IRA Background

The Map

Northern Ireland

• Union of England and Ireland in 1800• Still tensions: Protestant England and

Catholic Ireland• 1858 Irish independence movement

revolutionaries called Fenians• 1910s: Many bills in Brisitsh Parliament

calling for Ireland independence or autonomy (“Home Rule”)

• 1913: Ulster Volunteer Force created: Protestants who want Ireland to remain part of England (Unionists)

• 1913: In response, Irish Volunteers created: independence movement, eventually called Irish Republican Army

• 1916: Easter Rising: Massive protests for independence; British violent overreaction

• 1919-1921: Civil War England vs. Ireland

• 12/6/1921: Anglo-Irish Treaty• Created independent Republic of Ireland• Six counties of Northern Ireland remain

under English control• IRA remains committed to independence and

against the partition of Ireland

• 1956-1962: Military campaign of low-level violence by IRA; fails to move Northern Ireland toward independence

• Key Policy of IRA: Abstentionism: refusal to run for office in English, Irish, or Northern Ireland parliaments – running for office would mean acceptance of these governing structures as legitimate and therefore acceptance of the partition of 1921 and acceptance of English governing structures for Northern Ireland