Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA; more commonly referred to as the IRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the army or the Ra) is an Irish Republican paramilitary organisation. Since its emergence in 1969, its stated aim has been the reunification of Ireland which it believed could not be achieved without an armed campaign directed against British rule in Northern Ireland. On July 28, 2005, the Provisional IRA Army Council announced an end to its armed campaign, stating that it would work to achieve its aims using "purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means" and that " Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever".

Notable events

1970s

• 1971: First British soldier on security duties, Gunner Curtis, killed by the IRA in current campaign in North Belfast. Three unarmed British soldiers abducted while off duty in Belfast and subsequently shot. IRA suspected but responsibility never admitted.
• 1971: Mother of ten, Jean McConville, is abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA, allegedly for informing the British Army of IRA activities, although her family contend that she was killed for comforting a wounded British soldier. The IRA would deny any involvement in the killing until the 1990s, when it would acknowledge its action and attempt to locate the body.
• January 1972: Bloody Sunday Unrest in Derry/Londonderry culminates in action by British Paratroopers. The shooting by the soldiers resulted in the deaths of thirteen unarmed protestors. The resulting outrage gains the PIRA support from much more of the nationalist community than it previously enjoyed.
• 21 July 1972: On "Bloody Friday" 22 bombs kill nine and seriously injure 130. 30 years later the IRA would officially apologise for this set of attacks.
• 4 February 1974: A bomb planted on a coach carrying British Army personnel and their wives and families explodes as it is travelling along the M62 motorway at Birkenshaw. Twelve people are killed; nine soldiers and the wife and two young sons of one of them.
• 1974: The Guildford pub bombings kills five and injures 182. The motive for the bombing was that the pub attacked was frequented by off-duty, unarmed soldiers. Four people, dubbed the "Guildford Four", would be convicted for the bombing and imprisoned for life. Fifteen years later Lord Lane of the Court of Appeal would overturn their convictions noting "the investigating officers must have lied". Some had spent the entire fifteen years in prison, years after the IRA men who carried out the attacks admitted them to British police. No police officer was ever charged.
• 1974: In the Birmingham Pub Bombings bombs in two pubs kill 19. The "Birmingham Six" would be tried for this and convicted. Many years later, after new evidence of police fabrication and suppression of evidence, their convictions would be quashed and they would be released.
• 7 November 1974: Two people are killed when a nail bomb containing 6lb of gelignite is thrown through the window of the Kings Head pub in Woolwich
• 1974: In December a bomb explodes on the first floor of Harrods department store in Knightsbridge. Part of the store is gutted but there are no injuries.
• 1975: Off-duty police officer Stephen Tibble is shot dead as he joins in the chase of a suspect on his motorbike in Barons Court, London. The suspect had been spotted by a detective coming out of a house which was later discovered to be an IRA bomb factory.
• 1975: The killing of businessman and TV personality Ross McWhirter, who with his brother Norris McWhirter, had offered reward money to anyone who would inform on the IRA.
• 1975: The Balcombe Street Siege.
• 1976: An IRA landmine kills Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the newly appointed British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, resulting in the declaration of a State of Emergency in the Republic. The IRA also threatens to kidnap or kill Irish cabinet ministers and the President of Ireland.
• 22 March 1979: Sir Richard Sykes, British Ambassador to The Netherlands is assassinated in front of his house in The Hague.
• 1979: An IRA bomb kills Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the British Queen's first cousin, members of his family and a local child off the Irish coast. On the same day the IRA kill 18 British soldiers at Narrow Water, near Newry, County Down; in an attack described by the British government as "a classic guerrilla attack", they first plant one bomb, which kills six, and then begin firing with sniper rifles at soldiers, driving them to cover at a nearby gate where a second bomb explodes, killing 12 others. During an Irish visit, Pope John Paul II calls for the IRA campaign of violence to come to an end.

