The Billy Boy

A cult figure among loyalists, despised and feared by nationalists, Billy 'King Rat' Wright is reputed to have been involved in a number of sectarian murders before he himself was shot dead by republican gunmen inside the Maze Prison in 1997. Wright became involved with loyalist paramilitaries at the age of 16, and in the early 1990s he emerged as the UVF commander in the Mid-Ulster area. The Billy Boy documents Wright's role in the Drumcree dispute of 1995-96 and his split from the UVF, recounting how he ignored both a death threat and an order to leave Northern Ireland, only to remain in Portadown and form the Loyalist Volunteer Force. It covers Wright's trial and subsequent imprisonment for a crime it has been claimed was set up by the State; recounts the circumstances of his killing inside a top-security prison; and investigates the allegations of State collusion in Wright's death. Terrifically gripping and often disturbing, The Billy Boy is an exhaustive account of a notorious figure of the Troubles, whose life and death were surrounded by controversy and political debate.

ISBN 1840187581   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9781840187588 (What's this?)   Pages 217 Publisher Mainstream Publishing   Volumes 1 Imprint Mainstream Publishing   Weight (grammes) 160 Format Paperback   Published in Edinburgh Publication date 01 Mar 2004   Height (mm) 198 Writer of foreword Tim Pat Coogan   Width (mm) 128 Library of Congress DA990.U452 \W7536 20   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY 941.670824092   Academic level General

'A gripping and provocative read The Irish Times A detailed and chilling account of one of the most infamous characters to emerge from the Troubles Eye Spy Fascinating Tribune

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