Читать книгу Ultimate Hard Bastards - The Truth About the Toughest Men in the World - Kate Kray - Страница 14

I was born in the Shankhill Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. I’m the youngest of five brothers and one sister. As a teenager, I ran with a gang of Protestants. We’d roam the city centre searching for Catholics to hurt, for no other reason than their religion.

To people on the mainland, this may sound extreme but unless you live in Northern Ireland, the constant troubles are difficult to understand. I can only describe Belfast as two nations – Protestant and Catholic – and, believe me, the two don’t mix. It can be likened to the combination of nitroglycerine and a detonator – separately they are safe, but put them together and it’s dynamite! The wars were bloody and there were many casualties on both sides. I bear many scars and war wounds from my endless street battles. I think my reputation came from being a paramilitary leader, even before I was involved in the politics of it.

I was a young Loyalist, full of hate and anger, and saw Catholics as my enemy. I was a product of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I grew up on the streets. Fighting Catholics was all I knew. I was a loose cannon, with no direction, until, that is, I joined the paramilitaries which gave me the direction I needed. It was then I realised why I was fighting: for peace in my country. Freedom is a passion I truly believe in.

It’s every human being’s fundamental right to be free and I’d fight until the last breath in my body to achieve this independence. I became ruthless in my quest and would stop at nothing. It was then I earned respect and got my reputation.