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The Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army has a long history rooted in a fight for independence. The I.R.A started in 1916 to fight against the British and gain independence for Ireland. (Bell 18). The fight for Irish independence ended in 1921 when Ireland was split up. Ireland was partitioned into two parts, Northern and Southern Ireland. The British kept in six counties in Northern Ireland and renamed them Ulster. Southern Ireland was given its independence. (ww.cfr.org). Northern Ireland was mainly made up of a protest majority but Irish Catholics still stayed in Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland was made up of a Catholic majority. (Bell 32-35)

The Protestant majority soon started to oppress the Catholic minority. The Catholics that remained in Northern Ireland faced discrimination and were treated as second class citizens. The I.R.A soon turned its cause to defending the Catholics that remained in Northern Ireland. The Catholics in Northern Ireland were looking for equal treatment and civil rights. Also within Northern Ireland there was a nationalist movement that was unhappy with the British occupation. Some Northern Irish wanted to have one united Ireland free of British control. (English).

For a long time the I.R.A tried peaceful methods to gain equal treatment for the Catholic minority but were met with resistance. The Protestants and the British government met the peaceful attempts of the I.R.A with violence. The I.R.A soon got frustrated and started to employ violent methods to gain equality and civil rights for the Catholic Minority in Ulster. The I.R.A began implementing methods such as Bombings, sniper attacks, and assassinations. (www.CFR.org)

The Irish Republican Army is mainly made up of Irish Catholics that live in Ulster. These Catholics living in Ulster don't feel equal to the Protestants living in the same area. The Catholics face discrimination and lack civil rights in Ulster. Also the I.R.A contains Irish people that want to see Ireland united and want to end the British Occupation of Ulster. Many Irish were not happy that Ireland got divided up after the war for independence. Some felt the war for independence wasn't successful because the northern counties of Ireland were still under British rule. (Bell 215-220)

The main grievances the I.R.A has are first to end British rule in Northern Ireland and create one united Ireland. Also they fought for equal treatment for the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland. The I.R.A feels that the British government isn't doing a good job protecting the Catholic Minority. They feel the Catholics face a large amount of discrimination and deserve equal treatment.

The Irish Republican Army feels justified in their use of violence to further their cause. In the past the I.R.A has tried peaceful way of getting their grievances settled. Unfortunately the I.R.A peaceful methods were met with violence. Terrorism is a weapon of the weak and the Catholic minority feels this is the only way they can gain equality. The I.R.A feels that their violent actions can gain them recognition for their cause and eventually they hope their violent methods can get Britain out of Ireland.

Through their use of violence the I.R.A has pulled off many notable attacks against the British. One of the most notable attacks was deemed "Bloody Friday". On that day the I.R.A. planted twenty-two bombs in Belfast. These bombs were then detonated over a span of seventy-five minuets. As a result of the attacks nine were killed and over one hundred and thirty people were injured. (www.CFR.org)

Other notable attacks include the assassination of Lord Mountbatten in 1979. He was the uncle of Queen Elizabeth the second. Members of the I.R.A assassinated him while vacationing in the Republic of Ireland. Also the I.R.A bombed the hotel where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was holding a meeting. That attack killed four and wounded several other British officials. Also the I.R.A has attacked the Prime Ministers residence and London's Heathrow Airport. The I.R.A ahs also had less profile attacks on pubs and subways throughout the 1970's-1990's. (www.CFR.org)

The I.R.A chooses a wide variety of targets both on British and Irish soil. The I.R.A has committed attacks on British figureheads as well as British government officials. The I.R.A also chooses civilian targets. They have been known to put bombs in pubs and subways around Northern Ireland. Also the I.R.A chooses economic symbols. The I.R.A was able to pull off an attack on the London financial district. In that particular attack they caused over a billion dollars worth of damage.

The most recent attempt at peaceful resolve happened in 1998. The peace agreement was named the Belfast agreement but it was also called the "Good Friday Agreement". President Bill Clinton tried to broker a deal between Irish Prime Minister Ahern and British Prime Minister Blair. In this deal the I.R.A renounced their use of violence. (Lloyd) In return the British planned on giving equality to the Catholics living in Northern Ireland. Also a new Northern Ireland legislative body was created and the British promised to share power in the new Northern Ireland government. Also the borders became more closely tied in this agreement. The British also promised that they would have more concerned over human rights issues in Northern Ireland. Both the Britain and Ireland vowed to solve their problems democratically. As a result of the agreement Irish prisoners were freed. (O'Brien). O'Brien writes, "The agreement's major bonus for them was the release of all IRA prisoners then serving sentences for murder, arson, and related offenses. The prisoners were released while the IRA still had all its weapons and was using them for systematic intimidation, including barbaric maimings euphemistically known as "punishment beatings." Political innocents who supported the prisoners' release were led to believe that it would soon be followed by the handing in of arms. This was not the case. Why should it have been? The IRA knew that the fear inspired by its continued possession of those arms was the