The IRA

The Irish conflict involving the Irish Republican Army (IRA) basically began when the Irish isle was partitioned in the 1920s. Catholics in Northern Ireland thought they were cheated out of their political heritage. Protestants, on the other hand, felt their heritage went far deeper in Irish history than that of the Catholics. Because of this they were determined to maintain control in Northern Ireland, having lost control elsewhere in the country. Both Catholics and Protestants viewed themselves as victimized by the partition. British colonialism began to dismantle during the 20th century. However, the British could not divest themselves of Ireland because the Protestants in Northern Ireland considered themselves British and represented a majority. Thus, Britain partitioned the Island which was a compromise that satisfied no one and created civil war in Ireland among the 26 counties there: "The Catholic majority believed God had made Ireland an island which was meant to be united and some day it would be united. Sinn Fein, the governing body inside Irish Republicanism, split on whether they should accept a partition or not. A bitter civil war broke out in which, ironically, more Irish killed each other than had been killed by their British enemy in the war of liberation" (IRA 2).

During the 1960s, Catholics adopted the strategy of one man, one job; one family, one house; and one man, one vote. These were important to Cathol

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come decades of violence between the IRA and those in opposition to it: "During riots in Londonderry on January 30, 1972, British paratroopers killed 13 unarmed Catholics, accelerating a cycle of IRA violence, loyalist reprisals, and security crackdowns that has continued, with some fits and starts, for more than three decades" (Terrorism 2). The IRA carried out numerous attacks since the 1970s. All tolled, the IRA is responsible for killing approximately 1800 people since that time, more than 650 of them civilians (Terrorism 2). The main targets of these attacks, however, were individuals from British troops, police officers, prison guards, and judges. In many instances those killed were unarmed or off-duty. For three decades IRA terrorists carried out a series of attacks that included the following significant ones: Bloody Friday � a bombing spree in downtown Belfast where 22 bombs were detonated inside of 75 minutes (injuring 100s and killing nine). The 1979 assassination of Lord Mountbatten (Queen Elizabeth II's uncle). The 1984 bombing of a Brighton hotel where then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was staying. A 1993 car bombing in London's financial district that killed one and caused $1 billion in damages.

Category: Foreign - T