Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

A terrorist organization fighting for a united, republican Ireland. Originally created by Fenians in the USA, it was revived in 1919 as a successor to the paramilitary Irish Volunteers. Its object was to use armed force to end British rule in Ireland and establish a republic. The same aim was followed politically by Sinn Fein. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) which set up an Irish Free State and a separate Northern Ireland, the IRA split between those who accepted the Treaty and those who did not. They fought each other in the Irish Civil War (1922–3) and thereafter the IRA sought to force Northern Ireland into a union with the South. In 1956 the IRA began an abortive campaign in the North waged by guerrilla units from the South but they were driven out by the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) and a mainly hostile population and in 1962 it called off its campaign. It then tried political rather than military means to bring about unification and had nothing to do with the riots and demonstrations of 1968 which began the troubles. Like the Northern Irish government it was taken by surprise. It waged a violent campaign against the British army and RUC from 1968, but in May 1972 unilaterally declared a cease-fire, as violence impeded working-class solidarity. Since then the Official IRA has played little part in the Troubles and has not been a security threat. Some members of the Official ... log in or subscribe to read full text