Ira Essay, Research Paper
Friday, July 21, 1972 started as any other day of the week. As
the sun rose, people everywhere began to go about their normal
daily business, as did the people of Belfast, N. Ireland.
Suddenly, there is a great noise and a violent shaking, as the
city of Belfast is rocked by the explosion of bombs. 22
separate bombs detonate within the city of Belfast, destroying
buildings and ejecting the life from anyone caught in the blast.
As the violent noise dies away, the people of Belfast, too
startled to know what has happened, survey the scene. As they
look over the demolished structures, and rummage through the
ashes, they know the bombs were meant for certain members of the
British government. The explosions, however, did not kill only
government members, as nine civilians lie dead in the rubble.
As the emergency vehicles arrive at the scene, the police know
who has caused this destruction, and that the bombers are none
other than the members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
The Irish Republican Army or IRA, is a paramilitary group
who s stated goal is to free Ireland from the bounds of British
rule, and unite the island under one government. The IRA is an
old organization that had it s beginnings in the past after
Britain first took control of Ireland. At the heart of the
conflict between IRA and Britain lies religious differences,
mostly between Protestants and Catholics. To better understand
the IRA we ll go back into the past, and see how it all started.
Ireland first began to fall under British control in the
dark ages when Lords and Nobles from Britain began conquering
the tribes and counties of Ireland. At one point the king of
England himself set out to conquer Ireland, saying the Pope had
commanded him to do so. During the dark ages different sections
of Ireland were ruled by different nobles of Britain, but
official British rule did not begin until 1541, when King Henry
VIII was named King of Ireland. From then until the 19th
Century small Irish groups would periodically rebel against the
King.
The Irish Republican Army first was formed in the 1860 s,
with the goal of freeing Ireland from Britain. In 1867 they
staged several insurrections, but none were successful, and the
movement died out in 1885.
In the early 1900 s the name IRA was adopted again by a
group of Irish volunteers with the same goals. The source of
the conflict had shifted from government, and was now centered
around religion. England was primarily Protestant, while
Ireland was mostly catholic. Being ruled by England, the
Catholic Irish had little say in the way they wanted things
done. There was also a small number of Protestant Irish, mostly
in the northern section of Ireland, who enjoyed English rule,
because they felt that their needs were met better than they
would be if they were ruled by Catholics. The mostly Catholic
IRA tried to free Ireland from Britain, while the Protestant
Irish tried to keep things as they were. In 1940 Ireland was on
the brink of Civil War.
In 1916 the IRA group attempted to free Ireland by
launching an assault on Dublin. The attack failed, and the
attackers were executed, but it stirred up a great sympathy for
the cause. In 1918 a new group for Irish freedom formed that
called themselves the Sinn Fein. The Sinn Fein wanted Irish
freedom, but went about it through political means instead of
violence. The Sinn Fein succeeded in winning many seats in the
government s House of Commons, and used their influence to try
to break Ireland free. In 1920 Britain passed the government of
Ireland Act that freed all of Ireland except the nine
northernmost counties. The nine northern counties became the
English province of North Ireland. Southern Ireland was for the
most part free, but still had to answer to certain rules of
Britain. This act was eventually accepted, but some factions of
the IRA continued to fight, saying that they wouldn t settle for
anything less than total Irish freedom. After this act things
began to decline steadily, and by the 1960 s, the IRA had very
little support.
Things seemed to have settled down, but this did not last
for long. In the late 1960 s a group of catholic protesters
held a march for increased representation in the government of
North Ireland. Protestant members of
violence to the protesters, and the Catholics also responded
with violence. The IRA surged to life again as more people felt
sympathy toward the Catholics. During this time the IRA split
into two different parties, the Official IRA , and the
Provisional IRA . The Official IRA favored diplomatic means to
achieve their goals, while the Provisional IRA favored violence.
During the late 60 s and early 70 s violence escalated between
Catholics and Protestants in N. Ireland. The Provisional IRA
sprang into action, enraged by the deaths of catholic civilians.
By the early 70 s the Provisional IRA was waging an all out war
against British forces.
The Provisional IRA used bomb technology and secrecy to
their advantage. The IRA utilized car bombs most effectively in
inflicting damage and destruction on N. Ireland. The IRA s
strategy was to inflict enough collateral damage on N. Ireland
that it would no longer be worth Britain s energy to continue to
rule there. Desperate British forces began holding members of
the IRA without trial. This enraged catholic citizens, and
members of the IRA, as did the rumors of torture suffered by IRA
members at the hands of British officials. This conflict, now
centuries old, seemed no where near ending as tensions mounted
higher and higher. Many of the people on both sides had a deep
hatred for their enemies, resulting from losing loved ones due
to violence. Many of the people fighting had been taught from
childhood to hate those of the opposite government or religion,
and to fight for their freedom at all costs.
The violence seemed to peak in 1972, when, on Jan. 30,
Bloody Sunday , British forces shot and killed 13 unarmed
catholic civilians in N. Ireland. The soldiers said they
thought they were armed members of the IRA, but the outrage was
great. On July 31, Bloody Friday , the IRA struck out against
British forces with a massive bombing campaign in Belfast. 22
bombs were detonated, and nine civilians killed.
Through the rest of the 70 s and into the early 80 s the
IRA continued it s war. In the early 80 s several members of
the IRA began hunger strike to protest Britain s rule; 10
Irishmen starved themselves to death. Fighting continued until
the late 80 s, when a man by the name of Gerry Adams began to
show up as a leader amongst the ranks of the IRA. Gerry Adams
helped to develop a more political wing for the IRA, instead of
mostly an armed force. He realized that the IRA didn t have the
force to make Britain leave Ireland, and that some kind of peace
would have to be arranged. He began urging tolerance and
promoting negotiations. In 1994 a tentative cease fire was
called, and the framework for negotiations was set up. The
peace talks continued until 1996 when the British began
demanding the IRA to disarm. The IRA refused, and called off
the cease fire. Gerry Adams continued to push for peace, and in
1997, another cease fire was called. In 1998, finally some real
progress was made when both sides began making plans toward a
joint government system in which both sides would be
represented. With both sides seeming to come to an agreement
for the first time in almost a century, a fragile hope began to
grow. In the past few years the two parties have been taking
baby steps toward a peace agreement. Just recently a precedent
has been set by the signing of a peace treaty that both parties
have designed. The present peace is always in danger of falling
apart, but everyone is hoping that happy days might be ahead.
The history of the IRA and it s goals is complicated and
stretches back into centuries before America was even formed.
The conflicts between the two peoples have existed too long,
that many members of both sides cannot imagine it being any
other way. At the heart of this war, like at the heart of all
wars, is hate and mistrust. No one knows if North and South
Ireland will ever be able to live fully at peace with each
other. It is uncertain that a hate that runs so deep can ever
fully be gotten rid of, at least in our lifetime. Hopefully,
though, both sides will realize that their goals are really not
so different. Even the Protestants and Catholics, though they
have different ideas, serve the same God. The future is
uncertain, but as long as the two groups are talking, there is
hope.