Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to anti-imperialism through Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British colonial rule. ^[1]

Contents

• Overview of the IRAs
• Genealogy of the IRA and its splits
• See also
• References
• Bibliography

The original Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), often now referred to as the "old IRA", was raised in 1917 from members of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army later reinforced by Irishmen formerly in the British Army in World War I, who returned to Ireland to fight against Britain in the Irish War of Independence. In Irish law, ^[2] this IRA was the army of the revolutionary Irish Republic as declared by its parliament, Dáil Éireann, in 1919.

In the century that followed, the original IRA was reorganized, changed and split on multiple occasions, to such a degree that many subsequent paramilitary organisations have been known by that title – most notably the Provisional Irish Republican Army, which was a key participant during the Troubles in the north of Ireland. The contemporary IRA organisations each claim the sole right to the name, each insisting they are the original IRA's only legitimate descendant.

Overview of the IRAs

The playwright and former IRA member Brendan Behan once said that the first issue on any Irish organisation's agenda was "the split". ^[3] For the IRA, that has often been the case. The first split came after the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, with supporters of the Treaty forming the nucleus of the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State, while the anti-treaty forces continued to use the name Irish Republican Army. After the end of the Irish Civil War (1922–23), the IRA was around in one form or another^{[ definition needed ]} for forty years, when it split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1969. The latter then had its own breakaways, namely the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, each claiming to be the true successor of the Army of the Irish Republic.

• The Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), known as the "Old IRA", in later years, was recognized by the First Dáil as the legitimate army of the Irish Republic in April 1921 due to the fact that it had fought in the Irish War of Independence. On ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty by the Dáil, it split into pro-Treaty forces, the National Army, also known as the "Government forces" or the "Regulars", ^[4] and anti-Treaty forces, "Republicans", "Irregulars" or "Executive forces" after the Treaty. These two forces went on to fight the Irish Civil War.
• The Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), the anti-treaty IRA which fought and lost the civil war and thereafter refused to recognize either the Irish Free State or Northern Ireland, deemed both of them to be the creations of British imperialism.^{[ citation needed ]} It existed in one form or another^{[ definition needed ]} for over 40 years before it split in 1969.
• The Official IRA (OIRA), the remainder of the IRA after the 1969 split from the Provisionals, was primarily Marxist in its political orientation. It is now inactive, while its political wing, Official Sinn Féin, became the Workers' Party (Ireland).
• The Provisional IRA (PIRA) broke from the OIRA in 1969 due to abstentionism and differing views on how to deal with the increasing violence in Northern Ireland. Although it opposed the OIRA's Marxism, it came to develop a left-wing orientation and it also increased its political activity.
• The Continuity IRA (CIRA) broke from the PIRA in 1986, because the latter ended its policy on abstentionism (thus recognizing the authority of the Republic of Ireland).
• The Real IRA (RIRA), a 1997 breakaway from the PIRA consisting of members opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process.
• In April 2011, former members of the Provisional IRA announced a resumption of hostilities, and that "they had now taken on the mantle of the mainstream IRA". They further claimed; "We continue to do so under the name of the Irish Republican Army. We are the IRA" and insisted that they "were entirely separate from the Real IRA, Óglaigh na hÉireann (ONH) and the Continuity IRA". They claimed responsibility for the April assassination of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr as well as responsibility for other attacks that had previously been claimed by the Real IRA and ONH. ^[5]
• The New IRA, which was formed as a merger between the Real IRA and other republican groups in 2012 (see Real IRA).

Genealogy of the IRA and its splits

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The IRA and its splinter groups include:

