250-497: [REDACTED] Republic of Ireland Inactive Defunct The Irish National Liberation Army ( INLA , Irish : Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann ) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as " the Troubles ". The group seeks to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland . With membership estimated at 80–100 at their peak, it
500-759: A Newry ally; the INLA Army Council was not consulted on this decision. In the mid-1980s, the INLA was greatly weakened by splits and criminality within its own ranks, as well as the conviction of many of its members under the supergrass scheme . Harry Kirkpatrick , an INLA volunteer, was arrested in February 1983 on charges of five murders and subsequently agreed to give evidence against other INLA members. The INLA kidnapped Kirkpatrick's wife Elizabeth, and later kidnapped his sister and his stepfather too. All were released physically unharmed. INLA Chief of Staff Dominic McGlinchey
750-601: A ransom . O'Grady was eventually rescued and O'Hare's group arrested after several shootouts with armed Gardaí . The INLA disassociated itself from the action, issuing a statement saying O'Hare "is not a member of the INLA". O'Hare later rejoined the INLA while in prison. Republic of Ireland – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green) Ireland ( Irish : Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ), also known as
1000-596: A temperate oceanic climate , temperatures are seldom lower than −5 °C (23 °F) in winter or higher than 26 °C (79 °F) in summer. The highest temperature recorded in Ireland was 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) on 26 June 1887 at Kilkenny Castle in Kilkenny, while the lowest temperature recorded was −19.1 °C (−2.4 °F) at Markree Castle in Sligo. Rainfall is more prevalent during winter months and less so during
1250-612: A Dublin bank manager from his home in January 1980 led to further internal anger and an operation in England was planned to demonstrate that the INLA was still capable of carrying on its war. An INLA Active service unit planted two 10 lb bombs at Netheravon British Army camp in the Salisbury Plain Training Area . Although only one bomb detonated & caused damage starting a fire, and injuring two soldiers, this action helped bind
1500-460: A Regional Assembly composed of members delegated by the various county and city councils in the region. The regions do not have any direct administrative role as such, but they serve for planning, coordination and statistical purposes. Ireland has a common law legal system with a written constitution that provides for a parliamentary democracy . The court system consists of the Supreme Court ,
1750-523: A Sunday service. The attack was claimed by the Catholic Reaction Force , a cover name for a small group of people, including one member of the INLA. The weapon used came from an INLA arms dump, but Tim Pat Coogan claims in his book The IRA that the weapon had been given to the INLA member to assassinate a known loyalist and the attack on the church was not sanctioned. The INLA's then-chief of staff, Dominic McGlinchey, came out of hiding to condemn
2000-674: A ban on borrowing to fund current spending. This policy began in 1989–1992 by the Fianna Fáil/ Progressive Democrats government, and continued by the subsequent Fianna Fáil/ Labour government and Fine Gael /Labour/ Democratic Left government. Ireland became one of the world's fastest growing economies by the late 1990s in what was known as the Celtic Tiger period, which lasted until the Great Recession . Since 2014, Ireland has experienced increased economic activity. In
2250-611: A bill to the Supreme Court for a judgment on its constitutionality. Michael D. Higgins became the ninth President of Ireland on 11 November 2011. The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) serves as the head of government and is appointed by the President upon the nomination of the Dáil . Most Taoisigh have served as the leader of the political party that gains the most seats in national elections. It has become customary for coalitions to form
2500-520: A committee with planning another home rule bill. Headed by English unionist politician Walter Long , it was known as the 'Long Committee'. It decided that two devolved governments should be established—one for the nine counties of Ulster and one for the rest of Ireland—together with a Council of Ireland for the "encouragement of Irish unity". Most Ulster unionists wanted the territory of the Ulster government to be reduced to six counties so that it would have
2750-404: A day. The sunniest months are May and June, which average between 5 and 6.5 hours per day over most of the country. The extreme southeast gets most sunshine, averaging over 7 hours a day in early summer. December is the dullest month, with an average daily sunshine ranging from about 1 hour in the north to almost 2 hours in the extreme southeast. The sunniest summer in the 100 years from 1881 to 1980
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#17330936367813000-684: A devolved power-sharing government, the Northern Ireland Assembly , located on the Stormont Estate , which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties. These institutions were suspended by the UK Government in 2002 after Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) allegations of spying by people working for Sinn Féin at the Assembly ( Stormontgate ). The resulting case against the accused Sinn Féin member collapsed. On 28 July 2005,
