One of the most widely known and arguably the most unsuccessful IRA tactics has been the use of explosive devices. Many targets were specifically chosen for quite obvious reasons, although random bombings have taken place to simply cause chaos and destruction.
One of the first targets the IRA chose were the security forces in Northern Ireland. These included army barracks, watchtowers, police stations and government buildings. These attacks were meant to achieve the aim of driving the British armed forces out of Northern Ireland and wipe out the mainly protestant Ulster Constabulary. Between 1972 and 1980, IRA bombs killed over 68 people, with another 41-recorded deaths before 1997.
Of Course, Northern Ireland was not the only target of the IRA bombs. Numerous attacks were carried out in mainland Britain. Major cities such as London and Birmingham were the main targets although attacks have occurred throughout Britain. The main target of bomb attacks in mainland Britain is to convince the British public to demand that the government withdraw troops from Ireland. The thought was that if the violence spilled out onto the British public, they might have more motivation to demand that it end.
Two of the most famous bombings on the mainland are the Harrods Bomb attack of 1983 and the attack on the Grand Hotel in Brighton, intending to kill Margaret Thatcher in 1984. The Harrods bomb was a repeat of the 1973 attempt to destroy the famous London shopping emporium. The bombing took place in December, a time when many people would have been preparing for Christmas and Harrods would be preparing for it’s busiest time of the year. The attack was presumably held at this time to cause ultimate disruption for the British public and that an attack on a house hold name such as Harrods would get the attention of much of the world. The attack gained little or no support from the British public, however support for the IRA grew slightly in Ireland.
The attack on the Grand Hotel was an assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher, the Prime minister at the time. Margaret Thatcher survived the attack although one conservative mp and 6 leading party members were killed.
Prison Protests took place to win support to the IRA cause. They did this by shocking the public, as well as showing that the Protestors were willing to do anything for their cause.
The Prison Protests took place in 2 main forms, ‘The Dirty Protests’ and Hunger Strikes. The ‘dirty protests’ started in 1978, they involved prisoners not washing and making their cells as unhygienic as possible by spreading their own faeces on the walls. The protesters, known as ‘blanket men’, would live in these terrible conditions and wear only a prison blanket. They refused to wash and due to the terrible smell, prison guards refused to clean the cells. The aim of the ‘dirty protest’ was to show the world that the protesters were dedicated to their cause and to exaggerate the terrible conditions of the ‘H-Blocks’. IRA members and republicans outside of the prisons protested that the ‘blanket men’ were being unfairly treated and support for the cause grew.
The second form of prison strike was the hunger strike. The first hunger strike took place in 1980 when 7 republican prisoners started to refuse food in late October. By mid December support for the hunger strikes had grown by 30 more prisoners, but on the 18th December the strike was called off, as belief of a settlement grew stronger. At this point the hunger strike had not caused any fatalities although Sean McKenna, one of the original 7 had become critically ill.
A settlement was made in early 1981 although it was not the settlement that the IRA wanted. They wanted all republican prisoners to be given P.O.W. status, which would entitle them to better treatment. So in February 1982 the republican prisoners announced another hunger strike. Bobby Sands who was later joined by other IRA and INLA members including Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara and Francis Hughes started this hunger strike. In March of the same year support for the protesters was enormous and the IRA put up Bobby Sands as a candidate in the Westminster By-Election. Bobby Sands won with ease due to the amazing amount of support from local people. Although Sands died two months later he had already gathered overwhelming support for the ‘blanket men’. After 4 more months and many more deaths of hunger strikers, the strike was called off with the belief that the government might submit to the demands.
“Sinn Féin seeks the establishment of a new Ireland based on sustainable social and economic development; genuine democracy, participation, equality and justice at all levels of the economy and society; and a lasting and meaningful peace with unity of purpose and action.”
Sinn Fein has been called the legitimate political front of the IRA, but Sinn Fein always denied this. Their aim is to unite Ireland by having an independent Irish Government, away from British Rule.
The IRA has changed their tactics numerous times since 1972. There are many reasons why but the main one is possibly down to how acceptable the tactics they used were. At one time it might have seemed reasonable for the IRA to use bombing tactics to get the attention of the public, however not any more. The tactics that the IRA used also depended on how many recruits were available at the time and the public opinion of the IRA. IRA tactics have seemed to be effective over the last 30 years, as many agreements have been made between the IRA and the British government.
