Irish Republican Army (1922-1969)

:This article deals with the Irish republican organisation opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, styling itself Irish Republican Army, as it existed from the time of the Treaty in 1921 to the split between the Official Irish Republican Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1969. See List of IRAs for a full list of organisations using the name.

The 1960s: Marxist tendency and the 1969 split

In the 1960s the IRA once more came under the influence of left-wing thinkers, especially those such as Desmond Greaves active in the Connolly Association in London. This move to a class-based political outlook and the consequent rejection of any stance that could be seen as sectarian ? including the use of IRA arms to defend the beleaguered Catholic communities of Belfast in 1969 ? was to be one of the factors in the 1969 split between the official and provisional wings of the republican movement, with the latter subscribing to a traditional republican analysis of the situation while the former embraced Marxism.

Related Topics:
Desmond Greaves - Connolly Association - 1969 - Marxism

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