Two men from Merseyside used Orange Lodges as a "cloak" to cover terrorist activities linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force, a court heard today.
Roy Barwise (47) and John Irwin, (43) became respected and senior members of the sectarian UVF and part of a secret Liverpool Battalion that was armed with guns and ammunition.
They used Orange Lodges on Merseyside to cover their activities as members of the terror group - which has murdered and terrorised Catholics since the 1960s.
Father-of-two Barwise, from Anfield, Liverpool was jailed for four years and two months, for being a member of a terror group, the UVF, and for nine offences linked to firearms.
Irwin, a builder and father-of-one, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting membership of the UVF.
Both had been hard working family men and former members of the Territorial Army, Manchester Crown Court heard.
They both became involved in one of the 50 Orange Lodges in the Merseyside area and both were members of the Liverpool Volunteers Flute Band and were based at the Derry Club in Everton.
It was described as an "inner sanctum" decked out in banners, flags and other paraphernalia in honour of the UVF.
Jailing both men, Judge Bateson said; "It's true events in Northern Ireland are quieter than they used to be, but events are not so quiet that the courts can take anything other than a very serious view of firearms offences and membership of a proscribed organisation."