Shankill Defence Association

A Loyalist vigilante group which was set up in the summer of 1969. The group was led by John McKeague and at its height claimed a membership of 1,000. Many members of the SDA were believed to officers in the Ulster Special Constabulary (the 'B-Specials'). The Scarman report found that the SDA had 'encouraged' Catholic families to leave Protestant areas of Belfast. McKeague was cleared, in November 1969, of a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions. The SDA is believed to have formed one of the main components of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). McKeague was shot dead by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) on 29 January 1982.