• Original IRA (the "old IRA") – fought in the War of Independence 1919–1921
  • That part of the IRA that accepted the compromise of the 1921 treaty which established the Irish Free State and that became the initial Free State government. The pro-treaty faction of Sinn Féin led by Arthur Griffith, Lachlan Lawrence and Michael Collins shortly thereafter formed itself into the Cumann na nGaedheal party under W. T. Cosgrave. With additional recruits, its military supporters became the National Army , later known as the Irish Defence Forces. Cumann na nGaedheal merged with other groups in 1933 to form Fine Gael Party , currently the third largest party in the Republic of Ireland.
  • That part of the original IRA organised within Northern Ireland not included within the Free State (see below).
  • That part of the IRA, organised within the twenty-six counties that became the Free State, which rejected the compromise of the 1921 treaty with Britain. Under Liam Lynch, it fought the Irish Civil War against the Free State's National Army (led by Michael Collins), with the support of the anti-treaty faction of Sinn Féin led by Éamon de Valera. ^[6]
    • Some years after losing the Civil War a faction led by de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin and established the Fianna Fáil party in 1926, which is among the largest parties in the Republic of Ireland.
    • In the 1930s, the remainder of the IRA, including that part of the Old IRA organised within Northern Ireland, attempted a bombing campaign in Britain, a campaign in Northern Ireland (after a change in leadership to the north) and some military activities in the Free State (later the Republic of Ireland). After a period of poor relations, the symbiotic relationship between Sinn Féin and the IRA was re-established in the late 1930s.^{[ citation needed ]}
      • By the 1960s, after the failed border campaign, Sinn Féin moved towards a Marxist class struggle outlook. With the outbreak of the Troubles, Sinn Féin, or as it came to be called after the formation of the Provisional IRA and Provisional Sinn Féin, Official IRA / Official Sinn Féin , found itself sidelined because of its decision not to engage the British state militarily. Over time the Official IRA faded away, while Official Sinn Féin moved to a purely Marxist position, renaming itself first Sinn Féin the Workers Party, and then in 1982 the Workers' Party .
        • After the Official IRA's 1972 ceasefire, it and Official Sinn Féin suffered a split in 1974 leading to the formation of the far left Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and Irish Republican Socialist Party, led by Seamus Costello (later assassinated by the Official IRA during a bloody feud). The INLA was known for a series of internal feuds and some of the more sectarian killings by Irish nationalists.
          • In 1986, the Irish People's Liberation Organisation split from the INLA.
        • In 1992, the Workers' Party suffered a split when a majority faction failed to secure changes. They left and formed the Democratic Left . Ultimately, the Democratic Left merged into the Labour Party.
      • In 1969, the more traditionalist republican members split off into the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin . The Provisional IRA operated mostly in Northern Ireland, using violence against the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army, and British institutions and economic targets. They also killed members of the Irish Army and the Garda Síochána (the Republic's police force), which was against one of their standing orders.
        • A further split occurred in 1986 when the former leader of Sinn Féin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh – who was replaced by Gerry Adams in 1983 – walked out of the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis after delegates voted to end the policy of abstentionism from Dáil Éireann. The followers of Ó Brádaigh, who adhere to republican legitimatism and oppose Sinn Féin's decision to abandon abstentionism, set up a rival party and military wing called Republican Sinn Féin and the Continuity IRA .
          • In 2006, the Irish Republican Liberation Army , Óglaigh na hÉireann and Saoirse na hÉireann split from the Continuity IRA.
        • In 1997, Members of the Provisional IRA who did not accept the peace process split off to form the Real IRA . Its political wing is the 32 County Sovereignty Movement .
          • In 2009, Óglaigh na hÉireann split from the Real IRA.
            • In 2012, the Real IRA merged with other republican groups including the Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) to form the New IRA .
        • In 2011, according to the Belfast Telegraph, former members of the Provisional IRA announced a resumption of hostilities under the name "Irish Republican Army".^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Irish republicanism
• List of designated terrorist groups

Related Research Articles

The Continuity Irish Republican Army, styling itself as the Irish Republican Army, is an Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It claims to be a direct continuation of the original Irish Republican Army and the national army of the Irish Republic that was proclaimed in 1916. It emerged from a split in the Provisional IRA in 1986 but did not become active until the Provisional IRA ceasefire of 1994. It is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and is designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. It has links with the political party Republican Sinn Féin (RSF).

Sinn Féin is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Irish National Liberation Army is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. With membership estimated at 80–100 at their peak, it is the paramilitary wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP).

Tom Maguire was an Irish republican who held the rank of commandant-general in the Western Command of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and led the South Mayo flying column.

The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of the Troubles, when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) split into two factions. The other was the Provisional IRA. Each continued to call itself simply "the IRA" and rejected the other's legitimacy.

The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by 1920 its functional control was limited to only 21 of Ireland's 32 counties, and British state forces maintained a presence across much of the north-east, as well as Cork, Dublin and other major towns. The republic was strongest in rural areas, and through its military forces was able to influence the population in urban areas that it did not directly control.

The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elected at the 1921 elections, but with only members of Sinn Féin taking their seats. On 7 January 1922, it ratified the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64 votes to 57 which ended the War of Independence and led to the establishment of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922.

