List of IRAs

The IRA (Irish Republican Army) is a name used to describe several paramilitary movements in Ireland in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Related Topics:
Ireland - 20th - 21st

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All claim descent from the original Irish Republican Army, which was formed from the Irish Volunteers. It was the army of the Irish Republic, declared by Dáil Éireann in 1919. Most Irish people dispute the claims of more recently created organizations that insist that they are the only legitimate descendants of the original IRA, often referred to as the "Old IRA".

Related Topics:
Irish Republican Army - Irish Volunteers - Irish Republic - Dáil Éireann

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The playwright and former IRA member Brendan Behan once said that the first issue on any IRA agenda was "the split". For the IRA, that has constantly been the case. The first split came after the signature of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, with supporters of the Treaty forming the nucleus of the National Army while the anti-treaty forces continued to use the name Irish Republican Army. After the end of the Irish Civil War, the IRA was around in one form or another for forty years, when it split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA in 1969. The latter then had its own breakaways, namely the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, each claiming to be the true successor of the Army of the Irish Republic.

Related Topics:
Brendan Behan - Anglo-Irish Treaty - National Army - Irish Civil War - Irish Republic

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• The original IRA (in later years, known as the "Old" IRA), recognised by the First Dáil as the legitimate army of the Irish Republic in January 1919. Split into pro-Treaty forces (the National Army, also known as the Government forces or the regulars) and anti-Treaty forces (the Republicans, irregulars or Executive forces) after the Treaty.
• The Official IRA, the remainder of the IRA after the 1969 split with the Provisionals, now inactive in the military sense.
• The Provisional IRA (PIRA), which broke from the OIRA in 1969 over the latter's failing to protect nationalist communities in Northern Ireland, has a left-wing orientation and increasing political activity; the term 'IRA' is almost always now used to denote this particular group.
• The Continuity IRA, broke from the PIRA in 1986 because the latter ended its policy on abstentionism (thus recognising the authority of the Republic of Ireland.
• The 'Real' IRA, a 1997 breakaway from the PIRA consisting of members opposed to the peace process.
 
List of IRAs: Genealogy of the IRA and its splits ►