1. Irish Republican Army

4.  1400 – Normans from England settle in Ireland  1495 – King Henry VII extends English law over Irish parliament

5.  Henry VIII tries to impose Anglican religion ◦ Roman Catholicism becomes linked with Irish ◦ Refuse to accept Anglican Church

6.  1560s – English suppress Irish revolt ◦ Queen Elizabeth I takes Irish lands and gives to English nobles  1660 – English law prevails over Ireland

7.  1798 – failed Irish revolt  Jan 1, 1801 – Irish relinquish own parliament ◦ United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed

8.  1841 – 1851 – Irish potato famine ◦ Population in Ireland decreases by 1.6 million ◦ Famine, disease, emigration ◦ British do little to help Irish ◦ Animosity grows

9.  Following famine, Catholics in Ireland demand national self-government ◦ Gain power in Parliament established in Ireland  May 1914 – Government of Ireland Act passed ◦ British grant Irish home rule status ◦ August 1914 – postponed because of WWI

10.  1916 – first Irish nationalist militia formed ◦ Fought Irish unionist militias that supported British  1916-1919 – First Irish Civil War

11.  Government of Ireland Act of 1920 ◦ Partitioned Ireland ◦ Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland ◦ Led to civil war

12.  Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1921 ◦ Dec 6 ◦ Northern Ireland given option to remain part of UK ◦ Created Irish Free State in the south

13.  Constitution of Ireland ◦ Dec. 29, 1937 ◦ Creates Republic of Ireland

14.  December 1969 split of IRA  Aim is to remove Northern Ireland from UK  Bring about a united Ireland ◦ Force of arms and political persuasion

15.  Strategy ◦ Use force to cause collapse of N. Ireland gov’t ◦ Inflict casualties on British forces  Enough for Parliament to remove troops

16.  January 11, 1970 – Sinn Fein splits ◦ Supporters of new PIRA ◦ PIRA suspicious of political activity ◦ Argued for more use of armed struggle

17.  PIRA took cues from “Old IRA”  Recruit high numbers of volunteers  Carry out attacks on British forces ◦ Bombing campaing against economic targets  Goal is “Victory 1972”  “Victory 1974”

18.  Aka Bogside Massacre  January 30, 1972 – Bogside, Derry, N. Ireland  N. Ireland Civil Rights Assoiciation march  26 unarmed protestors and bystanders shot by British Army ◦ 13 men die ◦ 5 shot in the back ◦ 2 run down by vehicles

22.  Mid-1970s, hope for quick victory receded  PIRA meets with N. Ireland gov’t ◦ PIRA leaders Ruairi O Bradaigh and Billy Mckee ◦ N. Ireland Secretary of State Merlyn Rees

23.  Ceasefire signed – begins February 1975 ◦ IRA believed start of British withdrawal ◦ Concluded that Rees was trying to bring them to peaceful politics without any guarantees

24.  Gerry Adams emerges as critic of IRA ◦ Ceasefire disastrous for IRA ◦ Led to infiltration of British informers ◦ Arrest of activitists ◦ Breakdown in IRA discipline and feud w/ Official IRA  Ceasefire breaks down in January 1976

25.  IRA comes under direction of Gerry Adams and his supporters  IRA reorganized to small cells ◦ Accepted that campaign would last many years  Greater emphasis on use of Sinn Fein

26. 1. War of attrition ◦ Cause as many deaths as possible 2. Bombing campaign aimed at financial sites 3. Make the 6 Counties ungovernable except through military rule 4. Sustain war and gain through propaganda 5. Punish criminals, collaborators, informers

27.  Seven IRA and 3 Liberation Army members  Starve themselves to death in pursuit of political status ◦ Led by Bobby Sands and Own Carron ◦ Elected to British Parliament  Brought more focus to plight of IRA and use of political activism

29.  Republican leaders look for political compromise ◦ Social and Democratic Labour Party leader John Hume secretly meets w/Gerry Adams and British leaders ◦ Adams moves Sinn Fein away from IRA ◦ Tactical Use of Armed Struggle ◦ Totally Unarmed Strategy

30.  1994 Ceasefire called by IRA ◦ Conditional upon inclusion of Sinn Fein in political talks  February 1996 ceasefire ends until July 1997 ◦ Sinn Fein ignored  Ceasefire of 1997 leads to Belfast Agreement

31.  Good Friday Agreement ◦ British and Irish governments ◦ All paramilitary groups in N. Ireland cease activities and disarm by May 2000  IRA doesn’t trust British Parliament ◦ 2002 breaks off deal

32.  Jan 2005 – IRA withdraws from disarmament process  July 2005 – IRA declares campaign of violence is over

33.  July 28, 2005  IRA Army Council announces end to armed campaign ◦ Instructed members to dump weapons ◦ IRA would not engage in "any other activities whatsoever apart from assisting in the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively peaceful means”  Sept 25, 2005 – international weapons inspectors supervise full disarmament of IRA