From the English “Irish Republican Army”, or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Gaelic, the IRA refers to several Irish paramilitary factions whose common ideology is to use violence to achieve Irish independence and the reintegration of Northern Ireland into Southern Ireland.
In the 1900s, tensions between Ireland and the United Kingdom were at their height. The Irish have repeatedly called for Irish independence and the freedom to create an autonomous republic… but to no avail. At this time, several armed factions already existed and shared the fight against the English:
Together, these 3 armies took part in the Easter Uprising of 1916, a major uprising attempt that ended in failure. Faced with this defeat, the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army decided to unite under the name of a new army: the IRA or Irish Republican Army. This army is intended to serve the interests of the Sinn Féin political party, a nationalist party wishing to work diplomatically and by force to obtain independence for ‘Ireland.
Michael Collins – Public domain
Over the years (from 1919 to 1921), this new organization multiplied its actions against the British, under the command of Michael Collins. The watchword was simple: the IRA was to wage a guerrilla war through effective attacks, with the aim of intimidating London into giving Ireland a Republic. From ambushes to repeated assassinations, the IRA became intimidating, and the London government finally voted for a Treaty granting Ireland independence… Independence partially won, as the United Kingdom wishes to keep Northern Ireland under its control… This provoked a general outcry, and a division in the ideologies of IRA supporters… Some wished to accept the treaty, others to reject it and continue the struggle to integrate Northern Ireland into the Free Republic…
This disagreement gave rise to a fratricidal Civil War, in which the IRA split into 2 distinct entities with diametrically opposed ideologies. This civil war ended in 1924, when the 2 entities finally agreed on a more pacifist way of fighting: diplomacy and political means.
However, this path was short-lived: no sooner was the Irish Free Republic proclaimed in 1948, than the IRA decided to take up arms again, to continue the struggle and obtain the attachment of the North to Southern Ireland. From this date onwards, numerous bombings and murders were carried out in Belfast, Londonderry and elsewhere in Great Britain. The violence of these actions is impressive, and Great Britain is steadily increasing the presence of British troops on Irish soil to calm tensions…
These abuses lasted until 1962, when the IRA announced a ceasefire. But this rest was short-lived: the 1970s were marked by violence, and the Bloody Sunday scandal of 1972 led the IRA to resume its muscular offensives, resulting in a new string of bombings and murders.
Margaret Tatcher, then in power in the United Kingdom, sent extra troops to Northern Ireland to hunt down republicans, and imprison them without trial in the so-called H-Block, a sort of H-shaped cell where IRA prisoners were crammed. It was in one of these cells, in particular, that IRA members went on hunger strike in the 80s to raise Margaret Tatcher’s awareness of their cause. Among them, Bobby Sands, a prominent IRA activist, died as a result of the strike in 1981, provoking international outrage.
Summary trials and escalating violence on both sides continued until 1994, when the IRA, exhausted by its ongoing struggle, announced an official ceasefire. This decision was prompted by an unpleasant realization for the IRA: London was still not listening to them, and Northern Ireland was still under their tutelage, despite years of violence and murder sprees.
Once again, they decided to take the political route, and their party, Sinn Féin, set up diplomatic negotiations with Great Britain. Negotiations are not easy, and the climate is still tense. The United Kingdom’s “rigidity” on the Northern Ireland question continued to cause unrest within the IRA, and the ceasefire was quickly broken off in 1996, with a number of attacks…
However, 1998 heralded a renewal in the negotiations: the British agreed to sign a peace agreement in April, known as the “Good Friday Agreement”. The aim of this agreement is to enable Northern Ireland to create an official Assembly bringing together Catholics and Protestants, to organize the functioning of internal political institutions in the North, and to be able to communicate and cooperate with the Republic of Ireland.
This agreement was a first step towards the pacification of the conflict, and was seen as real progress.
In practice, however, the treaty is fraught with difficulties. First of all, the recurring conflict between Catholics and Protestants is particularly problematic. The social inequalities between them gave rise to major tensions, both in terms of respect for their civil rights and their political wishes within the Assembly.
What’s more, the IRA’s refusal to lay down its arms completely leaves open the possibility of total pacification. Indeed, the Good Friday Agreement rules out any demilitarization of British forces in Northern Ireland. Faced with this refusal, the IRA considered it out of place to lay down their arms.
However, from 1998 to 2005, negotiations helped to calm the potentially explosive situation in Northern Ireland. On July 28, 2005, the IRA officially announced the end of its armed struggle, and its willingness to express itself through peaceful democratic means.
Over time, the IRA’s decisions and stances left their share of malcontents behind, and many IRA members left the faction to form more radical groupings. Among them are :
Most of these factions are still active today, carrying out murderous attacks and assassinations to demand the liberation of Northern Ireland. Among the most terrible, the Omagh Attack perpetrated in 1998 by the Real IRA or RIRA was one of the most terrible moments in the history of the Northern Irish Conflict.
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