A secretive horticulturalist has vowed to replace a tree planted to commemorate a late former UDA boss after it was ripped out of the ground in Belfast.
The apple tree sapling dedicated to Andy Tyrie was being grown by The Phantom Planter, an anonymous arborist behind a project to create urban fruit orchards in Belfast and elsewhere, along with reviving now-rare native Irish apple varieties.
Based in the Belvoir area of the city, the Phantom Planter emphasises the cross-community appeal of his campaign, having described how he himself comes from a mixed background.
The Phantom Planter aims to revive native Irish apples from his heritage orchard base in Belfast PICTURE: THE PHANTOM PLANTER/FACEBOOK
Among the native Irish apples he plants are long-forgotten varieties including the juicy red Blood of the Boyne, and the cooking apple No Surrender, both named to commemorate the founding of the Orange Order.
He had become friends with Andy Tyrie, the late UDA commander who died last May.
Following his death, the Planter wrote in a blog post of how Mr Tyrie had been an avid supporter of his work and “was always on the phone to me saying how much he loved what I was doing”.
In November, an apple sapling was planted in memory of Mr Tyrie in the Belvoir area, alongside with one dedicated to another UDA figure, Colin ‘Bap’ Lindsay, who was murdered along with his friend Stanley Wightman in a samurai sword attack at his Belvoir home in 2015.
However, in recent days the Andy Tyrie tree was pulled out and stolen.
“I planted this a few months ago in memory of a good friend Andy Tyrie who recently just passed away. There was 8 memorial apple trees planted at this spot in the estate and only Andy’s was pulled out,” the Planter told followers in a social media post.
The apple sapling planted in memory of former UDA commander Andy Tyrie PICTURE: PHANTOM PLANTER/FACEBOOK
“I had a look around to see if it was maybe lying up the street thinking kids pulled it out but didn’t see any sign of it. Sad who ever done this!”
Mr Tyrie, who was in his 80s when he died, was the UDA’s most senior figure between 1972 and 1988, helming the paramilitary outfit during its involvement in the Ulster Worker’s Council strike of 1974 that helped to bring down the Stormont power-sharing government established following the Sunningdale Agreement.
The loyalist, who had previously been a member of the UVF, stood down from the UDA after surviving a car bomb attack blamed on other loyalists.
He had steered the UDA towards greater political engagement during the Troubles, and backed the Good Friday Agreement.
Over 400 murders have been attributed to the UDA, many of innocent Catholics, and in later years, Mr Tyrie said – despite his former leadership role – that he was against sectarian murder, and that loyalists should have instead directly targeted Provisional IRA members.
After his death it emerged that in the early days of his role as the UDA’s ‘supreme commander’, Mr Tyrie had once asked the British army to return a pistol used in the murder of Catholic Ex-Service’s Association member Anthony Davidson.
At his funeral, the loyalist was described as a “family man” and “Christian”.
The Phantom Planter, said in his post that he had “known Andy all my life”.
“He was also one of the first people who came out to help me phantom planting many years ago. He was always sharing and supporting my work on social media right up until his last days,” he added.
“Andy also done so much good work for his local community too. This tree will be replaced ASAP.”
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