in it.
I learned very little from this that I couldn’t have gleaned from a Wikipedia article.
November 14, 2025
insightful
A difficult subject, which is handled well.
Thought there could have been more details of the republican’s place in the story but apart from that a balanced read.
A difficult subject, which is handled well.
Thought there could have been more details of the republican’s place in the story but apart from that a balanced read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews