Introduction
According to Fine (2008), terrorism uses violence, fear, and noncombatant targets that cannot defend themselves in the process. However, despite it being notorious and universally experienced, it does not have one universally accepted definition. It is hard to precisely define terrorism because it is a challenge to be specific in doing so when motives, targets, and methods differ from one terrorism group to another. However, the complexity of untangling the overlaps within each of these types of terrorism makes the task almost implausible ( U.S Department of State, 2007 ). The establishment and continuity of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) with its main mode of operation as the application of violence through terrorism makes it a valid candidate for terrorism.
Why IRA is considered a Terrorist Group
The Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary organization whose quests are to establish a republic, to end British rule in Northern Ireland and to unite Ireland (Sanders, 2011). The group started in 1919, taking over from another group called the Irish Volunteers which was a militant nationalist organization established in 1913. The objective of IRA was to employ armed force to ensure that the British rule in Ireland would no longer be sufficient to achieve the common objective of an independent republic, which was pushed for politically by Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist party. From the time of its establishment, IRA has always been operating independently without any political control and even pursued the quest for independence more aggressively than the political party.
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The group used guerrilla tactics such as raids, ambushes, and sabotage during the Irish War of Independence that took place between 1919 and 192, to force the British government into negotiations. This war resulted in the establishment of the Irish Free State consisting of 26 counties which had a stake in the British Empire and Northern Ireland having six counties which continued to be part of the United Kingdom. The majority of IRA members were not satisfied with this arrangement. As such, the organization broke into two groups; one supporting the treaty whiles the other one opposing it (Sanders, 2011).
The accepting group formed the core of the foundation of the official Irish Free State Army and the resisting group called the “irregulars” started to form an armed resistance against the independent government. The Irish civil war (1922 -1923) only numbed the group but did not end it. Some members joined parliamentary politics, but others remained in the background and never surrendered their arms. Their persistence served as a constant reminder to the government that the aspiration for an independent Ireland was still vivid and if it were necessary, the group would use force to achieve it. It continued with recruitments and engaged in illegal drilling as well as several acts of violence. For the first time in 1931, the organization was declared illegal and again in 1936. In 1936, the group conducted several bombings in England. During the World War II, the group conducted a series of violent acts against the British, embarrassing the Irish government (Sanders, 2011).
In 1949 when Ireland exited from the British Commonwealth, IRA concentrated on pushing for the unification of the Irish Republic which is predominantly Roman Catholic, with Northern Ireland, predominantly Protestant. The 1950s and early 60s saw violent activities by the group, but due to the lack of support by the Catholics in Northern Ireland, the organization was not successful. In the late 1960s, the situation significantly changed as IRA got the support of Catholics in Northern Ireland who started a civil rights campaign seeking equal rights in voting, employment as well as housing by the predominantly Protestant government (Sanders, 2011).
The organization was known for its widespread use of violence, and within itself, there was a conflict on this issue, leading to another split. It broke into two factions; the "Official" as well as the "Provisional" wing. Both of them pursued the quest for a united socialist Irish republic, but the Officials stopped the use of violence in 1972 and opted for parliamentary tactics while the Provisionals continued to use violence through terrorism, believing that it was a vital element in getting rid of the British from Ireland. From 1970, the violent group engaged in bombings, ambushes and assassinations through what they called the “Long War” (Anderson, n.d). By 1973, their terrorist activities spread to mainland Britain and the whole continent of Europe. From 1969 to 1994, estimates indicate that the group killed approximately 1,800 people. The promise for the group’s inclusion in multiparty talks by the British and Irish governments led to its declaration of a cease-fire in 1994 which ended in 1996 but got restated in 1997. The group rejected to decommission its entire armory but announced in 2005 that it had stopped its armed campaigns. However, the 2015 murder of a former IRA leader indicated that the organization is still at large.
The Category of Terrorism
Different terrorist groups ascribe to different categories of terrorism. These categories define the groups according to specific criteria which mostly depend on the specialty of the person that is selecting the categories. Sometimes, these categories may be arbitrarily or redundantly used by the media. Terrorist categories include separatist, ethnocentric, nationalistic, political, revolutionary, social religious, international or transnational and domestic groups (Anderson, n.d). The IRA is a separatist group. Groups in this category push for separation from prevailing organizations using political autonomy, independence or religious domination/freedom ( Hoffman, 2017 ).
Motivators for the Development of IRA
According to Sanders (2011), several factors have motivated the development of IRA. One of such factors is the existence of a political party which also pushed for the union. This situation motivated the group to further its objectives and at one point even got the upper hand through the use of violence. The group also got sympathizers when the British government introduced the policy of interning suspected IRA members. Catholics sympathized with the group for this matter especially when 13 Catholic protesters were killed on January 30, 1972, in what was called "Bloody Sunday." This support swelled the organization's ranks. The other motivation for further development came from the financial assistance provided from outside. Some Irish Americans facilitated funding to the group, enabling it to further its course on terrorism. The money was used to procure weapons from foreign countries such as Libya as well as international arms dealers. According to estimates, by late 1990, the organization had enough weapons to pursue its campaigns for another decade. The group also had other means of raising money to sustain its existence. It engaged in many illegal activities including extortion, racketeering among others.
References
Anderson, G. (n.d). A Lesson in Modern Terrorism: In memory of Juliana Mccourt. In A. J. Challenger (Ed.). Vital Speeches of the day (pp. 117-124). Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yEfSyKlqJVkFBn_TBW9VNKerNZECLbFa/view
Fine, J. (2008). Contrasting Secular and Religious Terrorism. Middle East Quarterly , 15(1). https://www.meforum.org/articles/2008/contrasting-secular-and-religious-terrorism
Hoffman, B. (2017). Defining Terrorism. In B. Hoffman (Eds.). Inside Terrorism (pp. 1-41). Columbia University Press.
Sanders, A. (2011). Inside the IRA: Dissident Republicans and the war for legitimacy . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
U.S Department of State. (2007, August 15). A Military Guide to Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century: Terrorists Motivations and Behaviors. Country Reports on Terrorism . Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/10X9t2v1Oj7rpGcw6MhRbqu0_DA0HNuRm/view
