Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair carries the coffin of longtime friend Sam 'Skelly' McCrory at Masonhill Crematorium in Ayr, Scotland, on Thursday, August 11th, 2022 (Credit: Peter Morrison)
Bum Chums Adair and Skelly in the Maze Prison in the 1990s
Friday 12th August, 2022.
Several hundred mourners gathered in Scotland today for the funeral of former UDA man Sam ‘Skelly’ McCrory.
The cortege of the 57-year-old was led to the service, at a crematorium on the outskirts of Ayr, by a lone Scottish piper.
Former UDA boss Johnny Adair carried the coffin of his closest friend and ally. Among the mourners were a number of former members of UDA C Company.
McCrory died after a fall at his flat in Ayr last month. The former UDA hitman had moved to Scotland to be with his partner Harry following his release from prison under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
He had been serving a 16-year sentence for the attempted murder of leading republicans Brian Gillen and Martin Lynch.
While in the Maze he met with former Secretary of State Mo Mowlam, along with Adair and Milltown killer Michael Stone.
Friends and family of the loyalist gathered at the Masonhill crematorium in Ayr for the short service. There was standing room only as a long line of mourners arrived for the midday service.
The crematorium is set in picturesque grounds on the outskirts of Ayr.
Mad Dog carries his friends Skelly's coffin at Masonhill Crematorium in Ayr, Scotland (Credit: Peter Morrison)
Adair’s former wife Gina and daughter Chloe, now an Instagram influencer paid to promote top fashion brands on her social media accounts, were among the mourners.
The Rev Paul Russell told the congregation at the 30-minute service that McCrory was one of seven children and remained close to his family after he relocated to the Scottish seaside town.
The minister thanked Adair, dressed in a black bomber jacket and sunglasses, for helping to organise the service that included anecdotes about his earlier life growing up off the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.
There was no mention of McCrory’s paramilitary past during the funeral service. However, floral tributes did include a number of wreaths, one of which read ‘UFF’.
McCrory had been a leading member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters, a cover name used by the UDA and was thought to be responsible for a number of killings carried out by the loyalist paramilitary group.
Another wreath read ‘C Company’, the unit of the UDA led by Adair, with a large wreath reading Skelly.
Celine Dion’s ‘The Prayer’ and Andrea Bocelli were played during the service before Rev Russell asked the congregation to say a silent prayer for McCrory.
One mourner arrived wearing an Orange Order collarette.
Adair who had been friends with Skelly since childhood was leading the cortege along with McCrory’s sisters who had travelled from Northern Ireland to attend the service.
He said afterwards that it was a “fitting send-off” for his closest friend.
Also present were friends from Scotland where the 57-year-old was well-known in local LGBT circles, and had been a campaigner for gay rights, often seen at Pride events.
The notorious gunman, the most trusted and loyal member of Johnny Adair’s ‘C Company’ and the first openly gay loyalist paramilitary.
Over the years, he survived several attempts on his life.
It was originally thought his death may have been the result of an attack, as he was found with head injuries, however, a post mortem examination showed he had suffered from a fall on the steps of the flat where he had been living for more than 20 years.
He was rushed to hospital but died shortly afterwards after going into cardiac arrest.
Funeral wreaths for Sam 'Skelly' McCrory at Masonhill Crematorium in Ayr, Scotland
McCrory had been a rebellious teenager. He played in a Nazi punk band and was linked to far-right white supremacist groups such as the National Front since his early teens.
He was a member of a group of loyalist skinheads and glue sniffers who at times came into conflict with older loyalist paramilitary members for their anti-social activity.
Lifelong friends, he later served under Adair as a member of the notorious Second Battalion C Company of the UDA.
The ruthless paramilitary organisation was responsible for over 50 murders, many of them innocent Catholics in random sectarian attacks.
McCrory was Adair’s most trusted hitman and was thought to be involved in at least a dozen murders, either as a gunman or getaway driver.
Known in prison as the life and soul of the party, loyalist sources say there was a different, more ruthless side to the seasoned paramilitary.
On the outside, despite being one of the UDA’s most notorious gunmen, he never held any rank in the paramilitary organisation, often saying he preferred to be a ‘foot soldier’ than a commander.
Among the murders he was linked to was that of Francisco Notarantonio, a father-of-11 from west Belfast who was murdered in controversial circumstances in October 1987.
The 66-year-old was shot dead by Skelly in his home in the Whitecliff Parade area of Ballymurphy after the UDA broke into his house, killing him in his bed.
The car used had been hijacked in the Woodvale area. It was later found burned out in the Springmartin estate.
In 2003, the informer known as ‘Stakeknife’ was revealed to be west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci, it was later alleged that Mr Notarantonio had been sacrificed to save the high-level double agent.
It was alleged the security forces managed to convince the UDA, who had learned that a senior IRA figure was of Italian descent, that Scappaticci was the wrong man and gave them Notarantonio’s address instead.
The month previous, in September 1987, he was linked to the murder of Patrick Hamill, a 29-year-old father-of-two.
Mr Hamill, originally from Leicester, had moved to west Belfast after marrying a local woman. Gunmen broke into his house, asked who lived there and then shot the victim in the head. He died the following day in hospital. Another local man escaped injury after he was fired on by the gunmen as they made their getaway through the Lanark Way interface.
Lanark Way interface gates which are still locked nightly at 9.30pm even 20- years after the IRA ceasefire
The UDA referred to the interface at Lanark Way as the ‘yellow brick road’ using it as a route to carry out attacks in nationalist west Belfast.
McCrory may well have claimed many more victims only for his arrest in 1992, when he was ambushed at the railway bridge at Finaghy Road North in south Belfast by undercover officers.
One man was injured when up to 30 shots were fired at the loyalist murder squad by an armed response unit.
McCrory was arrested and found guilty of conspiracy to murder the two leading republicans along with a number of firearms offences. He was sentenced to 16 years and moved to the UDA wing of the Maze prison.
In daily contact with Adair who lived close by, he was also close to Tracey Coulter, whose father Jackie Coulter was murdered in 2000 during the UDA/ UVF feud.
Mourners were a mix of people who had travelled from Northern Ireland and Scottish friends that McCrory had made during his years of living in Ayrshire.
As his remains were sent for cremation as Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable was played.
With many thanks to the: Sunday World and Allison Morris for the original publication.
Follow these links to find out more on this story: MAD DOG: DONALDSON'S 'HITMAN' TRIED TO 'TAKE ME OUT'!
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