Death of leading loyalist Duddy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7049622.stm

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Leading loyalist Sammy Duddy has died after suffering a heart attack.

Mr Duddy, 62, was once a leader in the Ulster Defence Association and later joined the Ulster Political Research Group.

During the 2003 UDA feud, his home in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey was attacked. He later moved out.

Mr Duddy had been in the intensive care unit of Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital after collapsing with a blood clot at his office on Monday.

He had recently been working for the Conflict Transformation Initiative.

In January 2003, Army bomb experts declared a suspicious object found at the doorway Mr Duddy's home a hoax.

In November 2002, he escaped injury in a gun attack which was linked to the UDA feud.

Mr Duddy said a death threat had been phoned to his house by rival loyalists.

On Wednesday, Frankie Gallagher of the UPRG said: "He came out of retirement to pursue a peaceful path for his community and in pursuit of that he has given his life. It's a massive, massive loss for his community."