Kneecapped by his father's own thugs: the brutality of Belfast visits 'Mad Pup' Adair

When a boy's father is known as Mad Dog, has been in the thick of Belfast violence for more than a decade and survives numerous assassination attempts, the offspring has little chance of a normal upbringing.

So it has proved for Jonathan Adair who, at the age of 17, has just been kneecapped in both legs by his father's own paramilitary organisation. It is a reminder of just how brutal are the facts of Belfast backstreet life.

Jonathan Adair is jocularly known as "Mad Pup" because his father, Johnny Adair, is known as the "Mad Dog" of the Shankill, the city's toughest loyalist district.

Adair has near-legendary status in the West Belfast paramilitary underworld, having been to the forefront of the Ulster Defence Association, also known as the Ulster Freedom Fighters, for many violent years. His fearsome reputation has been built on planning and committing acts of violence for many years. Murals glorifying his militancy can be seen around the lower Shankill area where he lives.

Jonathan was only 10 years old when his father was the target of the IRA's Shankill bombing in 1993. That attempt to kill him went wrong; nine Protestant civilians and an IRA member dying when a bomb exploded prematurely in a Shankill Road fish shop.

There were at least half a dozen other attempts to kill Mr Adair senior and, two years ago, several of his close associates were killed when his UDA group became embroiled in a deadly feud with the rival Ulster Volunteer Force.

His exploits have landed him in prison on a number of occasions, most notably when police painstakingly assembled a case on the little-used charge of directing terrorism and he was jailed for 14 years. The deep-dyed loyalism runs in the family: Adair's brother was recently jailed for rioting, while his wife, Gina, is also known as an enthusiastic supporter of her husband and of the UDA.

Jonathan was brought up in a house that was heavily fortified against attack by either republicans or rival loyalist groups. For long stretches, his father was away, behind bars: then whenever he came back, the house was almost a permanent target.

Mad Dog was such a hate figure for republicans that the IRA's attempts to assassinate him became increasingly desperate, which helps to explain why an attack as shockingly risky as the Shankill bombing was launched.

The question arises of how Jonathan, with such a family pedigree, should come to be shot in the legs by the UDA.

The answer probably lies in the fact that this is a rough organisation in a rough district, where rough justice is the order of the day. The UDA has been going through personnel changes recently, with its former North Belfast "brigadier," who is said to have a drink problem, stepping down. He has been replaced, unusually, by a young man of Coptic Christian origin, who has an Egyptian name and is seen as an Adair protégé.

In neighbouring West Belfast, the elder Johnny Adair recently emerged from prison after a jail term. He has not taken over again as West Belfast "brigadier." In fact, he has been making uncharacteristically pacific noises.

He kept away from last month's Drumcree march – a traditional flashpoint – and is said to be considering running for political office. He recently met the Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, who has been attempting to persuade loyalists to move away from violence.

A recent newspaper headline declared: "Adair embraces peace and politics". The security forces and other observers will, however, need much convincing that Adair has set out on a path of peace.

That is because the UDA continues to be involved in street disturbances and because its members recently killed a Catholic teenager during a night of attacks. Security sources say that, on that night, West Belfast UDA carried out two shootings while North Belfast units were responsible for another three.

In addition to such sectarian incidents, the UDA also launches scores of other attacks within the loyalist ghettos, many of which take the form of "punishment" beatings and shootings of "anti-social elements." Jonathan Adair falls into this category, having a reputation for being a joyrider and one of the youths who is regarded as tormenting parts of West and North Belfast by stealing cars and driving them dangerously throughout the districts.

More than a dozen people have died in incidents involving stolen vehicles since 1998, a toll that has led many locals to call for paramilitary groups to keep up the violent punishment shootings and beatings.

Jonathan Adair is said to be an associate of one of the Shankill's most notorious and persistent joyriders, who has fled the area and is regarded as being under a UDA death threat. This joyrider was so concerned for his life that, remarkably, he took refuge across the peace line in a housing estate in nationalist West Belfast. There, locals were initially concerned he was a loyalist on surveillance of possible targets before his reasons for arriving were established.

Jonathan Adair had already reportedly endured a UDA beating for his activities. Associates and relatives of men prominent in such groups are often given a certain amount of leeway by them but there sometimes comes a point when locals grumble about preferential treatment.

That means paramilitary decisions on such matters are often influenced by a desire to demonstrate that family favouritism does not affect their pose of protecting their communities against wrong-doers.

The kneecapping of the young man will thus be presented as evidence that the UDA is rough but fair, and that it regards no one as being above the law, or the law that is laid down by itself.

The attack on Jonathan Adair is not unprecedented. It should be borne in mind that incidents such as kneecappings are brutal but are also virtually routine in the toughest districts, where literally thousands of young men have been maimed in this barbaric way over many years.

Although Johnny Adair has not taken over again as the head of West Belfast UDA, he remains a formidable figure in the organisation and in loyalism generally. Against this background, it is scarcely credible that the kneecapping could have happened without his knowledge.

It took place right in the hear of Adair senior's stronghold. There is no serious belief in the Shankill that this was a challenge to his authority or the beginnings of a takeover attempt. Rather, the sense is that the way may have been cleared for the shooting to take place. It adds another violent chapter to the extraordinary life of the Adairs, who stand as an example of the extreme effect three decades of troubles can have on a family.

The peace process has had many beneficial effects, yet there are hard men in hard areas who are, as yet, largely untouched by it. Areas such as Shankill are certainly policed by the authorities but the paramilitaries are also powerful there.

Violence had already loomed large in Jonathan Adair's disturbed young life and now it has put him in hospital, as his father's organisation once again demonstrates the reality of paramilitary "justice."