Nationalist terrorism is a form of terrorism motivated by a nationalist agenda. Nationalist terrorists seek to form self-determination in some form, which may take the form of gaining greater autonomy, establishing a completely independent sovereign state (separatism), or joining another existing sovereign state with which the nationalists identify (irredentism). Nationalist terrorists often oppose what they consider to be occupying, imperial, or otherwise illegitimate powers.

Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an Irish republican political party in Ireland. RSF claims to be heirs of the Sinn Féin party founded in 1905; the party took its present form in 1986 following a split in Sinn Féin. RSF members take seats when elected to local government in the Republic of Ireland, but do not recognise the validity of the Partition of Ireland. It subsequently does not recognise the legitimacy of the parliaments of Northern Ireland (Stormont) or the Republic of Ireland, so the party does not register itself with them.

Irish republicanism is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both widely supported and iconoclastic.

Events from the year 1922 in Ireland.

Óglaigh na hÉireann, abbreviated ÓÉ, is an Irish-language idiom that can be translated variously as soldiers of Ireland, warriors of Ireland, volunteers of Ireland or Irish volunteers. In traditional Gaelic script, it is written Óglaıġ na hÉıreann.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) of 1922–1969 was a sub-group of the original pre-1922 Irish Republican Army, characterised by its opposition to the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It existed in various forms until 1969, when the IRA split again into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA.

Cumann na mBan, abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 1916, it became an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers. Although it was otherwise an independent organisation, its executive was subordinate to that of the Irish Volunteers, and later, the Irish Republican Army.

The republican movement refers to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and other political, social and paramilitary organisations and movements associated with it. It can refer to:

Sinn Féin is the name of an Irish political party founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. It became a focus for various forms of Irish nationalism, especially Irish republicanism. After the Easter Rising in 1916, it grew in membership, with a reorganisation at its Ard Fheis in 1917. It split in 1922 in response to the Anglo-Irish Treaty which led to the Irish Civil War and saw the origins of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the two parties which have since dominated Irish politics. Another split in the remaining Sinn Féin organisation in the early years of the Troubles in 1970 led to the Sinn Féin of today, which is a republican, left-wing nationalist and secular party.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Troubles.

Irish republican legitimism denies the legitimacy of the political entities of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and posits that the pre-partition Irish Republic continues to exist. It is a more extreme form of Irish republicanism, which denotes rejection of all British rule in Ireland. The concept shapes aspects of, but is not synonymous with, abstentionism.

Dissident republicans are Irish republicans who do not support the Northern Ireland peace process. The peace agreements followed a 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, in which over 3,500 people were killed and 47,500 injured, and in which republican paramilitary groups such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army waged a campaign to bring about a united Ireland. Negotiations in the 1990s led to an IRA ceasefire in 1994 and to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Mainstream republicans, represented by Sinn Féin, supported the Agreement as a means of achieving Irish unity peacefully. Dissidents saw this as an abandonment of the goal of an independent Irish republic and acceptance of partition. They hold that the Northern Ireland Assembly and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are illegitimate and see the PSNI as a British paramilitary police force.

References

Bibliography

• Bell, J. Bower, The Secret Army. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 1997. ISBN   1560009012.
• Cronin, Sean, The Ideology of the IRA (Ann Arbor 1972)
• Hart, Peter, IRA at War 1916–1923 (Oxford 2003)
• Hart, P, The IRA and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork 1916–1923 (Oxford 1998)
• Joy, Sinead, The IRA in Kerry 1916–1921 (Cork 2005)
• Liebknecht, Karl, Militarism and Anti-Militarism (1907); an English translation (Cambridge 1973).
• Martin, F.X., (ed.) Irish Volunteers 1914–1915. Recollections and Documents (Dublin 1963)
• O'Ruairc, Padraig Og, Blood on the Banner: The Republican Struggle in Clare 1913–1923 (Cork 2009)
• Ryan, Meda, Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter (Cork 2005)
• Townshend, Charles, 'The Irish Republican Army and the Development of Guerrilla Warfare 1916–21', English Historical Review 94 (1971), pp. 318–345.
• W?, With the IRA in the Fight For Freedom (London 1968)
• Nolan, Cillian, The IRA True History 1922–1969 (Kerry 1985)
• Trigg, Jonathan (2023). Death in the Fields: The IRA and East Tyrone. Ireland: Merrion Press.

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