The Ulster Troubles: The Irish Republican Army (IRA)

IRA Northern Ireland Troubles
Figure 1.-- The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement was in some ways similar to the American Civil Rights Movement. One huge difference was the Irish Republican Army which had never been totally dismanteled. Unlike the black churches in the American south, the Catholic Church in Ireland did not speak out strongly to maintain the non-violence campaign of the Civil Rights movement. The newly formed Provisional IRA broke with the official IRA because they were determined to pursue 'armed struggle' and violence like the original IRA to end British rule in the Protestant North. The Provisional IRA took up the role of defenders of the Catholic communty while the old line IRA sought working-class unity among Catholics and Protestants. The Provos proved very effective in popularising violence, especilly among children and youth.

The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement was in some ways similar to the American Civil Rights Movement which by the late 1960s had succeeded in dismatling the segregation system establish after the Civil War. The fault line in Ireland was religion rather than race. Another basic difference was the Irish Republican Army which had never been totally dismanteled. The Protestant violence legitimized the use of force which the IRA had long advocated. The Catholic Church had been a mainstay of Irish nationalism since the Elizabethan era. And unlike the black churches in the American south, the Catholic Church in Ireland did not speak out strongly to maintain the non-violence campaign of the Civil Rights movement. The IRA did not launch the Battle of the Bogside, it was a spontaneous explosion. After years of rekastive calm, the IRA was not prepared for serious action. In fact, the IRA was widely criticised by Catholics for not defending Catholic neighborhoods. Some Bogside residents began calling the IRA, "I Ran Away". The IRA began, however, to organize and rescruit new members as well as to arm itself. The Provisionals who came to be called the Provos began as a splinter group from the old-line official IRA. [Bishop and Mallie, pp. 52–54.] The older IRA had evolved from the violence-prone IRA of the 1920s. They had embraced non-violent civil agitation along the lines of the American Civil Rights movement. The newly formed Provisional IRA broke with the official IRA because they were determined to pursue 'armed struggle' and violence like the original IRA to end British rule in the Protestant North. The Provisional IRA took up the role of defenders of the Catholic communty while the old line IRA sought working-class unity among Catholics and Protestants. [English, p. 136.] The Provos proved very effective in popularising violence, especilly among children and youth.

Sources

Bishop, Patrick and Eamonn Mallie. The Provisional IRA (Corgi Books, 1987). . pp. 52–54.

Bonner, David Executive Measures, Terrorism and National Security: Have the Rules of the Game Changed? (Ashgate, 2007).

English, Richard Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (Pan Books, 2003).

Walker, R. K. The Hunger Strikes (Lagan Books, 2006).







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Created: 9:47 AM 3/9/2014
Last updated: 9:47 AM 3/9/2014