3250-538: A government, as there has not been a single-party government since 1989. The Dáil has 160 members ( Teachtaí Dála ) elected to represent multi-seat constituencies under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote . The Seanad is composed of sixty members, with eleven nominated by the Taoiseach , six elected by two university constituencies , and 43 elected by public representatives from panels of candidates established on
3500-431: A larger Protestant unionist majority, which they believed would guarantee its longevity. The six counties of Antrim , Down , Armagh , Londonderry , Tyrone and Fermanagh comprised the maximum area unionists believed they could dominate. The area that was to become Northern Ireland included counties Fermanagh and Tyrone, even though they had nationalist majorities in the 1918 Irish general election . Events overtook
3750-558: A leading Noraid spokesman. The meeting devolved into a shouting match with Galvin denouncing Flynn as a communist and having him thrown out of the house. Flynn toured the United States as a representative of the H-Block committee but Noraid was told to stay away from any meeting he was speaking at. A wealthy Noraid supporter who did attend a meeting was so disgusted by Flynn's sympathy for Native Americans and African-Americans that he tore up
4000-637: A means of access to the House of Commons' car park, and INLA decided to use a bomb with a mercury-tilt switch detonator which would explode when the device was at a certain acute angle on the House of Commons' car park ramp, as it lacked information on Neave's movements with the car to allow the effective use of a time bomb device. The INLA issued a statement regarding the attack in the August 1979 edition of its publication The Starry Plough : In March, retired terrorist and supporter of capital punishment, Airey Neave, got
4250-536: A member of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), which is aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Ireland is a neutral country , and has "triple-lock" rules governing the participation of Irish troops in conflict zones, whereby approval must be given by the UN, the Dáil and Government. Accordingly, its military role
4500-459: A minority. The UUP governments, and some UUP-dominated local authorities, discriminated against the Catholic and Irish nationalist minority; especially by the gerrymandering of local electoral boundaries, the allocation of public housing, public sector employment, and policing, showing "a consistent and irrefutable pattern of deliberate discrimination against Catholics". Many Catholics/Nationalists saw
4750-585: A near-certainty in 1912 after the Government of Ireland Act 1914 was first introduced. The Liberal government was dependent on Nationalist support, and the Parliament Act 1911 prevented the House of Lords from blocking the bill indefinitely. In response, unionists vowed to prevent Irish Home Rule, from Conservative and Unionist Party leaders such as Bonar Law and Dublin-based barrister Edward Carson to militant working class unionists in Ireland. This sparked
5000-424: A new army council, chief of staff and Belfast commander. In early 1982 IRA veteran Dominic McGlinchey was released from Portlaoise Prison having served five years. McGlinchey had defected to the INLA in prison and after he was freed quickly rose up the ranks to become director of operations. He made an immediate impact, ruthlessly putting an end to dissent within the organisation and recruiting new members. Based in
5250-639: A new period of strong economic growth. The Irish name for Ireland is Éire , deriving from Ériu , a goddess in Irish mythology. The state created in 1922, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland , was "styled and known as the Irish Free State" ( Saorstát Éireann ). The Constitution of Ireland , adopted in 1937, says that "the name of the State is Éire , or, in the English language, Ireland". Section 2 of
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#17330936367815500-650: A paramilitary organisation, the Irish Volunteers . It sought to ensure Home Rule was implemented, and it smuggled its own weapons into Ireland a few months after the Ulster Volunteers. Ireland seemed to be on the brink of civil war. Unionists were in a minority in Ireland as a whole, but a majority in the province of Ulster , especially the counties Antrim , Down , Armagh and Londonderry . Unionists argued that if Home Rule could not be stopped then all or part of Ulster should be excluded from it. In May 1914,
5750-482: A peace process that included the declaration of ceasefires by most paramilitary organisations and the complete decommissioning of their weapons, the reform of the police, and the corresponding withdrawal of army troops from the streets and sensitive border areas such as South Armagh and Fermanagh , as agreed by the signatories to the Belfast Agreement (commonly known as the " Good Friday Agreement "). This reiterated
6000-448: A policy of military neutrality through non-alignment since before World War II , and the country is consequently not a member of NATO , although it is a member of Partnership for Peace and certain aspects of PESCO . Ireland's economy is advanced, with one of Europe's major financial hubs being centred on Dublin. It ranks among the top five wealthiest countries in the world in terms of both GDP and GNI per capita. After joining
6250-711: A previously promised cheque for $ 10,000. He allegedly told Flynn "I don't like niggers". The INLA unit which operated in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, led by Gerard Steenson, were particularly active at this time. However, the Belfast INLA was increasingly at odds with the Dublin leadership for personal and political reasons. By the beginning of 1982, this faction had shot and wounded the INLA's northern organiser Jackie Goodman, IRSP Belfast city councillor Sean Flynn and Flynn's brother Harry Flynn, hiding out in Dublin after escaping from
