Irish Republican Army Analysis

Another post-colonial issue seen in the text was the issue of power dynamics. Being a colony of a powerful empire, the colonized are subjects of the colonizers. Because of rising tensions between the colonized and the colonizers, both are struggling to gain power and influence over the people. The IRA, being the colonized, prevents the colonizers from gaining any more power in their land. The colonizers, on the other hand, lose its influence and power over the colonized as the people became more aware and active in the independence movement. The independence movement in Ireland started in the 1920s, a period when the British Empire was starting to fall apart. The conflict between the two warring factions had resulted into a bloodbath since the start of their resistance to the colonizers. Because of the hatred against the colonizers, the oppressed colonized people fought back in order to remove them physically and mentally out of their land. The power struggle between the two belligerent nations had disrupted peace in the country, which resulted to many innocent deaths. This is evident in the text when the resistance fighters and the colonizers are fighting "with their tanks and their bombs, and their bombs and their guns" (O’Riordan). War for power and influence had made Ireland into a dangerous society where its people use force as a means of expressing their sentiments against colonial rule. Issues in

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

After the first world war the leaders of europe came together to discuss the boundaries of europe. British rule decided to separate ireland into two sides. North Ireland was created when the british government of Ireland Act in 1920 divided Ireland into two areas; the Irish Free State and the Northern Ireland Roman Catholics, who made up around one-third of the population of Northern Ireland, were largely opposed to the separation. The British took over , but only after many revolts and riots against them from the people of ireland. In 1969 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was formed. They were a Catholic Irish nationalist group that used guerrilla tactics like bombings and assassinations to oppose British rule and oppression in Ireland. Their main goal was to fight the british that took over their home. The IRA would Fight using guerilla and terrorist tactics including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling, and robberies. But over time the IRA became more of a dangerous militia then patriots defending their home.

The United States is known for being one of the most diverse societies in the world. It is made up of over eight major races. One race in particular, the irish, makes up around 11% of the total population(U.S. Census Bureau 2013). The Irish Americans have very strong roots going all the way back to when they were forced overseas due to the potato famine in the nineteenth century. These immigrants brought with them not only a strong heritage, but also many ancestors whose children would play an important role in shaping many of the American ways. One person of Irish descent who perhaps had the most significant impact on our country was John F. Kennedy.

Throughout history mass movements have contributed to changing the face of the world. Some most notable are that of the Bolsheviks and the Nazis. These movements and others like them have emerged as a result of the mistreatment of people, to preserve a group of people or propagate an idea or view. No matter the reason behind the start of the group, they all have one goal; the end result of every mass movement is to bring change. The mass movement that will be discussed is the Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the IRA. The catalyst that caused its formation, a specific identification and analysis of the membership and the societal, religious, cultural, political, and national effect it had

The essay explains how the Irish War of Independence was marked by terrorism meant to counter the Black and Tans who were the British lethal forces. The discussion explains how black and Tans used excessive forces on innocent civilians where robbery, murder, and looting were common. Subsequently, the Ireland Republican Army adopted terrorism as part of their offensive against the British forces. The essay highlights that the use of terrorism was necessary due to lethal forces that were used by the Britons. This is because it managed to counter excessive forces used by Black and Tans who were also terrorizing them.

During the time after the Jacobite Wars, Ireland began to grow a significant amount of enmity for the Westminster Parliament. The distaste for English presence grew rapidly among the Irish; Irish began to take part and support the colonies in the race for freedom among the British rule. Irish Protestants form militias of “Volunteers”, united Protestants and Catholics form the United Irishmen. During this time the irish cause mayhem and upheavals throughout the land in a yearn for separateness from British Rule.

Slogans appeared on the walls in Belfast: ‘IRA – I Ran Away.’ There were some members of the IRA who felt that the policy of uniting Ireland had to be followed and that if violence had to be used to achieve that aim, then violence would be used. Some IRA members wished to re-unite Ireland by peaceful means. A split occurred in the IRA, and those who embarked on a policy of violence called themselves the ‘Provisional IRA’. When first established there were 30 provisionals in Belfast, but they soon expanded and became the main force behind Irish Nationalism.

