Violence sparked throughout the 1700s and early 1800s, as each generation saw its own martyrs perish to the English. Beginning in 1796, Thomas Wolfe Tone incited a revolt on the grounds of nationalism, arguing that “Irish independence was more important than religious differences,” but the uprising faltered in 1798. As the 18th century waned, Protestants and Catholics both formed paramilitary organizations to defend each side’s interest. The prevailing theme of the 1800s was Republican opposition to Britain’s plans to draw Northern Ireland into the United Kingdom via 1801’s Act of Union (White 81). This struggle coincided with the notorious potato famine of the mid 1840s. The deadly famine saw Ireland’s population fall by a quarter, an opportunity which Northern unionists capitalized on to “consolidate their hold on Ulster.” Economic differences between the middle-class Protestants and the agrarian Catholics compounded all of these issues (White 82).
White makes a final comment on the history of Catholic-Protestant antagonism in noting that, “By the nineteenth century, both the unionists and the republicans were fully Irish.” The transplanted Protestants of Elizabeth I’s reign had been bred into the land, and so discord between the two sides displayed more and more intra-Irish elements (82).
The Real IRA claims as its “ultimate objective” the “re-establishment of the Republic,” a motive that has united many different IRA factions for the better part of a century. The major delineation between the rIRA and modern Provisionals came as a result of the Belfast Agreement on April 10th, 1998. That agreement, supported by most North Irish political parties as well as voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic, reorganized the governmental structure for Northern Ireland and its association with the United Kingdom (Belfast). The rIRA maintains violently that the agreement is like snake oil with regard to the true welfare of the Irish people, false hope for home rule. In a statement ratified by the rIRA’s Army Council, one member noted that “The Republican struggle was never about economic and social change within the Six-County state — it was about destroying that very state and getting the British out of Ireland” (Ireland’s Own).
The reasons for Irish terror could be listed ad infinitum, but one example continues to stand out to many. According to White, the name of English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell “still stirs hatred” among the Irish, 350 years after his massacre of thousands of Irish Catholics. Cromwell thanked God “for granting him the opportunity to kill so many of his enemies” (81). This anecdote is truly a microcosm of the reasons for the rIRA’s resentment toward the British.
Anthony McIntyre, a former member of the Provisional IRA, makes the argument that “Unless the justification for the bulk of our activity is revisited and repicked then the Real IRA will always find within our collective history substantive justification for continuing as they are.” What McIntyre refers to is the rIRA’s continuation of the violent struggle the Provisionals have since renounced. Since these IRA splinter groups have a common background, until previous group members who are now in leadership positions acknowledge the full disaster of their own terrorist campaigns, the rIRA’s mission cannot be delegitimized (McIntyre). Furthermore, through keeping the battle alive, the rIRA may expose a generation of impressionable youth to a society where violent rhetoric is inescapable, jeopardizing the future of an ongoing peace process.
With the IRA and various splinter groups running a thirty-year campaign of terror in Northern Ireland, the question stands to be asked: what has the government done in response to this ongoing violence? It seems as though the government has adopted and dismissed many acts and ordinances over the years with respect to the problem of terror control. In his book, Terrorism, Jonathan White examines the “Evolution of Security Tactics” in Northern Ireland.
In the early 1970’s a fairly controversial set of laws were in place. Security forces were able to arrest and intern without a warrant or trial. These laws transformed over the years to encompass a kind of martial law as well. First labeled The Special Powers Act, then mutating into a series of Emergency Powers Acts the laws united military units, the constabulary, prisons, and courts into a single executive governmental justice system (193-194).
The common question in dealing with terrorism is whether it deserves civil law reaction or military reaction. It seems the British government sided with the latter idea. This did not seem to settle well. White claims, “In 1985 the Anglo-Irish Peace Accord was signed to return criminal infractions in Ireland to the realm of peacetime law” (194). The aim was to appeal to the moderates, a tactic government must consider.
The changing reaction and response to the IRA seems to be an experimental process. The government first reacted by considering the violence a means of military action. As White claims, “Policies and actions during those periods isolated Catholic communities, and increased the strength of the IRA” (196). It would also seem that the violent response would breed more violence from the IRA. The British knew this military response was not helping to quell the violence. In the process of trying to make the violence a criminal law reaction the RUC, Royal Ulster Constabulary, was created. It was aimed to be a neutral civil power. Military force was limited to extreme emergencies, and they were generally used to augment police force (White 196). This form of control is being held at the present and has seemingly been the most successful. White concludes the subject best:
There is no doubt that many human rights abuses occurred. However, security force policy evolved and eventually helped calm a tremendously complex, violent situation. Additionally, the increased competence of security forces seemed to result in a less confrontational attitude…(197).
The IRA terrorists have been fighting for 30 years for the unification of Ireland. They do not like the British influence and control over Northern Ireland. However, the Protestant North wants to remain unionist and keep British rule. Even the separation of Ireland, giving the southern republicans their own territory to rule, is not sufficient for the IRA. They want complete unification of Ireland. This division of thought in Ireland has led to corruption of democracy in Northern Ireland. In the mid 1900’s there were many civil rights movements to try and restore Catholic representation in the North. According to Kevin Kelly, author of The Longest War: Northern Ireland and the IRA, “The reforms sought in the North were really only the minimal requirements for any society claiming to operate in accordance with reasonably egalitarian criteria” (99). The IRA was not fighting for democracy; they were more for a socialist-nationalist identity. However, the repression in the North of their fellow Catholic brothers increased the hatred the British Parliament, and increased the violent resistance.
In the early 1990’s the IRA began to realize that their use of violence was not helping their cause. After thirty years of violence, and the coming of the present age, violence was not as effective. Susie Derkins, author of The Irish Republican Party, claims, “It was leading to their exclusion from any official discussions of Northern Ireland’s future” (43-44). A cease-fire was called on August 31, 1994. This allowed the IRA to join the legislative talks that lead to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 (44). The agreement called for a democratically elected assembly of Republican and Unionist members to rule Northern Ireland with only minimal influence from London (46). Obviously not all nationalist agree to the policy which has lead to the many splinter groups of the IRA that insist on the continuing violence of the current day. Derkins concludes with, “The fundamental problems of Ireland persist. Should Northern Ireland remain in a union with Britain? Will there ever be a whole and united Ireland? Will the Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland ever achieve true equality with their Protestant neighbors?” (53). It seems that the IRA has succeeded in many ways to democratize the Irish lands, and yet has a long way to go. The success has been at the cost many lives and much violence and there are still unsatisfied groups that will not stop the violence.
Aside from political effects of the IRA’s terrorist campaigns, are the social effects of the organizations continuing reign of terror on Ireland. One negative effect has been on Irish tourism. The negative media coverage of violence and mayhem has not made Ireland a desired place of travel. According to Martin O’Neill, in a publishing in Managing Service Quality, the market share of the tourism industry is growing and Ireland is not going to be able to profit from this growth. Over the years of violence in the region, Ireland has suffered a death of inward investment, no product development nor training in the service industry. The area has not been investing in its people or its products. O’Neill claims that following the cease-fire of 1994, Ireland saw an increase in holiday traffic of 67% in 1995. The total number of visitors increased to 1.5 million, up 20% from 1994. However, with the splinter groups of the IRA returning to violence, Ireland again has the increased problem of promoting a troubled environment to increase market share of tourism. O’Neill says that even in the event that visitors continue to increase in Ireland, the region will have a hard time maintaining levels of service quality brought about by a near neglect of the training function within the industry over the last 25 years. Ending on a positive note, he states the paramilitary cease-fires have resulted in a curiosity in the area leading to an influx of visitors and inward investment by companies, i.e. Hilton International, Radisson, and Holiday Inn International. Only time will tell if Ireland can overcome its history of setbacks and gain control of its tourist potential.
One of the setbacks that have most severely hampered Ireland’s viability as a tourist spot came compliments of the Real IRA (Omagh). In August of 1998, merely weeks after peace talks looked as if they were finally going to reconcile the Irish conflict, a car bomb went off in a swarming shopping center of Omagh. Omagh is a town that consists of approximately 60% Catholics and 40% Protestants. Tragically, this eye-opening bombing took the lives of 29 innocent victims. Despite former President Clinton’s visit to Northern Ireland, peace talks were forgotten when the United States declared the Real IRA a terrorist group and cut all ties and attempts to make peace (Religious).
Religious terrorism is defined as: Religious terrorists seeking to use violence to further what they see as divinely commanded purposes, often targeting broad categories of foes in an attempt to bring about sweeping changes (Types). Sadly, most, if not all major religions can somehow justify violence. Many religious groups contemplate whether fighting evil with evil is right in achieving justice or simply defending their beliefs. Most of these religious groups choose violence when they feel that they are threatened. Religion has played such a major role in conflicts in Ireland.
Ireland has a history of religious conflicts. The Catholics were a minority in Ireland. However, as years passed, Catholics began to fight back against the Protestants forming the IRA. The rIRA was dedicated to removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland. The rIRA also sought to disrupt the Northern Ireland peace process. Despite the continuous struggle between the Catholics and Protestants, they did agree that the August bombing in Omagh was despicable (Omagh). Outrage over the attack in both pro-British Protestant and pro-Irish Catholic communities forced the Real IRA to suspend its activities. Although it should not have taken such a tragic event to allow the two opposing groups to come to an agreement on something, the Real IRA’s attack did just that. The Catholic and Protestant churches were infuriated by the rIRA’s heartless attack that took the lives of innocent civilians.
The rIRA’s goals may have some religious force behind them, but it does not seem to be the number one reason for their attacks (Religious). What is the reason? One may never know what drives a terrorist group to do what they do, but the only way to do anything is to prevent it. That is why the communities in Northern Ireland took a step in the direction to stop the terrorism. The rIRA continues its terrorist attacks. There are steps that can be taken to prevent attacks, but those that are terrorists find loopholes to achieve their goals.
Many terrorists use religion as a crutch to justify their actions. Putting the word “religious” in front of terrorism is a way to fool one into thinking that the reason behind terrorist’s actions are in fact for religious purposes. However, many times, the terrorists simply use their beliefs as an excuse as to why they did what they did. Moreover, religion cannot be an excuse for terrorist activities.
The general aim of the IRA has been to modify a still-divided Northern Ireland as a workable portion of the global market by ensuring that it is competitively attractive in capitalist terms. The movement has long advocated the building of an Economic Resistance Movement with the intention of creating a social agitation that begs for direction. Most telling of all, the inter-party divide that led to the collapse in early October of the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement concealed a convergence around center-right economics.
It may seem that too much is being demanded, that resources will be stretched too far. It is also known that in many areas the organization does not have sufficient membership or experience to launch these large-scale efforts. It is necessary for every area to identify how to best use its resources and talents. The social agitation created by the Economic Resistance Movement raises the profile and credibility of the movement and will assist in recruitment and electoral support. The successful establishment of a mass Economic Resistance Movement would give the IRA the weapon they need to attain complete victory and give them the base on which to proceed to the consolidation of the 32 county socialist republic.
In their time in office, all the executive parties, most notably Sinn Fein, committed themselves to maintaining, if not increasing, direct grants to multinationals and to a reduction in corporate and other taxes on business to make Northern Ireland more alluring to outside investment. All advocate economic correctness. All have actively pursued policies of privatization, fighting off public services to various entrepreneurs.
The economy is not the only portion of the Irish social structure to be impacted by this organization. The IRA, coupled with a politically unstable environment, has greatly impacted the schools of Northern Ireland. The conflict between rival factions within the community has created trouble amongst pupils while providing a dynamic for bullying and intimidation. Traveling to and from school, particularly in areas such as North Belfast where the territory is fragmented and where two communities and their respective schools are in such close proximity to one another, can cause major conflicts. School uniforms, which were implemented into schools, provide a means of identifying what ‘side’ a young person is on, and simply wearing a uniform in the ‘wrong place’ may have violent consequences.
So what have the school systems done to attempt to combat this violence? In several areas, schools have staggered their finishing times so that students form rival factions do not get out of school at the same time. Bussing, and the coordination of buses, is another way in which schools have tried to contain and limit the tendency towards violence amongst young people (Smyth 45). These efforts are overseen by teachers as well as students, particularly in those marginalized communities. Not only are they combating these issues on a daily basis, but they also fight against ordinary lack of motivation for education as well as bullying, which are unfortunately regular features in schools in deprived areas. In many areas of Northern Ireland, political violence amongst young people and related issues provides an added dimension to this politically volatile region.
Violence due to the unstable environment is highly common within the educational system. According to students of one school in a Protestant area of Belfast, violence was a daily occurrence. “There’s fighting nearly everyday at break time and during lunch time and after school” (Smyth 45). While females may partake in particular actions, fighting was far more common with male students, both in the school and in the streets. Violence is not limited to fights between students, as attacks on teachers also frequently occur in some schools.
Teachers are instructed not to discuss the happenings outside the walls of the school, and in a school environment where community tensions influence the day to day operation of the school and where violence and threats are not uncommon, this may perhaps be an understandable limit set by the teachers. Testing results from these schools has also decreased in wake of the political turmoil. Teachers’ time and energy, in many occasions, is being spent on dealing with disruptive students, at the expense of their educational goals (Smyth 46).
The black market and petty crime were so much the norm in some areas that they presented an alternative way of earning a living for young people excluded from schools and therefore they required no educational qualifications (Barry). “However, the cease fires, the peace process and the consequent influx of European Peace and Reconciliation Funding was seen to have provided some relief for this doubtful scene” (Smyth 47). European money had increased education and employment opportunities for young people in some areas. In common with many other institutions in Northern Ireland, schools seem to maintain a form of silence about issues of division and conflict.
The Real Irish Republican Army has not had many appreciable links internationally. Most of the general IRA’s global ties come through the Provisional branch. The pIRA is also believed to be “involved in the training of revolutionary groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)” (Peters). Connections have also been cited between the Provisionals and regimes in Iran and Libya. In 1987, “the French police…intercepted a ship carrying a small yet sophisticated arsenal from Libya to the Provisional Irish Republican Army” (Peters). IRA-Libyan operations have been nicknamed the “Green-Green Alliance,” due to the color of the Libyan flag. Lastly, funds to support legal assistance for prisoners and their families have filtered in from Irish descendants in the USA, Canada, and Australia.
Works Cited
Barry, Kevin. “Resiliency, Tolerance and Avoidance in Northern Ireland.” Journal of Pastoral
Counseling. 25 May 2000. 28 Feb. 2005
<http://www.iona.edu/academic/arts_sci/orgs/pastoral/resiliency/barry.htm>.
“Belfast Agreement.” Belfast Agreement. 3 Feb. 2005. 20 Feb. 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Agreement>.
Derkins, Susie. The Irish Republican Army. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., New York, NY.
2003
“Ireland’s OWN.” Ireland’s OWN: IRA. 12 Jun. 2004. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://irelandsown.net/rira3.html>.
Kelly, Kevin. The Longest War: Northern Ireland and the IRA. Brandon Book Publishers
Limited, Dingle Co. Kerry, Ireland. 1982.
Martin Melaugh. “‘Real’ Irish Republican Army (rIRA).” CAIN: Abstracts on Organisations. 28 Sept. 2004. 20 Feb. 2005 <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/rorgan.htm#rira>.
McIntyre, Anthony. “Silent But Lethal.” The Blanket. 8 Nov. 2002. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://lark.phoblacht.net/silentbut.html>.
O’Neill, Martin A. Managing Service Quality. Bedford: 1996. Vol 6, Iss.4; pg36.
“Omagh bombing.” Wikipedia. 10 Feb. 2005. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bombing>.
“Paramilitaries – The Real IRA/32-County Sovereignty Committee.” BBC. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/troubles/factfiles/rira.shtml>.
Peters, Vincent J. “The Irish Republican Army.” Triskelle. 26 Feb. 2005. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://www.vincentpeters.nl/triskelle/history/irishrepublicanarmy.php>.
“Real IRA leader challenges fund.” BBC News. 15 Feb. 2001. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4267139.stm>.
“Real IRA (RIRA); a.k.a. True IRA.” Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2003. United States Department of State. June 2004.
“Real Irish Republican Army.” Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2005. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Irish_Republican_Army>.
“Religious Terrorism.” Religious Terrorism. 22 Mar. 2004. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/429/429lect13.htm>.
Smyth, Marie. “Impact of Political Conflict on Children in Northern Ireland.” Institute for
Conflict Research. March 2004. 28 Feb. 2005
<http://www.conflictresearch.org.uk/publications/icrpubs/CCICReport.pdf>.
“Terrorist Group Profile Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA).” MIPT Terrorism Knowledge
Base. 18 Jan. 2005. 20 Feb. 2005 <http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=91>.
“Types of Terrorism.” Council of Foreign Relations. 2004. 20 Feb. 2005
<http://cfrterrorism.org/terrorism/types.html>.
White, Jonathan R. Terrorism: An Introduction. Fourth Ed. Thompson Learning, Inc.,
Canada. 2003.