The Irish Republican Army UK Conflict

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The Irish Republican Army/ UK Conflict

• By Elise Parrish

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Who is The IRA

• The IRA consists of three very different wings.
  The traditional IRA who has eschewed themselves
  from the use of violence, the provisional IRA who
  are actively engaged in bombings, ambushes, and
  assassinations, and the political party of Sinn
  Fein.

3
Their Ultimate Goal

• Ultimately the Traditional IRA, the Provisional
  IRA, and Sinn Fein are determine to end all
  British rule and unite Northern Ireland with
  Ireland as one single, sovereign nation.
• The difference between the three wings is how to
  accomplish this goal.

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The History of the IRA

• The first signs of the IRA were evident during
  the early 1860.
• Between 1919 and 1921 they fought against British
  troops during the Irish revolution.
• In December 1920 the British government passed
  the Government of Ireland Act, which established
  six of the nine counties as the province of
  Northern Ireland.

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The Official IRA

• This is the original IRA, which fought against
  the British during the Irish Revolution.
• In December of 1969, a conflict within the group
  over the strategies and tactics employed quickly
  lead to a split in the IRA.
• The group divided into a Provisional wing and
  Official wing.
• The official IRA consisted of older members who
  were eschewed from using violence and were
  chiefly committed to social changes.
• Today they are no longer active.

7
The Provisional IRA

• Formed after a split in the IRA in December of
  1969.
• Consisted of young, aggressive members who were
  committed to the use of terror tactics in an
  effort to force the withdrawal of British troops.
• Today they are mainly responsible for most of the
  terrorist acts that take place.
• Although their official name is the Provisional
  IRA, today they are simply referred to as the
  IRA.

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Sinn Fein

• In Irish Gaelic mean ourselves alone
• Sinn Fein is an Irish nationalist party, whose
  goal is to end all British rule in Northern
  Ireland and establishing one single, sovereign
  Ireland.
• They have been some what successful in winning
  seats in the House of Commons and establishing
  peace talks with the British Government.
• Sinn Fein is sometimes referred to as the
  political wing of the IRA.

9
Gerry Adams

• Gerry Adams is President of Sinn Fein.
• Adams played a key role in the peace negotiations
  with Britain that began in the early 1990s.
• A member of the House of Commons in Britain from
  West Belfast in Northern Ireland from 1983 to
  1992 and again since 1997.
• Adams has declined to take his seat, saying that
  he does not recognize the authority of the
  British government.

10
The British Army

• In August of 1969 the British government ordered
  the army to maintain the peace on the streets
  instead of the local police.
• The Catholics welcomed them believing that they
  would uphold the laws and relive the tension
  between angry Catholics and Protestants.
• However the army turned out to be ruthless
  against Catholics acting much harsher to
  situations than would a traditional police
  officer.
• During the late 1969 and 1970 British troops were
  deployed in Northern Ireland to segregate
  Catholic and Protestant in order to prevent
  further violence.
• All it did was escalate the tension and violence.
• By early 1971 the Provisionals were waging an
  all-out war against the British army.
• By May 1974, 214 people had been killed by the
  IRA. The violence had created a Catholic ghetto
  in Northern Ireland and the Provisionals assumed
  the role of protecting them.

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Tactics

• From March 1972 the Provisionals went on the
  offensive, not only attacking British troops but
  also systematically bombing commercial targets.
• This tactic had become the central strategy
  employed by the Provisionals. It aims at bringing
  down Northern Ireland economically and making the
  governance of it too expensive for the British.
• Usually the Provisionals used remotely controlled
  car bombs.
• Sometimes multiple bombs are planted in multiple
  locations and set to go off simultaneously in
  order to create more casualties and cause more
  injuries.
• They also usually planted bombs on public
  transportation vehicles like trains, busses, and
  school busses to gain more media attention.
• Other tactics include assassinations,
  kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, and
  robberies.
• Targets include senior British Government
  officials, British military and police form
  Northern Ireland, and Northern Loyalist groups.
• In 1994 the IRA bombed the Atlantic Exchange
  building in London that caused millions of
  dollars in damage.

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Pictures of Bombings
13
British Raids

• As the bombing intensified leaving Belfast and
  most major towns devastated, the government of
  Northern Ireland called on the British to impose
  interment.
• The British government staged hundreds of raids
  on both Provisional and Official IRA supporters.
• They arrested over 342 people almost all
  Catholic.
• The internment of such large numbers alienated
  the nationalist population making it hard to
  continue fighting against the British.
• There were also many allegations of abuse and
  torture of prisoners by the British army, which
  only heightened the situation.

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Kelly v. the United Kingdom

• The case "Kelly and Others v. the United
  Kingdom," was an application brought by nine
  applicants who were all Irish nationals. Eight
  members of the Irish Republican Army were killed
  when officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary
  set up an ambush to surprise a terrorist attack
  on Loughgall RUC station. The applicants
  complained, among other things, that their
  relatives were killed with excessive use of force
  contrary to Article 2 of the European Convention
  on Human Rights.

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British Raids
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The Maze Prison

• Under the conservative Prime Minister Margaret
  Thatcher, the British government had denied IRA
  members the status of political prisoners.
• Instead, it demanded that IRA prisoners be
  treated like common criminals.
• In protest of this new policy, a number of
  prisoners went on hunger strikes in 1980 and
  1981.
• Ten of them starved themselves to death.
• The hunger strikes generated worldwide sympathy
  for the IRAs cause which brought the IRA back
  into the media spotlight.
• The hunger strike was a good tactic to win more
  elections and encourage more people to volunteer.

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The Maze Prison
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Recent Developments

• In December 1993 the British and Irish prime
  ministers issued the Downing Street Declaration,
  a statement of fundamental principles regarding
  the future of Northern Ireland.
• These principles declared that only political
  parties committed to democratic and nonviolent
  means would be allowed to participate in any
  negotiations regarding Northern Ireland.
• Regardless of what happened Gerry Adams, was
  committed to the peace process.
• In December Adams and British Prime Minister Tony
  Blair met.
• This was very important because it was the first
  official meeting between an Irish Republican
  leader and a British prime minister since 1921.
• A historical power sharing accord between
  Catholics and Protestants was reached on April
  10th 1998. The accord established an elected
  assembly and an executive cabinet to govern
  Northern Ireland.

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Sources

• All pictures courtesy of CNN.com In-Depth
  Special Conflict and Hope.
• Welles, Benjamin. "IRA Terrorism No End in
  Sight." New Republic 171.23 (07 Dec. 1974)
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  inpagelogin.aspsiteehost-livegt.
• Oberschall, Anthony. "Terrorism,
  Counterinsurgency, and the Laws of War."
  Conference Papers -- International Studies
  Association (2007 Annual Meeting 2007) 1.
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• Rieffer-Flanagan, Barbara Ann. "Diluting
  Religious Influence What Ireland Can Teach Us
  about Iran." Conference Papers -- International
  Studies Association (2007 Annual Meeting 2007)
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  name, City, State abbreviation. 24 Sep. 2008
  lthttp//search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.roosevelt.edu
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• Kelly v. the United Kingdom." Human Rights Case
  Digest 11.3/4 (Mar. 2000) 207-208. Academic
  Search Premier. EBSCO. Library name, City,
  State abbreviation. 24 Sep. 2008
  lthttp//search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.roosevelt.edu
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  ginpagelogin.aspsiteehost-livegt.