6500-584: A province both of the United Kingdom and the traditional country of Ireland. The UK Office for National Statistics and the website of the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom describe the United Kingdom as being made up of four countries, one of these being Northern Ireland. Some newspaper style guides also consider country as an acceptable term for Northern Ireland. However, some authors reject
6750-433: A quarter of the electorate. While the majority of disenfranchised electors were Protestant, Catholics were over-represented since they were poorer and had more adults still living in the family home. NICRA's campaign, seen by many unionists as an Irish republican front, and the violent reaction to it proved to be a precursor to a more violent period. As early as 1969, armed campaigns of paramilitary groups began, including
7000-555: A second that opposed him, and a third that associated with Tom McAllister. Steenson's men, who included Jimmy Brown, were angry and disillusioned at the way the INLA had developed since their arrest. Incidents such as the Darkley killings and the police penetration and corruption in Belfast convinced them that the INLA was beyond reform. Those opposed to Steenson were the de facto INLA leadership including Ta Power and John O'Reilly. Their priority
7250-487: A series of raids that were the most deadly seen outside London. Working-class areas in the north and east of the city were particularly hard hit, and over 1,000 people were killed and hundreds were seriously injured. Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of future attacks. In the final raid, Luftwaffe bombs inflicted extensive damage to the docks and the Harland & Wolff shipyard, closing it for six months. Half of
7500-647: A ship and a special unit of frogmen . The military includes the Reserve Defence Forces ( Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve ) for part-time reservists. Ireland's special forces include the Army Ranger Wing , which trains and operates with international special operations units. The President is the formal Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, but in practice these Forces answer to the Government via
7750-665: A significant INLA/IRSP presence also. In the Republic of Ireland the INLA/IRSP was primarily based in Dublin and Munster . From 1982 onwards the INLA also established units in Newry , Downpatrick and several rural border areas. The first member of the security forces to be killed by the INLA was an RUC officer, Noel Davis, killed on 24 May 1975 by a booby trap bomb left in a car in Ballinahone, near Maghera, County Londonderry . During this period,
Irish National Liberation Army - Misplaced Pages Continue
8000-609: A statement condemning the killing. Members of an opposing INLA faction in Belfast also denied the killing. However, the INLA eventually deemed Official IRA member Jim Flynn the person responsible, and he was shot dead in June 1982 in the North Strand, Dublin, very close to the spot where Costello died. It has been claimed by some in the Republican Socialist Movement that one of their members killed in 1975, Brendan McNamee (who
8250-428: A swathe of bomb attacks on their homes and offices. Attacks against British security forces continued also, but a number of operations killed Catholic children, with three dying in Belfast as a result of INLA explosions in a five-month period. These were propaganda disasters for the INLA, and, say authors Holland and McDonald, "gave the INLA a reputation for recklessness". Other offensive INLA actions at this time included
8500-557: A taste of his own medicine when an INLA unit pulled off the operation of the decade and blew him to bits inside the 'impregnable' Palace of Westminster. The nauseous Margaret Thatcher snivelled on television that he was an 'incalculable loss' – and so he was – to the British ruling class. The attention the INLA received following the death of Airey Neave led to it being declared an illegal organisation in Britain and Northern Ireland. However, despite
8750-486: A total of seven were selected to match the number of men who signed the Easter 1916 Proclamation of the Republic. The group consisted of IRA members Brendan Hughes, Tommy McKearney, Raymond McCartney, Tom McFeeley, Sean McKenna, Leo Green, and INLA member John Nixon. This hunger strike ended a week before Christmas. In January 1981, it became clear that the prisoners' demands had not been conceded. Prison authorities began to supply
9000-660: A united Ireland. The vote went heavily in favour (98.9%) of maintaining the status quo. Approximately 57.5% of the total electorate voted in support, but only 1% of Catholics voted following a boycott organised by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The deaths of 10 men during the 1981 Irish hunger strike brought worldwide attention to the Republican prisoners being held in prison ( HM Prison Maze ) in Northern Ireland. The Troubles were brought to an uneasy end by
9250-456: A very narrow majority, on the Ard Comhairle of the lRSP to publish a newspaper. He wanted to call the paper "The Broad Front" and although permission was not granted he went ahead anyway, calling the paper "Freedom Struggle". In the editorial in the first and only issue, Flynn made reference to the tradition of Connolly, Mellowes and Costello but no mention was made of Marx, Engels or Lenin; this
