For most people, the legendary Belfast character of Buck Alec will ring a bell.
He was infamous for his toothless pet lion and street-fighting career, and was even rumoured to have worked with Al Capone.
But Buck Alec Robinson wasn’t just some sort of loveable street-fighting rogue.
He was also a ruthless sectarian killer as a member of the Ulster Special Constabulary’s ‘C’ Specials.
Buck Alec
The USC was formed in October 1920 after calls from unionists for protection and mainly consisted of former Ulster volunteers and ex-British Army soldiers.
His full name was Alexander Robinson, he was born in York Street in Belfast in 1901 and died in 1995. Loyalist figures such as Ian Paisley and the UVF’s Gusty Spence attended his funeral.
Who really was Buck Alec – the archetypical Belfast hardman?
Ciarán Dunbar is joined by historian Joe Baker.
Lion tamer, street-fighter and sectarian murderer: The life and crimes of Buck Alec Robinson
