page_title: Stephen McKeag
section_title: Death and aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Stephen McKeag / Death and aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: A mural in memory of Stevie "Top Gun" McKeag, Hopewell Crescent, Shankill Road, Belfast
context_page_description: Stephen McKeag, nicknamed "Top Gun", was a Northern Irish loyalist and a Commander of the Ulster Defence Association's 'C' Company in the 1990s. He is responsible for many killings of Catholics and Republicans. He is also have thought to have shot the most Catholics in Northern Ireland. Although most of his operations took place from the Shankill Road in Belfast McKeag was actually a native of the lower Oldpark Road in the north of the city.
context_section_description: McKeag was found dead by family members at his home at Florence Court off the Crumlin Road on 24 September 2000. With his face heavily bruised and a crossbow bolt embedded into the wall nearby, it was initially assumed that he had been killed; however a post-mortem found that his death was caused by a lethal combination of painkillers and cocaine. Some of his supporters continued to blame Adair, due to the love triangle which emerged between him and McKeag when Tracey Coulter started sleeping with Adair too. It was claimed that Adair's men had entered the house, attacked McKeag, who had fired the crossbow at them, and then forced quantities of cocaine down his throat to kill him. There was no evidence to support these claims.
  McKeag was buried at Roselawn Cemetery in the east of the city in front of around 1,000 mourners, including Adair, Smyth and UVF/RHC representatives, with floral tributes sent by Ulster Young Militants and Combat 18. Although by this time he was estranged from the leadership of C Company, McKeag's litany of violence meant he retained his hero status with the younger members of the group and as a result a new mural was painted on the lower Shankill in commemoration of McKeag. It has been updated several times.
caption: A mural commemorating McKeag on Hopewell Crescent, off Belfast's Shankill Road
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