What exactly was the IRA?

Answer 1

Answer "IS the IRA"

The provisional Irish Republican Army, or IRA, is an outgrowth of an older group known as the Irish Republican Army, which fought an insurgency that successfully challenged British rule in the whole of Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century. The 1916-1921 warfare culminated in the creation of an independent Irish Free State in 1921. But in exchange for its independence, the old IRA's leadership agreed to allow Ireland's six northern counties to remain under British rule. Britain reconstituted these provinces as Ulster or Northern Ireland, and inside the IRA, significant elements rejected this partition and launched a civil war ultimately won by the rejectionists. Ties between the Free State and Britain remained chilly into the 1970s. Meanwhile, the old IRA maintained a low level campaign of violence aimed at reuniting Ireland. By the 1960s, however, its activities had dwindled significantly.

In the late 1960s, developments in Northern Ireland hastened the declining influence of the old guard. Reacting to discrimination against Catholics in the British-ruled province, civil rights marchers engaged in civil disobedience and were met by violent crackdowns from the Protestant-dominated police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Tensions rose and Britain deployed regular army troops to the province's streets, ostensibly to protect the Catholic minority. These tensions split the IRA, too, which in 1969, the IRA splintered into two groups, the Dublin-based "officials," who advocated a united socialist Ireland by peaceful means, and the Belfast-based "provisionals," who vowed to use violence as a catalyst for unification.

At first, the provisional IRA, or "provos" conducted sniper attacks, assassinations, and several small bombings in the province, and appeared to have little public support. Then, in January 1972, British troops opened fire on a Catholic rally in Londonderry, killing fourteen unarmed people. PIRA recruitment soared, and the official wing of the organization fell away into obscurity. Their violent comrades proceeded to launch a series of bombing campaigns around Northern Ireland and in Britain targeting both military targets and civilian populations. So-called "Loyalist" groups determined to retain British rule sprung up to challenge them, and in the crossfire, together with British military and Northern Irish police forces, some 3,600 people would die before a peace accord was signed in the late 1990s. Today, the IRA's political wing, Sinn Fein, which means "Ourselves Alone" in the Gaelic language, holds various positions within the provincial Northern Irish government. The Royal Ulster Constabulary has been disbanded, Loyalist groups largely have laid down their arms, and most British troops have left the province.

Answerthe IRA has had various incarnations. the "old" IRA up until 1923 believed that the political route to Irish independence would not succeed without a military element. some believed that there should only be a military solution. after 1923 some of the IRA accepted the de facto partition of Ireland and entered politics in the republic as the fianna fail party led by eamon de valera. a minority persisted with the armed struggle until the 1990s - the provisional IRA led by gerry Adams etc. AnswerThe Irish Republican Army is an unsanctioned Irish military force that fights for Northern Ireland's independence from English occupation. They are a controoversial and violent group. You can find out more about them using the following link:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army - 82k -

Answer 2

The IRA stands for the Irish Republican Army. They were/are a group of Irish people who believe that the island of Ireland should be a political unity and started a terrorist war against the british people of Northern Ireland that wanted to remain part of Great Britain.

Answer 3

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) were a paramilitary group with the goal of freeing Ireland from British rule.

They originally formed in 1913, under the name "The Irish Volunteers," in response to the Ulster Volunteer Force's creation in Northern Ireland (which was intended to help prevent the Home Rule - a document trying to let Southern Ireland vote on their own taxes)

They officially became the IRA in 1969.

The IRA split into various groups since then, but as to what the aggressive groups did:

They did numerous criminal activities, including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies. Primary targets included British police, officials, guards, and occasionally bombings at subways and malls located in Great Britain.

Criminal acts include:

· July 1972 - Bloody Friday - Belfast was hit by 22 bombs in 1 hr 15 min minutes, killing 9, and injuring 130

· 1974 - Bombing of a Birmingham pub that killed 19 persons.

· 1979 - The assassination of Lord Mountbatten (1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma), Queen Elizabeth II's uncle and the last Viceroy of India

· 1979 - Unsuccessful assassination of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Brighton, England.

· 1984 - Bombing of a Brighton hotel where then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were meeting, which wounded several British officials and killed four other Britons

· 1993 - A car bombing in London's financial district, Canary Wharf, that killed one person and caused $1 billion of damage

· Early 1990s - Mortar attacks on the British prime minister's residence and London's Heathrow Airport.

· 1998 - A car bombing that killed 29 people in Northern Ireland. The attack led to the Irish government threatening the paramilitary groups

The IRA has also had groups which are peaceful, such as Sinn Fein, a group which is to this day trying to help make (currently all of - the southern section of Ireland is free from British rule) Ireland free from Britain.

Hope this Helps! :)

Answer 4

Individual Retirement Account, a type of retirement plan in the US.

Also stands for the Irish Republican Army, a former terrorist organisation in Northern Ireland.