 The aim of the group, which McKeague chaired, was to co-ordinate loyalist paramilitaries with the aim of founding a unified "Ulster army" although this premise did not prevent a loyalist feud between the UDA and UVF continuing following its foundation.With John McClure, McKeague contacted Irish republicans Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Joe Cahill to initiate talks in an attempt to find a common platform for an independent Northern Ireland.This collapsed after Conor Cruise O'Brien discovered and revealed the activity.