History Of The Irish Republican Army History Essay

muniment Of The Irish Republican the States History EssayWe have been told, we have been asked to hope, that after this war Ireland will get sign of the zodiac prescript, as a reward for the lifeblood shed in a event which, whomever else its succeeder may benefit, can surely not benefit Ireland (Casement, 1916). Ireland has a long and blood history involving their meshing of freedom from religious oppression, directrs and land. It should be no wonder to most that due to these issues in Ireland rebel groupings, few labeled nemesisists, rose up to fight against the oppression. One such group is the Irish Republican Army, which has been in existence for a little less than 100 old age. In order to understand this complex terrorist group one must first look at the history of Ireland, the methodologies and ideologies of this group as well as present and future threats this group faces.St. Patrick was born around 400 A.D. in Britain to a very religious family his father a Christ ian deacon. It is claimed young St. Patrick was comprisen by a group of Irish bandits and held prisoner in Ireland for rough six years. Once released, St. Patrick attempted to leave Ireland and return to his native Britain. It is stated that St. Patrick reliable a vision for God while returning to Britain after his capture that he was to remain in Ireland and spread the word of God, hence St. Patrick is credited for bringing Christianity to Ireland which would set the stage for religious conflict disperseal(prenominal) hundred years later (Who Was St. Patrick, n.d., n.p.).Although religion was introduced very early in Irelands history, it did not appear to cause many an(prenominal) problems until the issue of Catholicism versus Protestantism. England continued to seize control of Ireland among the 1100s and the 1500s leading the land to be ruled by predominant Protestant leaders who attempted to bring in their protestant rules save failed (Henry VIII). This in turn United the Irish Catholics to fight harder for freedom of religion and creating and even bigger hold fast between the battalion and their ruler. These revolts (Ulster Revolt) that the new King, King James I attempted to provide land to protestant settlers in an attempt to create repose. This however old made the wedge greater as directly Catholics were fearful of losing the majority and their land (Northern Ireland Timeline, n.d., n.p.).James II came to rule Ireland in the late 1600s and attempted to illegalize many of the anti-Catholic laws which lead to a falling out between him and his counterparts in England. In short as a consequence of this fighting and his inability to satisfy his counterparts in England, William of Orange was encouraged by Britain to take the thr consume. As a result James II fled to Ireland in what would be cognize as the smart as a whip Revolution. The Battle of Boyne taking place approximately devil years later involved the two in which William of Orange defeated James IIs attempt to regain control of the throne (Northern Ireland Timeline, n.d., n.p.). other crucial event in Irelands history which overly ignited Irelands hatred for its British rulers was the Potato Famine. Although many people in Ireland grew many different crops such as wheat and oats, potatoes was a very big fix in their diet. Between 1845 and 1848 the crops in Ireland failed leading to over a million Irish to starve to death. As a result of this incident several fled and relocated in different aras. One of the biggest problems the Irish had was that their British rules and the country of England failed to provide any type of incarnate such as more for fear the Irish would revolt and use the money to buy arms to overrule their government. This led to an even deeper hatred of the British for their refusal to help in a measure of need.Approximately twenty years later Charles Parnell felt to net this issue of Ireland knowing whats best for Ireland, he helped i ntroduce a bill that Ireland should be ruled by Irish Parliament (Home Rule Bill). This bill was introduced once in 1886 and again in 1893 failing both times due to fear that the parliament would consist mainly of Catholics and not equal representation of the Irish. As a result of this failed bill Sinn Fein was make. Sinn Fein, meaning we the people was an organization that was formed to free Ireland from British rule and regain independence for Ireland as its own separate entity. Although the bill failed two times, a third Home Rule Bill was passed a third time in 1912 (set to become law in 1914) cause major discord in Ireland. As a result of this discord, the proposed solution was to introduce Home Rule with Partition six Protestant counties would stay a part of the United Kingdom.The angriness was formed from approximately 1000 rebels of the Irish Volunteers decided to take advantage of the fact that Britain was losing the battle with Germany and attempted to declare Ireland i ts own sovereign entity. This rebellion became known as Easter Rising, as these rebels took over the Dublin Post billet on Easter Monday in an attempt to take back Ireland. British forces did not take large-hearted to this rebellion and brought troops to this location in an attempt to re-claim the post office. The fighting last for approximately louver days and resulted in 400 deaths and over 2,500 