Talk:Red Hand Commando

2005 comment
Aughavey 4 July 2005 19:08 (UTC)

Without wanting to remotely condone this organisation the article is biased. I have not removed anything but added a couple of sentences to let people know that this organisation exists in the context of the Northern Ireland troubles, the partition of Ireland, the Ulster planatation and all the rest of the history of Ireland and its politics, religion and communal conflicts.

Aughavey 4 July 2005 21:12 (UTC) I have changed this as it had been confused with the Red Hand Defenders which is a different group associated with the UDA. The RHD was redirecting to RHC as if they were the same. I notice alot of other websites via google make the same mistake.

Skat- Changed the Rhc page a little there sandy row is in s.belfast

Loyalist - Bobby Moffat was an ex member of the Red Hand Commando. Not a current member as it stated before i edited it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.99.85.199 (talk) 01:11, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Ex combatant RHC member - A few small things updated.81.99.85.199 (talk) 22:07, 19 October 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.99.85.199 (talk) 17:49, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Request for comments on the motto

 * The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

In this article, should Lámh Dearg Abú be called an "Irish language" motto, or an "Ulster Gaelic" motto? ~Asarlaí 18:00, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

For a long time this article noted that the Red Hand Commando has the Irish language motto Lámh Dearg Abú (or Lamh Dearg Abu). However, for the past month an unregistered user has been replacing "Irish" with "Ulster gaelic" [sic], and has been challenged by other editors. I haven't found any reliable sources calling this an "Ulster Gaelic" motto. All the reliable sources I've found call it an Irish motto. I added these to the article, but was reverted by the same user. The only source they give is an opinion in a 'letter to the editor', which doesn't mention the motto but argues that the Ulster dialect of Irish should be called "Ulster Gaelic". In my view, it should continue to be called an Irish language motto because that's what the sources call it, and because linguistically there's nothing which makes it distinctively "Ulster Gaelic". Here are the sources I've found: ~Asarlaí 18:03, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Mulvenna, Gareth. Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries: The Loyalist Backlash. Oxford University Press, 2016. p.215. Quote: "Ronnie McCullough adopted the motto 'Lamh Dearg Abu' for the RHC – an Irish phrase which means 'Red hand to victory'".
 * De Brún, Fionntán. Belfast and the Irish language. Four Courts Press, 2006. p.157. Quote: "UVF members learned the Irish language while in jail and the RHC adopted the Irish motto 'Lamh Derg Abu' ('Lámh Dearg Abú', 'red hand for ever')".
 * "Red Hand Commando flags with Irish language slogan flown". The Irish News, 23 July 2018.


 * Irish language The name of the language is Irish. This is just a straightforward statement. We shouldn't coin new words or use unusual phrases to sidestep issues. Wikipedia is not censored. --Tóraí (talk) 23:14, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language Unless there is something distinctly Ulster about the phrase, we don't need to be that specific. — Æµ§œš¹  [lɛts b̥iː pʰəˈlaɪˀt] 14:15, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language As I'm not aware I've ever learned "Ulster Gaelic" but I can perfectly understand 'Lámh Dearg Abú', I'll go with "Irish language." Bastun Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ! 08:24, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language "Lámh Dearg Abú" was associated with the Red Hand of Ulster, and was the war-cry of the O'Neills, who were from Ulster but not from East Ulster, so the assertion by the user that it is East Ulster dialect and therefore more closely associated with Scottish Gaelic than Irish Gaelic doesn't hold water. 2001:BB6:4708:9258:A9B7:8561:223D:E10E (talk) 17:00, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language as per IP above, there would need to be more evidence that the phrase itself actually originates from a different dialect. ♥  Acorimori  ♦ 17:42, 11 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language per WP:NEO and Ulster Gaelic not being a commonly-used term. ARR8 (talk) 16:12, 18 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Irish language per WP:NEO and ARR8. Sheldybett (talk) 08:22, 23 September 2018 (UTC)


 * The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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 * Red Hand Commando Badge.jpg

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion
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 * RHC publicity photo.png (discussion)
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Will the real founding leader please stand up
On the one hand, a book has been referenced in edit summaries but zero context has been provided; on the other hand, there is the Imperial War Museum: "The handkerchief was purchased from the shop of John McKeague, leader of the vigilante Shankill Defence Association. McKeague joined with a group of young Loyalist Tartan gang members to form the Red Hand Commando (RHC) in 1970 and became its first leader." –Skywatcher68 (talk) 14:04, 13 December 2023 (UTC)