The BBC described Adair as " the most controversial , high-profile and ubiquitous " of all the paramilitaries operating in Northern Ireland during this period . The IRA 's Shankill Road Bombing of a fish shop in October 1993 was an attempt to assassinate Adair and the rest of the UDA 's Belfast leadership in reprisal for attacks on Catholics . The office above the shop was the UDA 's Shankill headquarters and a meeting was due to take place shortly after the bomb exploded . The bomb detonated prematurely , killing one of the two IRA men , Thomas Begley , and nine Protestants ( a UDA volunteer and eight civilians ) . The UDA retaliated by carrying out the Greysteel massacre in County Londonderry , an attack on the Rising Sun bar in which eight civilians , two of whom were Protestants , were shot dead . While Adair was targeted for assassination a number of times , he frequently exaggerated the number of attempts
Greysteel massacre
Greysteel massacre
Johnny Adair