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Was the IRA a army?
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and the 21st centuries. In Irish law, this IRA was the army of the revolutionary Irish Republic as declared by its parliament, Dáil Éireann, in 1919.
What is the Real IRA fighting for?
The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. The organisation has also been responsible for bombings in Northern Ireland and England with the goal of causing economic harm and disruption.
What do Irish republicans believe?
Irish republicanism (Irish: poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.
What were the motivations of the IRA?
The IRA’s purpose was to use armed force to render British rule in Ireland ineffective and thus to assist in achieving the broader objective of an independent republic, which was pursued at the political level by Sinn Féin, the Irish nationalist party.
What is the goal of the Irish Republican Army?
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist …
What religion are Irish republicans?
Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.
Is there such a thing as Irish Republic army?
All organisations calling themselves “Irish Republic Army” claim legitimate descent (sometimes compared to apostolic succession) from this IRA of 1919–22. The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and the 21st century.
What did the Provisional IRA do in Ireland?
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 .
What tactics did the IRA use in the Irish War of Independence?
During the Anglo-Irish War (Irish War of Independence, 1919–21) the IRA, under the leadership of Michael Collins, employed guerrilla tactics—including ambushes, raids, and sabotage—to force the British government to negotiate.
How did the Dáil Éireann deal with the IRA?
After a series of IRA bombings in England in 1939, Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament) took stringent measures against the IRA, including provision for internment without trial. The IRA’s activities against the British during World War II severely embarrassed the Irish government,…