THE Protestant counterpart of the I.R.A. is the Ulster Defense Association, a formidably organized group of street-fighting soldiers who wear masks, combat jackets, British army chevrons and shoulder pips. Self-proclaimed saviors of Ulster's "Prods," they carry clubs and boast of having an arsenal of automatic pistols, rifles, submachine guns and grenades. As a group, U.D.A. members are mostly young and working-class; many are British army veterans, others graduates of the tough Tartan gangs. From Belfast, TIME'S London Bureau Chief Curtis Prendergast filed this report on their activities:
The Shankill district is a Protestant...
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