http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/he-wanted-ira-hero-johnny-6106395

'He wanted to be an IRA hero': Johnny ‘Mad Dog’ Adair breaks his silence over plot to kill him.

REPUBLICAN Antoin Duffy, 39, was convicted yesterday of hatching a plan to gun down ex-UDA chief on Troon beach.

FORMER Loyalist terror boss Johnny ‘Mad Dog’ Adair claims he was the target of a murder plot because the would-be assassin wanted to be an IRA hero.

Republican Antoin Duffy, 39, was convicted yesterday of hatching a plan to gun down ex-UDA chief on Troon beach.

His cousin Martin Hughes, 36, and Paul Sands, 32, were also part of the plot.

The trio were found guilty after a nine-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow

Meanwhile, the gang also planned to assassinate Adair’s close ally Sam ‘Skelly’ McCrory near his home in Ayr.

Adair, 51, believes Duffy - originally from Co Donegal - wanted to appease dissident republicans by organising the high-profile hit.

He told the Scottish Sun: “He [Duffy] wanted to start a terror cell here so he could get back home. Shooting me was his ticket back.


“You have to understand that Johnny Adair is one of the most hated figures in the dissident republican movement.

“Had they been successful, it would have given them credibility, and they would have achieved something the IRA never could.”

Adair, of Troon, Ayrshire, also said his killing could have sparked sectarian violence in Scotland.

Adair’s C Company thugs were linked to the sectarian murders of dozens of Catholics in Northern Ireland.


‘Mad Dog’ served 16 years for directing terrorism before moving to Scotland to escape loyalist feuds.

Duffy’s plot against him was revealed by MI5 surveillance and an operation involving Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Underworld sources claim Duffy was forced out of Ireland after getting caught up in a double murder that was not sanctioned by IRA leaders.