Term Paper on "Irish Republican Army"

Term Paper 4 pages (1266 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

IRA: Irish Republican Army

The Irish Republican Army, IRA, is a nationalist organization that is devoted to the integration of Ireland as a complete and independent unit (Irish 2004). The Irish Republican Army has its roots in Ireland's struggle for independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the early part of the twentieth century (Irish pp). Many note that it is important to distinguish between the 'Old IRA' or the 'Official IRA' from the Provisional IRA (PIRA) which is a splinter group that formed in the late 1960's during the anti-Catholic programs, riots and murders that took place in Belfast and Derry (Irish pp).

Although the history of the Irish Republican Army can be traced to Wolfe Tone and the rebellions of the 1790's, its modern history is rooted in the Easter Uprising of 1916 when the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizens Army merged into one organization under the leadership of Michael Collins (Irish pp). All modern organizations that have formed from this grouping still use the Irish form of the name for their organization, such as the Irish Defense Forces, the Official and Provisional IRA and the Continuity and Real IRA, all claim to the title, Oglaigh na hEireann, which means Irish Volunteers (Irish pp).

The demands of World War I had depleted the British military by 1916 and the main rebel movements of the time, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Irish Citizens Army and the Irish Volunteers had resolved on a rebellion to force the British from Ireland (Irish pp). Germany supplied the weapons under the auspices of a Sir Roger Casement, a leading human rights campaigner (Irish pp). Although the plot was discovered and the weapons lost when the ship carrying them fled from capture, the rebellion proceeded (Irish pp). The seizure of the Dublin post office and the raising of a green flag with the words 'Irish Republic' written across it along with a green, white, and orange tricolor flag above it, and the reading of the proclamation of independence proceeded a bloody war (Irish pp). Although it is often claimed by republican history that the Rising and its leaders had public support, it is believed that in reality the majority of the population called for the execution of the leaders as Dubliners not only cooperated with British troops but undermined the Republicans as well (Irish pp). However, by 1917-1918, opinions shifted in favor of the Republicans when the British tried to impose conscription on Ireland in an effort to boost its war effort (Irish pp). From 1916 to 1918, the two dominant nationalist movements, Sinn Fein and the Irish Parliamentary Party fought a series of battles in by-elections, with neither winning a decisive victory (Irish pp). However, when the balance tipped in favor of Sinn Fein during the Conscription Crisis, the Sinn Fein MPs decided not to take their seats in Westminster but rather set up an independent Assembly of Ireland (Irish pp). In January 1919, as the new unofficial parliament assembled in the Mansion House in Dublin, the first shots of the Irish War of Independence were fired when the newly renamed Irish Republican Army shot dead two British policemen in Tipperary (Irish pp). The World War I veterans sent by the British to assist the police, reportedly wore a combination of black police uniforms and tan army uniforms, hence the nickname, 'Black and Tans' (Irish pp). The brutality of the Black and Tans is legendary and tales of their indiscriminate butchery of the local population are common, as is the excessive violence by the IRA, especially against Protestants in the Munster area (Irish pp). Two Irish states, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, were created under the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 (Irish pp). Southern Ireland, called the Irish Free State,… READ MORE

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