The IRA 1956–69

The IRA 1956–69

Author: Matt Treacy

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2013-07-19

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 184779792X

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While there have been many books written about the IRA since 1916, comparatively little attention has been paid to the organisation during the 1960s, despite the fact that the internal divisions culminating in the 1969 split are often seen as key to the conflict which erupted that year. This book, newly available in paperback, redresses that vacuum and through an exhaustive survey of internal and official sources, as well as interviews with key IRA members, provides a unique and fascinating insight into radical Republican politics which will be of interest to those interested in Irish history and politics. The author looks at the root of the divisions which centred on conflicting attitudes within the IRA on armed struggle, electoral participation and socialism. He argues that while the IRA did not consciously plan the northern 'Troubles', the internal debate of the 1960s had implications for what happened in 1969.


Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Author: Marc Mulholland

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020-03-04

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0198825005

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From the Plantation of Ulster in the seventeenth century to the entry into peace talks in the late twentieth century the Northern Irish people have been engaged in conflict - Catholic against Protestant, Republican against Unionist. The traumas of violence in the Northern Ireland Troubles have cast a long shadow. For many years, this appeared to be an intractable conflict with no pathway out. Mass mobilisations of people and dramatic political crises punctuated a seemingly endless succession of bloodshed. When in the 1990s and early 21st century, peace was painfully built, it brought together unlikely rivals, making Northern Ireland a model for conflict resolution internationally. But disagreement about the future of the province remains, and for the first time in decades one can now seriously speak of a democratic end to the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain as a foreseeable possibility. The Northern Ireland problem remains a fundamental issue as the United Kingdom recasts its relationship with Europe and the world. In this completely revised edition of his Very Short Introduction Marc Mulholland explores the pivotal moments in Northern Irish history - the rise of republicanism in the 1800s, Home Rule and the civil rights movement, the growth of Sinn Fein and the provisional IRA, and the DUP, before bringing the story up to date, drawing on newly available memoirs by paramilitary militants to offer previously unexplored perspectives, as well as recent work on Nothern Irish gender relations. Mulholland also includes a new chapter on the state of affairs in 21st Century Northern Ireland, considering the question of Irish unity in the light of both Brexit and the approaching anniversary of the 1921 partition, and drawing new lessons for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.


The Lost Revolution

The Lost Revolution

Author: Brian Hanley

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2009-09-03

Total Pages: 807

ISBN-13: 0141935014

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The story of contemporary Ireland is inseparable from the story of the official republican movement, a story told here for the first time - from the clash between Catholic nationalist and socialist republicanism in the 1960s and '70s through the Workers' Party's eventual rejection of irredentism. A roll-call of influential personalities in the fields of politics, trade unionism and media - many still operating at the highest levels of Irish public life - passed though the ranks of this secretive movement, which never achieved its objectives but had a lasting influence on the landscape of Irish politics. 'A vibrant, balanced narrative' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times Books of the Year 'An indispensable handbook' Maurice Hayes, Irish Times 'Hugely impressive' Irish Mail on Sunday 'Excellent' Sunday Business Post


Agents of Influence

Agents of Influence

Author: Aaron Edwards

Publisher: Merrion Press

Published: 2021-04-09

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1785373439

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Recruited by British Intelligence to infiltrate the IRA and Sinn Féin during the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles, they were ‘agents of influence’. With codenames like INFLICTION, STAKEKNIFE, 3007 and CAROL, these spies played a pivotal role in the fight against Irish republicanism. Now, for the first time, some of these agents have emerged from the shadows to tell their compelling stories. Agents of Influence takes you behind the scenes of the secret intelligence war which helped bring the IRA’s armed struggle to an end. Historian Aaron Edwards, the critically acclaimed author of UVF: Behind the Mask, explains how the IRA was penetrated by British agents, with explosive new revelations about the hidden agendas of prominent republicans like Martin McGuinness and Freddie Scappaticci and lesser-known ones like Joe Haughey and John Joe Magee. Bringing to light recently declassified TOP SECRET documents and the firsthand testimonies of agents and their handlers, Edwards reveals how British Intelligence gained extraordinary access to the IRA’s inner circle and manipulated them into engaging with the peace process. With new insights into the spy masters behind the scenes, their strategies and tactics, and Britain’s international intelligence network in Northern Ireland, Europe, and beyond, Agents of Influence offers a rare and shocking glimpse into the clandestine world of secret agents, British intelligence strategy and the betrayal at the heart of militant Irish republicanism during the vicious decades of the Troubles.


Fighting for Ireland?

Fighting for Ireland?