1980s

• 1981: IRA prisoner Bobby Sands, imprisoned in connection with his involvement in an attack involving a bomb and subsequent gun battle, is elected Member of Parliament at Westminster for the Northern Ireland constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in a by-election. The moderate nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party decides not to run a candidate (which would have split the nationalist vote), in protest of the British government's handling of the protest. This left Sands as the main nationalist candidate. Sands had been on a hunger strike for "Prisoner of War" or Special Category Status for 41 days prior to being elected. He died 23 days later. It was estimated that 100,000 people attended his funeral. IRA prisoners were ultimately de facto awarded political status by Margaret Thatcher's government, after nine more deaths by hunger strike.
• 1981: The PIRA kill Ulster Unionist Party Belfast MP Rev Robert Bradford along with the caretaker of a community centre. Irish Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald and former taoiseach and opposition leader Charles Haughey condemn the killings in Dáil Éireann. SDLP party leader John Hume accuses the Provisionals of waging a campaign of "sectarian genocide".
• 10 October 1981: a bomb blast on Ebury Bridge Road in London kills two people and injures 39.
• 26 October 1981: a bomb explodes at a Wimpy Bar in Oxford Street London killing the bomb disposal officer trying to defuse it.
• 20 July 1982: In Hyde Park, a bomb kills two members of the Household Cavalry performing ceremonial duties in the park. Seven of their horses are also killed. The deaths of the horses receive almost as much coverage in the English tabloids as those of the men. On the same day another device kills seven bandsmen the Royal Green Jackets as it explodes underneath the bandstand in Regents Park as they played music to spectators.
• 1983: A Harrods department store bomb planted by the IRA during Christmas shopping season kills six (three police) and wounds 90.
• September 25 1983: 38 IRA prisoners escape from the maximum security Long Kesh prison. One guard dies of a heart attack during the escape.
• 1984: In the Brighton hotel bombing a bomb in the Grand Hotel kills five in a failed attempt to assassinate members of the British cabinet. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escapes. Five people are killed, and one woman permanently disabled.
• 1987: The SAS ambush two IRA cells as they attempted to attack an Royal Ulster Constabulary police station in Loughall. Eight IRA men are killed. Sinn Féin later claim that they were "brutally executed without the right to a trial".
• 1987: In the Enniskillen "Massacre" the IRA bombing of a Remembrance Day parade kills 11 civilians and injures 63. Among the dead is nurse Marie Wilson, whose father, Gordon Wilson, would go on to become a leading campaigner for an end to violence in Northern Ireland. The IRA would later state that their target was a colour guard of British soldiers, and stand down the local brigade. On Remembrance Day 1997 the leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, formally apologised for the bombing.
• 1988: The SAS attack an IRA cell that were planning to detonate a bomb near a public military parade in Gibraltar. Three men and a woman, all unarmed, are killed. Although initial reports made clear the three terrorists had been shot dead when about to set off a massive car bomb, within 24 hours, the Foreign Secretary, Geoffrey Howe, was forced to admit there had been no car bomb. However, a car used by the bombers was found in Marbella two days after the killings containing 140 lb of Semtex with a device timed to go off during the changing of the guard. . At the funeral of the three IRA volunteers, Michael Stone, a member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters(UFF)launched hand grenades during the graveside oration, killing a further three people.
• 1989: Ten Royal Marine bandsmen are killed and 22 injured in the bombing of their base in Deal in Kent.