During WWII, the “Irregulars” sought after assistance from Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Once the Nazi’s were unable to help any further and the withdrawal of Ireland from the British Commonwealth in 1949, the IRA started to use religion as a catalyst to re-invigorate their cause, pitting Roman Catholic against Protestants. After years of fighting, the IRA had an evolution or adaptation. They split into two factions, the “Officials”, part of the political party Sinn Fein and the “Provisionals” or “Provos”. The Officials used politics to fight the Brits. While the Provos believed that violence was the only means to get the job done. They used bombings, assassinations, and ambushes in their campaign for freedom. The Provos later evolved into cells to deter infiltration from the British. For years they brought the fight to the British in Northern Ireland and England. The Provos then evolved again into organized crime. They were involved in extortion, racketeering, and arms dealing. Evolution or adaptation was a major part of why the IRA was able to keep the fight going for as long as they did against a much wealthier, well equipped adversary. They were able to make natural adaptations by both IRA parties and the Provos made direct adaptations to their tactics and operational structure through the

Seamus Heaney once said “But that citizen’s perception was also at one with the truth in recognizing that the very brutality of the means by which the IRA were pursuing change was destructive of the trust upon which new possibilities would have to be based.” This quote proves that the IRA is a controversial group. There is dissension whether or not the IRA is a terrorist group or that it was not and became one. This paper will address the history of the IRA, Cumann na mBan, the splinter groups off of the original Irish Republican Army, on how the IRA became a terrorist group, and the opinions about the IRA.

Walking into my home it’s hard to miss the “Irish Pride” book on the coffee table, the pictures of the Cliffs of Moher lining the beige walls, the aging Celtic Cross near the doorway, and the Irish Flag hanging in the hallway. For innumerable reasons, my family’s legacy has always been intertwined with Ireland. I was raised in a Catholic household, a religion that is prominent in Irish culture. I come from a family of 6th generation Irish Americans, my extended Grandma McLoughlin having immigrated to America in the early 1900’s. My mother has fiery red hair that is so often associated with Ireland and my sisters and I all have traditional Irish middle name. I was even blessed enough to get to go to Ireland when I was young, before the recession

The way the author describes the Irish interest me because he was mainly describing Catholic Irish. The author says so many good things about the Catholic Irish that I felt he was being biased in some occasions. For instance, the author says that “Catholics enjoy having Protestant in the country and that they even help Protestants to repair their churches” (page 161). I think that the author was being biased because he presumes that there are less tensions between the two religious groups due to the kindness of the Catholic. I think that the tensions between the two religious groups are not notable because the Protestants represent a small portion of the population. Furthermore, when the country started achieving economic growth, it started being more secular. Hence, it is reasonable to see a decrease in the tension between Catholics and

The Irish-English combat was one of the bloodiest religious wars of all time and led to many deaths. To make things worse, all of these battles stemmed from a few different beliefs on how to worship the same God. This led to England ignoring the Irish when they were in trouble and killing them when they fought back. However, all of this acrimony is not distinct to Victorian England; rather, religious hostility is a common occurrence that extends its reaches into the modern world and always leads to war-torn areas of the world like the Middle East. England’s relationship with Ireland shows a prevalent historical theme of how religious nationalism leads to conflicts that always draw

The British army made its self well know in Ulster. Republicans and Catholics were feeling the oppression of the British army. It was soon following those Catholic neighborhoods were gassed by military forces looking of subversives. Catholic rights were pushed away causing them and other independent groups to react. This was the creation of the IRA. Citizens wanted to escape from the British tyranny. If the British army wouldn't have oppressed republicans and Catholics than the IRA wouldn't have been formed.

From 1919-1923 the war of independence and the civil war began and finished in Ireland. These two wars are thought to be one, the Irish Revolution.Without the revolution, Ireland would not have gained their independence, and Ireland would still be under British government; therefore, the Revolution was an important part of Irish history.The Irish revolutions became an important part of European history because it was the time Ireland gained their independence from British government.