Author: M.L.R. Smith

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-11-01

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1134713967

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Fighting for Ireland? is the first in-depth account of the evolution of Irish Republican strategy. It is highly topical in the light of the faltering peace process and the growing speculation over the IRA's next move: further violence or a new non-violent strategy? This new, updated paperback edition is essential reading for those who wish to disentangle the complex issues and motives behind IRA violence. M.L.R. Smith challenges many assumptions about the IRA, pinpointing the organisation's successes as well as its missed opportunities. He demonstrates the tension the movement has experienced between ideology and strategic reality regarding the use of force, illustrating how doctrinal purity has sometimes hampered the IRA in the pursuit of its goals. Contrary to the Irish Republican movement's vigorous and assertive public face Smith uncovers an organisation characterised more by a sense of chronic insecurity than by certainty and continuity.


Belfast Battalion

Belfast Battalion

Author: John O'Neill

Publisher:

Published: 2018-11-23

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9781999300807

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What do we really know about the background to the conflict that began in Ireland in the late 1960s? Up to now little has been written about the I.R.A. in one of the key centres of violence, Belfast, in the decades before 1969. For the first time, this book brings together several years of research to create a detailed history of the Belfast I.R.A. from the 1920s up to the start of the more recent conflict. It addresses key questions such as: Who was in the I.R.A. in Belfast from 1922 to 1969? Who decided on I.R.A. strategy and tactics in the city?Where did it get money, weapons and intelligence?What do we know of its activities?What were the circumstances preceding the rapid increase in size of the Belfast I.R.A. in the early 1970s?Using previously unpublished I.R.A. documents, memoirs, interviews and contemporary accounts, Belfast Battalion explores the rise and fall of political initiatives, the various military campaigns, fatalities, propaganda, prison experiences, punishments, the I.R.A.'s competitors (both political and military) and more. In bringing together a picture of the dynamics and forces that had shaped the Belfast I.R.A. in the decades leading up to 1969, it provides for a richer and more nuanced understanding of one of the key participants in the conflict that then intensified in the early 1970s.Note: paperback copies can be ordered direct from http: //www.litter.press/Dr John O'Neill is originally from Belfast. A former researcher and lecturer in Archaeology in Queens University Belfast and University College Dublin, he has published a number of books on Irish archaeology, mainly prehistory, which was extraordinarily useful preparation for researching a clandestine organisation like the I.R.A.. He keeps a blog on Irish history, mainly on Belfast republicanism, at www.treasonfelony.com


The I.R.A.

The I.R.A.

Author: Tim Pat Coogan

Publisher:

Published: 1970

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13:

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Describes the origins, growth and activities of the Irish Republican Army, a group of fiery nationalists organized after the Easter Rebellion of 1916.


Does Terrorism Work?

Does Terrorism Work?

Author: Richard English

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0191067954

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Terrorism is one of the most significant security threats that we face in the twenty-first century. Not surprisingly, there is now a plethora of books on the subject, offering definitions of what terrorism is and proffering advice on what causes it and how states should react to it. But one of the most important questions about terrorism has, until now, been left remarkably under-scrutinized: does it work? Richard English now brings thirty years of professional expertise studying terrorism to the task of answering this complex--and controversial - question. Focussing principally on four of the most significant terrorist organizations of the last fifty years (al-Qaida, the Provisional IRA, Hamas, and ETA), and using a wealth of interview material with former terrorists as well as those involved in counter-terrorism, he argues that we need a far more honest understanding of the degree to which terrorism actually works--as well as a more nuanced insight into the precise ways in which it does so. Only then can we begin to grapple more effectively with what has become one of the most challenging and eye-catching issues of our time.


A Broad Church

A Broad Church

Author: Gearóid Ó Faoleán

Publisher: Merrion Press

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1785372475

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This groundbreaking book is the first to detail, with startling new revelations, just how integral the Republic of Ireland was to the Provisional IRA’s campaign at every level. The sheer level of sympathy and support that existed for militant republicanism in Southern Irish society demonstrates that the longevity of the ‘Troubles’ was due in large part to this widespread tolerance and aid. No Irish political party was without members who aided the Provisional IRA in their early years of their campaign, as former IRA volunteers attest to in interviews and previously unpublished accounts of training camps in the Republic. Juried courts for IRA suspects were phased out as both juries and judges were regularly acquitting republicans in cases of blatant IRA activity, and juries often celebrated with or congratulated the defendants: in discussion with the British government Taoiseach Jack Lynch even named judges who were deemed overly sympathetic to the IRA. The extent of activity, training, financing, armed robberies, demonstrations and goodwill for the IRA in the Irish Republic is rarely if ever acknowledged in Irish mainstream media or the education curriculum. A Broad Church: The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1969–1980 will dramatically change that view forever.