Jackie Mahood
| Jackie Mahood | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1954 (age 63–64) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Taxi firm owner |
| Known for |
Ulster loyalist activist Ulster Volunteer Force and Loyalist Volunteer Force member |
| Spouse(s) | Rae Mahood |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | John Alexander and Sarah Mahood |
Jackie Mahood (born c. 1954) is a Northern Irish former loyalist activist with both the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). He later split from these groups and became associated with the breakaway Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), founded in 1996 by Billy Wright.
Mahood was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of the three children of John Alexander and Sarah Mahood. He has a sister, Sandra and a deceased brother, Bobby. Mahood was brought up a Protestant in Ainsworth Avenue, a street that marks the dividing line between two staunchly loyalist areas of the upper Shankill Road and Woodvale Road. However, Ainsworth Avenue had a significant Catholic minority population and linked directly to the mainly Catholic Springfield Road until the early years of the Troubles when the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) erected temporary barricades which were later replaced with peace lines. He is married to Rae, by whom he has three children. His father, a member of the Orange Order, died in January 2008.
A member of the UVF, Mahood was sentenced to 14 years in 1975 for wounding with a firearm during a gun attack on a pub and possession of an illegal gun. Like a number of his contemporaries, Mahood joined the PUP after serving time in prison for offences related to his membership of the UVF. Following his release from prison, Mahood returned to the UVF and served as commander in north Belfast in the mid-1990s.
Following the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) ceasefire of 1994, Mahood was part of the first PUP delegation to hold talks with representatives of the British government. Mahood was on poor terms with David Ervine, who feared the growth of the hawkish Billy Wright and his allies. Ervine threatened to resign from the talks team over the inclusion of Mahood. Mahood eventually left the PUP after becoming disillusioned with the Belfast Agreement.
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