{"product_id":"9781780573366","title":"The Billy Boy: The Life and Death of LVF Leader Billy Wright","description":"\u003cp\u003eA cult figure among loyalists, despised and feared by nationalists, Billy 'King Rat' Wright is reputed to have been involved in a number of sectarian murders before he himself was shot dead by republican gunmen inside the Maze\u003cbr\u003ePrison in 1997.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWright became involved with loyalist paramilitaries at the age of 16, and in the early 1990s he emerged as the UVF commander in the Mid-Ulster area. The Billy Boy documents Wright's role in the Drumcree dispute of 1995-96 and his split from the UVF, recounting how he ignored both a death threat and an order to leave Northern Ireland, only to remain in Portadown and form the Loyalist Volunteer Force. It covers Wright's trial and subsequent imprisonment for a crime it has been claimed was set up by the State; recounts the circumstances of his killing inside a top-security prison; and investigates the allegations of State collusion in Wright's death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTerrifically gripping and often disturbing, \u003ci\u003eThe Billy Boy\u003c\/i\u003e is an exhaustive account of a notorious figure of the Troubles, whose life and death were surrounded by controversy and political debate.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mainstream Publishing Company, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152202416368,"sku":"9781780573366","price":11.27,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781780573366_p0.jpg?v=1763714202","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781780573366","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}