1990s

• 1990: Car bombings in Northern Ireland kill seven and wound 37.
• 27 May 1990: Two Australian tourists shot dead in the Netherlands, having been mistaken for off-duty British soldiers from a base across the German border.
• July 20 1990: The IRA exploded a large bomb at the London Stock Exchange causing massive damage.
• 30 July 1990 Ian Gow MP is killed when a device explodes under his car as he is leaving his home.
• September 19 1990: The IRA attempted to kill Air Chief Marshall Sir Peter Terry at his Staffordshire home. Sir Peter had been a prime target since his days as Governor of Gibraltar, where he signed the documents allowing the SAS to pursue IRA terrorists. The revenge attack took place at 9pm at the Main Road house. The gunman opened fire through a window hitting Sir Peter at least 9 times and injuring his wife, Lady Betty Terry, near the eye. The couple's daughter, Liz, was found suffering from shock. Sir Peter's face had to be rebuilt as the shots shattered Sir Peter's face and 2 high-velocity bullets lodged a fraction of an inch from his brain. England
• 1990: A British Royal Artillery officer is killed by the IRA in Dortmund in the then West Germany.
• 18 February 1991: A bomb explodes at Victoria Station. One man is killed and 38 people injured.
• 1991: Mortar attack on members of the British Cabinet and the Prime Minister, John Major in Cabinet session at Number 10 Downing Street at the height of a huge security clampdown amid the Gulf War is launched by the IRA. The Cabinet collectively got under the table to protect themselves.
• 1991: Two IRA members are killed in St Albans when their bomb detonates prematurely.
• 28 February 1992: A bomb explodes at London Bridge railway station injuring 29 people.
• 10 April 1992: A large bomb explodes at 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London killing three people and injuring 91. Many buildings are heavily damaged and the Baltic Exchange is completely destroyed.
• 12 October 1992: A device explodes in the gents' toilet of the Sussex Arms public house in Covent Garden killing one person and injuring four others.
• 1992: Eight builders are killed by an IRA bomb on their way to work at an army base near Omagh.
• 1993: Two IRA bombs at opposite ends of a shopping street in Warrington, timed to go off within minutes of each other, kill two children.
• 1993: The PIRA detonates a huge truck bomb in the City of London at Bishopsgate, which kills two and causes around £350m of damage, including the near destruction of St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate.
• 1993: A bomb at a fish and chip shop underneath a UDA office on the Protestant Shankill Road in Belfast detonates prematurely, killing ten, including one of the bombers and two children.
• 8 March 1994: Heathrow Airport, four mortar shells were fired toward Heathrow Airport from a car at night following telephone warnings in the name of the IRA, but police said none of the shells exploded and no injuries were reported.
• 10 March 1994: Heathrow Airport evacuated staff and passengers from Terminal Four and closed its southern runway after the second attack on the airport in 30 hours. No one was hurt when four mortar shells were fired.
• 13 March 1994: Heathrow Airport, the IRA launched their third mortar attack on Heathrow defying tightening security. They fired four mortar bombs from a heavily camouflaged launcher buried in scrubland close to the southern perimeter. Later that night both Heathrow and Gatwick airports were closed for 2 hours after renewed coded telephoned bomb threats were received.
• 1 September 1994: The PIRA declares the first of two ceasefires in the 1990s.
• 10 February 1996: The IRA ends its 1994 ceasefire, killing two civilians in a bomb adjacent to the South Quay DLR station in London's Docklands.
• 15 February 1996: A 5 lb bomb placed in a phone booth is disarmed by Police on the Charing Cross Road in London.
• 18 February 1996: An improvised high explosive device detonates prematurely on a bus travelling along Aldwych in central London, killing Edward O'Brien, the IRA operative transporting the device and injuring eight others.
• 15 June 1996: The IRA detonates a 3,300 lb (1,500 kg) bomb in Manchester, injuring 206 people and damaging 70,000 square metres of retail and office space.
• 7 October 1996: the IRA kills one soldier and injures 31 people at the British Army's Northern Ireland HQ, Thiepval Barracks.
• 19 July 1997: The IRA declares a second ceasefire.

2000s

• 2 February 2005: The IRA issues a statement summarizing their "ambitious initiatives designed to develop or save the peace process", including three occasions in which they had complied with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in putting weapons "beyond use". The statement of 2 February goes on to say, "At this time it appears that the two governments are intent on changing the basis of the peace process. They claim that 'the obstacle now to a lasting and durable settlement? is the continuing terrorist and criminal activity of the IRA'. We reject this. It also belies the fact that a possible agreement last December was squandered by both governments pandering to rejectionist unionism instead of upholding their own commitments and honouring their own obligations." The statement concluded with two points: "We are taking all our proposals off the table." and "It is our intention to closely monitor ongoing developments and to protect to the best of our ability the rights of republicans and our support base."
• 3 February 2005: Following statements from the British and Irish governments, claiming that the new IRA statement was no cause for alarm, the IRA issues a second two-sentence statement: "The two governments are trying to play down the importance of our statement because they are making a mess of the peace process. Do not underestimate the seriousness of the situation."
• 10 February 2005: The Independent Monitoring Commission reports that it firmly supports the PSNI and Garda assessments that the PIRA was responsible for the Northern Bank robbery and recommends financial and political sanctions against Sinn Féin.
• 27 February 2005: Republicans in East Belfast hold a rally to demand justice following the murder of Robert McCartney.
• 17 March 2005: Sinn Féin is boycotted by United States president George W. Bush, Senator Edward Kennedy and leading Irish Americans during St. Patrick's Day celebrations because of the involvement of IRA members in the murder of Robert McCartney.
• 6 April 2005: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams calls on the IRA to initiate consultations "as quickly as possible" to move from being a paramilitary organisation to one committed to purely non-military methods.
• 25 May 2005: British Intelligence claims that the IRA are still recruiting and training new members. A large number of new recruits are being trained in firearms and explosives and are also involved in "dry runs", practicing the targeting of their enemies.
• 28 July 2005: The IRA release a statement that it is ending its armed campaign and will verifiably put its arms beyond use. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4724599.stm
• 25 September 2005: International weapons inspectors supervise the full disarmament of the IRA.