Mad Dog

Raised as a Protestant, Johnny Adair earned his reputation as a paramilitary leader long before he understood the politics but quickly came to realise the purpose of the paramilitary antics - freedom and peace in Northern Ireland - and this belief fuelled his passion for the campaign, making him ruthless in his quest. Here, he tells his story.

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Johnny Adair was born in the Shankhill Road area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The youngest of seven children, he was raised a Protestant. As a teenager, Johnny and his gang would roam the streets looking for Catholics for no other reason than religion and he bears many scars and war wounds from endless street battles. A young Loyalist, Johnny earned his reputation as a paramilitary leader long before he fully understood the politics but quickly came to realise the purpose of the paramilitary antics - freedom and peace in Northern Ireland - and this belief fuelled his passion for the campaign, making him unstoppably ruthless in his quest. The authorities hold him responsible for 41 murders and he became known as the most feared and infamous terrorist of them all. Now, he breaks his silence to tell his true spine-chilling story. In 1995, Johnny was sentenced to 16 years for 'Directing Terrorism', but in 1999, he was the 293rd prisoner to be released from the Maze Prison under the Good Friday Peace Treaty.
In total, there have been ten attempts on his life and he has a hole in the back of his head, the size of a 50p piece, where he was shot whilst at a UB40 concert, plus a hole in the side of one leg from another attack. But, his story is not one about money or grudges - he was simply fighting for what he truly believes in - peace in Northern Ireland, a lifelong struggle in which he became known as the hardest man in the UK.