Irish Republican Army - Research Paper Example

?Running head: Irish Republican Army Irish Republican Army s Irish Republican Army Introduction: In 1916, after the British captured the Irish lands, the Irish Republican Army came up to revolt against the British army, demanding independence for their lands. Irish Republican Army, formed under the Irish Volunteers, an organization formed by Irish nationalists in 1913, which stated its major concern was, "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland" (Books LLC, 2010), aimed to gain a separate homeland for the Irish people, under their own governance. In order to let this happen, the Easter Rising, a very significant insurgence in the Irish history was initiated, during the Easter Week. The Easter Rising aimed to revolt against the British rule in Ireland, and claim independence for Ireland. At this point, the Irish Republican Army came into being. Although, the British government appeased the movement of revolution shortly, revolutionists reassembled themselves under leadership of Michael Collins, and became the military part of the Sinn Fein, an Irish political party (Books LLC, 2010). History: After the establishment of the Irish Republican Army, a lot of unrest began; huge campaigns of insurgence were began opposing the British domination over Ireland, which included military raids, bombardments and more operations of the same kind. At last, 1922 bought the much awaited success for the Irish Republican Army and Ireland gained its much anticipated independence. Although the Irish Republican Army succeeded in achieving its awaited independence from the British rule, it came at a huge cost (Books LLC, 2010). The Anglo-Irish treaty signed in 1921, divided the Irish Republican Party itself in two parts. The Anglo-Irish treaty agreed on establishing Ireland as an independent, Free State, but it also considered Ireland as a territory under the British Empire (Derkins, 2003). Moreover, it also gave Northern Ireland the option of opting out of the Irish Free State, which it practiced. As a result, there was much resentment amongst the Irish Republican Army itself, resulting in a partition among the army itself. One of the groups under the management of Michael Collins, supported the treaty; while the other group established the anti-treaty counterpart, petitioned against the signing of the treaty. This headed to further unrest into the Irish lands, resulting in a civil war amongst both the parties of the Irish Republican Army, which lasted for the next nine months. The civil war ended with the defeat of the anti-treaty group of the Irish Republican Army and a huge increase in the death toll at the battlefields from both the sides. After the civil war, the Irish Republican Army, remained mostly irregular with its hangings, until in 1950s, when it again came in the news due to its efforts of regaining the Northern Ireland from the British rule (Derkins, 2003). The Irish Republican Army attacked the British infrastructure in the Northern Ireland to make the British army more vulnerable to the Irish Republican Army attacks. In spite of the series of attempts to conquer the Northern Ireland, and massive support from the Irish political parties and armies, the operation ended up being a massive failure for the Irish Republican Army, resulting in no fruitful results for them (Books LLC. 2010). Later in 1969, the Irish Republican Army split up again in two groups, but this time conspiring of the “officials” and the “provisionals” (Shanahan, 2009). The officials advocated the idea of a united and independent state of Ireland, but through peaceful proclamations, provisionals on the other hand, believed terrorism to be a prerequisite to attain an independent state. In accordance to their ideas, the provisionals launched a series of terrorist attacks on the Northern Ireland and on Britain as well. They tried to dismantle the British rule over the Northern Ireland and continued with their terrorist campaigns that aimed to weaken the control of British government over the Northern Ireland (Derkins, 2003). One of the most prominent terror attacks by the provisonals was the bombing in 1974 on the Birmingham pub that killed almost 19 people. In response to these terror activities, the British government issued the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Shanahan, 2009). This prohibited the provisionals from carrying out any sort of terrorist activities and ensured that the culprits strictly punished, moreover, it even made it unlawful for the Irish Republican Army to enter Britain. However, these attempts by the British government to discourage the extremist activities being practiced all over the Northern Ireland and Britain bore little results. Not very long after the issue of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Irish Republican Army assassinated the head of Combined Operations in the Second World War, Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1979 and made a failed attempt to kill Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Brighton, England (Shanahan, 2009). Cease Fire: After years of terrorist and extremist activities, finally in 1994 when the Irish Republican Army waved the white flag and announced a cease-fire. Preceding the cease-fire and peace negotiations by the Irish Republican Army, in 1995 its political head Sinn Fein started negotiations and peace talks with the British government. In spite of the prohibition on the Irish political party to have talks with the British government, owing to the resumed terror attacks and bombings, the prohibition was taken back by the British government in 1997, because of the new cease-fire announced by the Irish Republican Army (Derkins, 2003). These talks with the British government resulted in a new accord in 1999. This accounted for a new Northern Ireland Assembly, consisting of both Protestants and Catholics, also it brought along better relations between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Nevertheless, in spite of all the promised made by the Irish Republican Army to disarm, there had been accounts of criminal and terrorist activities accounted, that were associated with the Irish Republican Army till mid of 2005. A number of criminal accusations made against the Irish Republican for smuggling, robbery, extortion etc. resulted in their dismissal from home rule. However, again the Irish Republican Army pledged to end its terror activities and revolts against the British government in September 2005. The British government welcomed this statement of the Irish Republican Army with open arms by the British government while the Protestant unionists found it hard to believe. Till present, the reports indicate that the Irish Republican Army has stood to its words, and they have allegedly given up terrorist activities. Demography: The Irish Republican Army was a very popular revolutionist party in Ireland. Till the present date, the Irish Republican Army has had thousands of members, and hundreds of followers from all over the world. The census of the Irish Republican Army, in the years 1991, 2002 and 2006 depict an increase in the number of Jewish members in the army. This is probably because of the fact, that