1. IRA Background
The Map

2. Northern Ireland

3. Union of England and Ireland in 1800
Still tensions: Protestant England and Catholic Ireland
1858 Irish independence movement revolutionaries called Fenians
1910s: Many bills in Brisitsh Parliament calling for Ireland independence or autonomy (“Home Rule”)

4. 1913: Ulster Volunteer Force created: Protestants who want Ireland to remain part of England (Unionists)
1913: In response, Irish Volunteers created: independence movement, eventually called Irish Republican Army
1916: Easter Rising: Massive protests for independence; British violent overreaction
: Civil War England vs. Ireland

5. 12/6/1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty
Created independent Republic of Ireland
Six counties of Northern Ireland remain under English control
IRA remains committed to independence and against the partition of Ireland

6. : Military campaign of low-level violence by IRA; fails to move Northern Ireland toward independence
Key Policy of IRA: Abstentionism: refusal to run for office in English, Irish, or Northern Ireland parliaments – running for office would mean acceptance of these governing structures as legitimate and therefore acceptance of the partition of 1921 and acceptance of English governing structures for Northern Ireland