9500-452: A vocational basis. The government is constitutionally limited to fifteen members. No more than two members can be selected from the Seanad , and the Taoiseach , Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and Minister for Finance must be members of the Dáil . The Dáil must be dissolved within five years of its first meeting following the previous election, and a general election for members of
9750-632: Is part of the United Kingdom . It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south-east and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary , parliamentary republic . The legislature, the Oireachtas , consists of a lower house , Dáil Éireann ; an upper house , Seanad Éireann ; and an elected president ( Uachtarán ) who serves as
10000-567: Is a developed country with a quality of life that ranks amongst the highest in the world; after adjustments for inequality , the 2021 Human Development Index listing ranked it the sixth-highest in the world. It also ranks highly in healthcare , economic freedom and freedom of the press . It is a member of the EU and a founding member of the Council of Europe and the OECD . The Irish government has followed
10250-515: Is alleged to have killed Kirkpatrick's lifelong friend Gerard 'Sparky' Barkley because he may have revealed the whereabouts of the Kirkpatrick family members to the police. In May 1983, 10 men were charged with various offences on the basis of evidence from Kirkpatrick. Those charged included IRSP vice-chairman Kevin McQuillan and former councillor Sean Flynn. IRSP chairman and INLA member James Brown
Irish National Liberation Army - Misplaced Pages Continue
10500-499: Is appointed by the Government. Most uniformed members do not routinely carry firearms . Standard policing is traditionally carried out by uniformed officers equipped only with a baton and pepper spray . The Military Police is the corps of the Irish Army responsible for the provision of policing service personnel and providing a military police presence to forces while on exercise and deployment. In wartime, additional tasks include
10750-578: Is limited to national self-defence and participation in United Nations peacekeeping . The Irish Defence Forces ( Óglaigh na hÉireann ) are made up of the Army , Naval Service , Air Corps and Reserve Defence Force . It is small but well equipped, with almost 10,000 full-time military personnel and over 2,000 in reserve. Daily deployments of the Defence Forces cover aid to civil power operations, protection and patrol of Irish territorial waters and EEZ by
11000-417: Is no political or moral argument to justify a resumption of the campaign". In October 2009, the INLA formally vowed to pursue its aims through peaceful political means and began decommissioning its weapons. The IRSP supports a "No First Strike" policy, that is allowing people to see the perceived failure of the peace process for themselves without military actions. The INLA is a proscribed organisation in
11250-541: Is the official residence of the President of Ireland, while the houses of the Oireachtas meet at Leinster House in Dublin . The President serves as head of state , is elected for a seven-year term, and may be re-elected once. The President is primarily a figurehead , but is entrusted with certain constitutional powers with the advice of the Council of State . The office has absolute discretion in some areas, such as referring
11500-665: Is the paramilitary wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). The INLA was founded by former members of the Official Irish Republican Army who opposed that group's ceasefire. It was initially known as the People's Liberation Army . The INLA waged a paramilitary campaign against the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland. It was also active to a lesser extent in
11750-482: The 1921 Irish elections were held on 24 May, in which unionists won most seats in the Northern Ireland parliament. It first met on 7 June and formed its first devolved government , headed by Ulster Unionist Party leader James Craig . Irish nationalist members refused to attend. King George V addressed the ceremonial opening of the Northern parliament on 22 June. During 1920–22, in what became Northern Ireland, partition
12000-638: The British government and the five Irish treaty delegates, led by Arthur Griffith , Robert Barton and Michael Collins , negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London from 11 October to 6 December 1921. The Irish delegates set up headquarters at Hans Place in Knightsbridge , and it was here in private discussions that the decision was taken on 5 December to recommend the treaty to Dáil Éireann. On 7 January 1922,
12250-666: The Court of Appeal , the High Court , the Circuit Court and the District Court , all of which apply the Irish law and hear both civil and criminal matters. Trials for serious offences must usually be held before a jury . The High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have authority, by means of judicial review , to determine the compatibility of laws and activities of other institutions of
12500-711: The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 was repealed in Ireland by the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act 1962 . Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955, after having been denied membership because of its neutral stance during the Second World War and not supporting the Allied cause . At the time, joining the UN involved a commitment to using force to deter aggression by one state against another if