injuries. The rebels ultimately lost and ultimately were punished by death. These rebels became known as the Irish Republican Army.The Irish Republican Army as stated above was formed in approximately 1916 after the Easter Rising. The Irish Republican Armys goal is to free Ireland from British rule. They likewise wanted to remove the British troops from Ireland and unite the country to rule itself. The Irish Republican Army has method of getting its message across includes bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, beatings, smuggling, extortion and robberies (Pike, 2005, n.p.). The Irish Republican Army gets its funding and training from an supposed(prenominal) source The PLO and Libya. The Irish Republican Army receives training, money and weaponry from this country and this other terrorist organization (Pike, 2005, n.p.). It should to a fault come as no surprise that Sinn Fein likewise supports this organization as well as sympathizers from many different countries to include the United States.Although the IRA could be considered one of the main terrorist organizations in Ireland there are also a few splinter groups that originated from the IRA. First is the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The Provisional Irish Republican Army formed off in late 1960s as a result of the hard crackdown by the protestants in Ireland. The IRA was committed to peaceful means of getting a fall in Ireland while the new splinter group Provisional Irish Republican Army (also known as PIRA or Provos) were seeking change through violence. In short, this new splinter group was the mor e cerise of the two and attempted violent physical acts in an attempt to get their message across (Gregory, 2010, n.p.).Another splinter group of the IRA is the Real IRA which was formed in 1997 in response to those who were displease with the peace talks that occurred around this time with the British authorities. It is estimated that this splinter group has about 100 following (Fletcher, 2008, n.p.). This group also appears to distrust Sinn Fein and disapprove of its role that it has in the IRA.Ireland has had a history of discord and agitation but it is important to note the most recent period of discord known as The Troubles that occurred between 1968 and 1998. During this time there were many issues and fighting between Catholics and Protestants. Also during this time were many protests and marches in an effort to protect their civil rights. One of the most famous incidents during this time frame was bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday took place on January 30, 1972. During a march of over 1000 people in Derry and British militant without warning or cause shot and killed thirteen catholic protesters. The soldier at the time was acquitted of any wrong doing causing outrage as this march/protest was peaceful. Several years later the British would however, admit their wrong doing. This outrage led the IRA to set off 26 car bombs in Belfast killing 9 people and injuring approximately 130 (Frontline, 2007, n.p.). This outrage and acts of terror would continue for many years. The IRA would continue on its bombing campaign and other acts of terrorism until peace talks in approximately 1996/1997.The Belfast Agreement occurred on April 10, 1998. This Agreement was between the British, Sinn Fein and the IRA. Sinn Fein was invited on the context that a six week cease come into place. During the negotiations in 1997 the Irish Republican Army repudiate its cease fire in July of 1997 causing this agreement to take approximately one year to lop out between the parties. Th e Belfast Agreement stated many things. First, Ireland could not be considered a united independent country without the majority of those living in Northern Ireland. Second, those in the north had the right to identify to themselves as either British or Irish and that was not to cause any discord. This agreement also set up a north/south council to keep both sides best interest at heart. This agreement was well received by the Irish and on May 23, 1998 a referendum showed an overwhelming support for this agreement (Timeline, n.d., n.p.).Since this agreement in 1998 it appears that the IRA has been contained. There have however still been illegal activities macrocosm executed by the IRA. According to one source, in 2004 the IRA was implicated in two sever robberies with one involving almost 50 million dollars (Pike, 2005, n.p.). A short while later the IRA also put an end to it armed violent campaign. The current leader, glaigh na hireann issued a statement on July 25, 2005 that h e was ordering all his armed forces to dump their arms. In this statement he also indicated that although he still believed in their cause (to rid the country of British rule and unite Ireland into its own entity), he felt this could be accomplished through no violent means (Kuznicki, M., Willet, C., Griffin, M., Manley, E., Matten, R., n.d., n.p.).In conclusion, it appears for now that the IRA has taken a less violent turn. It should be noted however that although the IRA appears to be well-favored up arms there are many splinter groups and sympathizers with this organization all over the humankind that have not agreed to a treaty. It seems that the key to less violence is for British troops to stay out of Ireland and allow that country to continue on its own path.