Irish Republican Army Research Paper

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the subsequent provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) both existed based on British policies and involvement related to Irish Independence. The IRA of the early 1900s “fought an insurgency that successfully challenged British rule in the whole of Ireland” (Gregory, 2010), this challenge resulted in an agreement granting Irish Independence in 1921. Independence was agreed upon with a caveat that the 6 northern counties be retained by the British. This agreement resulted in uneasy peace through 1969 when IRA leadership in Belfast split with their Dublin counterparts and adopted a policy of catalytic violence for unification. These events in history evoke discussion as to how British policies and actions contributed to …show more content…
They effectively staged their push for independence conjunction with the fighting occurring on mainland Europe during the WWI conflict. Despite the Irish not gaining their independence until 1921 the British involvement in WWI without doubt aided to the Irish cause. British policies during this era could have possibly reduced the violence, though the push for independence still would have likely occurred due to the religious differences that existed between the Irish and English. IRA senior leaders agreed to allow the 6 northern counties of Ireland to remain under British rule to the dismay of a great many who believed that Ireland as a whole should have been released from British rule. Consequently, those members of the IRA who believed an atrocity had occurred by allowing the 6 northern counties to remain under British rule began their push to unify Ireland. After years of harassing violence toward the British rule two separate approaches were adopted within the IRA. The southern based IRA leadership, headquartered in Dublin, adopted a political and diplomatic approach centered on a non-violent resolve for