12750-409: The Home Rule Crisis . In September 1912, more than 500,000 unionists signed the Ulster Covenant , pledging to oppose Home Rule by any means and to defy any Irish government. In 1914, unionists smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers (UVF), a paramilitary organisation formed to oppose Home Rule. Irish nationalists had also formed
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#173309363678113000-452: The Irish Republican Army (IRA) split into two opposing camps: a pro-treaty IRA and an anti-treaty IRA . The pro-treaty IRA disbanded and joined the new National Army . However, because the anti-treaty IRA lacked an effective command structure and because of the pro-treaty forces' defensive tactics throughout the war, Michael Collins and his pro-treaty forces were able to build up an army with many tens of thousands of World War I veterans from
13250-427: The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . However, some identification is required at airports and seaports. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 was the founding statute of the present system of local government, while the Twentieth Amendment to the constitution of 1999 provided for its constitutional recognition. The twenty-six traditional counties of Ireland are the basis of the local government areas, with
13500-505: The Kingdom of Great Britain pushed for the two kingdoms to be merged, in an attempt to quell violent sectarianism, remove discriminatory laws, and prevent the spread of French-style republicanism. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in 1801 and governed from London. During the 19th century, legal reforms known as the Catholic emancipation continued to remove discrimination against Catholics, and progressive programs enabled tenant farmers to buy land from landlords. By
13750-404: The Minister for Defence . In 2017, Ireland signed the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . Northern Ireland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom (green) Northern Ireland ( Irish : Tuaisceart Éireann [ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ; Ulster Scots : Norlin Airlann ) is a part of
14000-423: The Nine Years' War (1593–1603), an alliance of Gaelic chieftains led by the two most powerful Ulster lords, Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill , fought against the English government in Ireland . The Ulster-dominated alliance represented the first Irish united front; prior resistance had always been geographically localized. Despite being able to cement an alliance with Spain and major victories early on, defeat
14250-454: The North/South Ministerial Council , which coordinates areas of cooperation (such as agriculture, education, and health) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Additionally, "in recognition of the Irish Government's special interest in Northern Ireland", the Government of Ireland and Government of the United Kingdom co-operate closely on non-devolved matters through the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference . Elections to
14500-462: The Northern Ireland Act 1998 , holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the UK Government . The government of Northern Ireland cooperates with the government of Ireland in several areas under the terms of the Belfast Agreement . The Republic of Ireland also has a consultative role on non-devolved governmental matters through the British–Irish Governmental Conference (BIIG). Northern Ireland
14750-463: The Northern Ireland Assembly are by single transferable vote with five Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected from each of 18 parliamentary constituencies . In addition, eighteen representatives (Members of Parliament, MPs) are elected to the lower house of the UK parliament from the same constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. However, not all of those elected take their seats. Sinn Féin MPs, currently seven, refuse to take
15000-438: The Northern Ireland Assembly , the former Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Parliament of Ireland , along with some Acts of the Parliament of England and of the Parliament of Great Britain that were extended to Ireland under Poynings' Law between 1494 and 1782. There is no generally accepted term to describe what Northern Ireland is. It has been described as a country, province, region, and other terms officially, by
15250-477: The Orange Order , as were all but 11 of the 149 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MPs elected during this time. Almost all judges and magistrates were Protestant, many of them closely associated with the UUP. Northern Ireland's new police force was the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which succeeded the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). It too was almost wholly Protestant and lacked operational independence, responding to directions from government ministers. The RUC and
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#173309363678115500-436: The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has confirmed that British forces, and in particular the RUC, did collude with loyalist paramilitaries, were involved in murder, and did obstruct the course of justice when such claims had been investigated, although the extent to which such collusion occurred is still disputed. As a consequence of the worsening security situation, the autonomous regional government for Northern Ireland
15750-427: The Provisional IRA campaign of 1969–1997 which was aimed at the end of British rule in Northern Ireland and the creation of a United Ireland , and the Ulster Volunteer Force , formed in 1966 in response to the perceived erosion of both the British character and unionist domination of Northern Ireland. The state security forces – the British Army and the police (the Royal Ulster Constabulary ) – were also involved in