during the World War II, when the Einsatzgruppen under the influence of Adolf Hitler, caught and killed the Jews at sight, Ireland was the best escape for them. Ever since, the Jewish population increased in the lands of Ireland (Derkins, 2003). Moreover, the booming economy of Ireland had attracted further Jews into their lands. As a result, the Jews ended up being in the Irish Republican Army as well. In addition, the social structure as a whole of the Irish Republican Army was such that, it consisted mostly of young, unmarried, middle class family men, who were responsible for fighting on the front, and mostly carried out the terrorist activities. The officers on the other hand, mostly middle aged and belonged to a slightly better social status as compared to the men of the army. Moreover, most of the army men in the Irish Republican Army were from the urban areas, affiliated with the white collar jobs segment; although men from the rural background and weak financial backgrounds made into the Irish Republican Army Units too, but they mostly served as a minority. Therefore, the Irish Republican Army mostly depicted an egalitarian atmosphere amongst the army men, as most of the selected army men belonged to common social and economic backgrounds; hardly members from diversified social backgrounds made to the Irish Republican Units (Shanahan, 2009, p. 132). Main Aim: The Irish Republican Army, as mentioned earlier, was a parliamentary group established with the intentions of liberating Northern Ireland from the British dominance, and to unify it with the independent state of Ireland to establish the 32-country Irish Republic. The Irish Republican Army had this strong believe that the British government had no right over the Irish lands, and that they always belonged and still belong to the Irish people. Therefore, they aimed to gain back the control over the lands of Ireland that over conquered by the British army, and planned to liberate, and build the Independent Republic of Ireland (Derkins, 2003). This was the main and the foremost agenda of the Irish Republican Army. In order to let this happen, the Irish Republican Army constructed an army of very courageous and rebellious army men. They did not fear to lose their lives as long as they were working to accomplish their goals. The Irish Republican Army emotionally internalized agenda of their unit, to the point that they fearlessly gave up their lives in honor of their country, so that Ireland could form an independent state and eliminate British rule from their lives forever. The Irish Republican Army was used an apparatus to fight the British dominance over the occupied six countries. As a result, the Irish Republican Army is fighting the British rule ever since its formation and aims to further rebel against the British government, in order to emancipate the Irish lands from subordination under the British power, and to provide the people of Ireland with their basic human rights of freedom of speech and democracy (Derkins, 2003. p 19). Criticisms: Although the Irish Republican Army claims to be working for the basic rights of the Irish people, and to help emancipate them from the claws of British control, the media portrayal of the Irish Republican Army is almost on the contrary to that. The media, and the British ideology influenced institutions depict the picture of the Irish Republican Army units to be a group of thugs, responsible of social upheaval and unrest. They claim that the Irish Republican Army works with the intentions of creating trouble and for the government and the population as a whole. They further label the Irish Republican Army to be terrorist group working against the interest of the British government, and instigating the entire population too against the British rule. Therefore, this is the reason why the British government sees the Irish Republican Army to be a major threat, and since the time of its establishment the government is making painstaking efforts to nip the group from the bud (Hart, P. 1990, p. 207-231). Response to the Criticism: However, in contrast to the media perception, the Irish Republic Army sticks to its claims, and states itself to be an organization made for, from and by the people of Ireland, which is making continuous efforts to help the people of Ireland and help them gain their rights, that they have been devoid of for so long. The Irish Republican Army believes that their group consists of determined, unbending, steadfast and steady individuals, who would fight for their rights and the rights of their fellow country men till their last breath. They state that the labels of terrorist and thugs do not suit them, as they do not aim not to create unrest in their country, but they aim to bring back the peace to their lands that was long lost ever since the British invasion. They state that ever since the British invasion, a trend increased in Irish exploitation in their own lands. Unfair discrimination against the Catholics began, as they belonged to the less powerful proletariat section, while the Protestants dominated over them, owing to their better social position as the bourgeoisie. They state that the mistreatment of the Catholics went from bad to worse. The Catholics have been living like slaves in their own lands; with nil efforts put by the British government to help liberate them. Even the least done by the British government in favor of the Catholics was of no use; the British Army sent by the British government to help Catholics, did the exact opposite by tormenting and persecuting them to death (Shanahan, 2009). The Irish Republican Army claim that whatever they are doing against their prime target that is the British government, is not to harm them or to create trouble for them, but instead that is simply done with the intentions of the betterment of the Irish population to help them achieve their basic rights, and their own separate homeland with out British or any other foreign intervention. Conclusion: Therefore, they firmly deny all the allegations against them of being a terrorist group, or a group promoting the worst kinds of social upheavals in the lands of Ireland. Instead they claim it is the British government that is doing the same, that is the main reason why they claim that it is the British governance over Ireland that has been promoting terror activities throughout the history, and they need to get out of the Irish lands and allow it to bud as an independent state, so that the long lost peace could be restored. (State Department, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. 2004, p. 119). References Books LLC. (2010). Irish Republican Army: Irish Republican Army Members 1917-1922, Michael Collins, Tom Maguire, Sean Lemass, Robert Erskine Childers. General Books LLC. Derkins, S. (2003). The Irish Republican Army. The Rosen Publishing Group. Hart, P. (1990). The Social Structure of the Irish Republican Army, 1916-1923. Queens University. Shanahan, T. (2009). The Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Morality of Terrorism. Edinburgh University Press. State Department, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (2004). Country Reports on Terrorism 2004. Government Printing Office. Read More