Garfield Gilmour showed no emotion yesterday as Lord Justice McCollum sentenced him to three life terms for the murder of the three Quinn brothers who died in a petrol bomb attack on their Bally money home in July last year.
Sitting behind her brother, Jayne Gilmour sobbed as the guilty verdict was delivered while his mother, Irene, sat motionless as the 24-year-old was led away by officers.
Gilmour was also sentenced to 12 years for the grievous bodily harm of the boys' mother, Chrissie, her partner Raymond Craig and a teenage girl, who were in the house on the night of the attack but escaped from the blaze.
Chrissie Quinn, sitting in the back row of a packed court room, bowed her head as the judge outlined events which led to the recovery of the remains of her sons, Richard (11), Mark (10) and Jason (9) in two rear bedrooms of the Carnany Park home. She showed a fleeting smile as the guilty verdict was read out.
"We're very disappointed, we did not expect this," said Ms Gilmour as she left the Belfast courthouse.
"We're only concerned with our son," she replied, when asked about the other men allegedly involved in the attack.
During the 15-minute hearing, the judge described the attack as a "shameful outrage" and said it was carried out by the UVF - "its motive was sectarian".
Judge McCollum acknowledged that Gilmour came from a "good family" but had proved to be a "resourceful liar" in interviews with police.
"I am satisfied the accused knew the home was going to be petrol-bombed and remained in his car to enable the other men to escape afterwards."
He had become involved with "sinister and evil men" but it also appeared Gilmour had recruited the men to help him confront Mr Colm Quinn, the children's uncle, with whom he had a running dispute, added Judge McCollum.
Chief Supt Hamilton Heuston of the RUC, who headed the investigation, said he was very happy with the court's judgment. "This was a horrific case, probably the worst of its kind ever in the province."
He said there was no evidence to support speculation the attack was linked to the Drumcree protest, but it represented the culmination of a week of orchestrated loyalist intimidation of Catholic families in the predominately loyalist estate, adding that police had no reason to dispute the judge's assertion that the UVF was involved.
"A number of people were arrested in the course of this investigation - the file is not closed. We will make every effort possible, with the support of the public, to bring to justice all those who were involved in this incident," Chief Supt Heuston added.
The DUP Assembly member for North Antrim, Mr Ian Paisley jnr, welcome the conviction and said he looked forward to further arrests and convictions of the people "central to this horrible murder".
Mr Richard Rodgers of the PUP, the political wing of the UVF, said his party was the only party locally to condemn the attack as sectarian at the time and would continue to condemn all sectarian attacks. "There is no reason to believe that these men are associated with the UVF," he added.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland said the evidence given over the course of a five-day trial in Coleraine, Co Derry, in September, proved that the killings, which took place on the eve of the Twelfth, were not linked with Orangeism.
"Large sections of the press and the media both locally and at international level disgracefully sought to demonise the Orange Institution and members of the Orange family over the incident. How terribly wrong they all were," a statement said.