16000-413: The Republic of Ireland ( Poblacht na hÉireann ), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland , with a population of about 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Dublin , on the eastern side of the island, with a population of about 1.5 million. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland , which
16250-426: The Republic of Ireland , Great Britain and mainland Europe. High-profile attacks carried out by the INLA include the Droppin Well bombing , the 1994 Shankill Road killings and the assassinations of Airey Neave in 1979 and Billy Wright in 1997 . However, it was smaller and less active than the main republican paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA . It was also weakened by feuds and internal tensions. Members of
16500-403: The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, "It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland." The 1948 Act does not name the state "Republic of Ireland", because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name "Eire" (without the diacritic ) and, from 1949, "Republic of Ireland", for
16750-414: The Second Dáil ratified the Treaty by 64 votes to 57. In accordance with the treaty, on 6 December 1922 the entire island of Ireland became a self-governing Dominion called the Irish Free State ( Saorstát Éireann ). Under the Constitution of the Irish Free State , the Parliament of Northern Ireland had the option to leave the Irish Free State one month later and return to the United Kingdom. During
17000-437: The Ulster Defence Association , UVF, and the Red Hand Commando , had decommissioned what is thought to be all of their arsenals, witnessed by former archbishop Robin Eames and a former top civil servant. Politicians elected to the Assembly at the 2003 Assembly election were called together on 15 May 2006 under the Northern Ireland Act 2006 to elect a First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and choose
17250-411: The Ulster Unionist Party , unionists became strongly militant, forming Ulster Volunteers in order to oppose "the Coercion of Ulster". After the Home Rule Bill passed parliament in May 1914, to avoid rebellion with Ulster, the British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith introduced an Amending Bill reluctantly conceded to by the Irish Party leadership. This provided for the temporary exclusion of Ulster from
17500-429: The United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland that is variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares an open border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland . At the 2021 census , its population was 1,903,175, making up around 3% of the UK's population and 27% of the population on the island of Ireland . The Northern Ireland Assembly , established by
17750-415: The neutral Irish state to join with the Allies , British Prime Minister Winston Churchill indicated to Taoiseach Éamon de Valera that the British government would encourage Irish unity, but believing that Churchill could not deliver, de Valera declined the offer. The British did not inform the government of Northern Ireland that they had made the offer to the Dublin government, and de Valera's rejection
18000-457: The partition of Ireland in 1921. Northern Ireland is a common law jurisdiction and its common law is similar to that in England and Wales. However, there are important differences in law and procedure between Northern Ireland and England and Wales. The body of statute law affecting Northern Ireland reflects the history of Northern Ireland, including Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom,
18250-663: The siege of Derry (1689) and Battle of the Boyne (1690) are still celebrated by some Protestants in Northern Ireland. Many more Scots Protestants migrated to Ulster during the Scottish famine of the 1690s . Following the Williamite victory, and contrary to the Treaty of Limerick (1691), a series of Penal Laws were passed by the Anglican Protestant ruling class in Ireland. The intention
18500-525: The "brigades", which were generally much smaller than those of the Provisional IRA. The INLA did not re-organise its brigades into smaller cells as the Provisional IRA did in the late-Seventies, which proved extremely damaging during the supergrass trials of the mid-Eighties. The INLA leadership later admitted that their failure to do this was a serious weakness, but argued to maintain recruitment and pursue its political ambitions it had to stay in touch with
18750-408: The "civilian" population. In January 1983 the INLA leadership said they hoped to implement a more cellular system throughout the year but it's unlikely this plan to come to fruition in the wake of damaging police penetration. However, interviewed in late 1983, then INLA leader Dominic McGlinchey asserted the cell system had been introduced throughout the organisation. In the late 1970s and early 1980s,
19000-523: The "formation of people's organisations to combat rising prices an unemployment". Costello explained that the IRSP did not practice abstentionism and would consider contesting an election depending on a "thorough analysis of the conditions prevailing at the time". Prominent republican activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey attended the press conference as County Tyrone's representative on the party's executive, giving
19250-420: The "national question" along with issues of the candidate, geography, personal loyalty, and historic voting patterns, show 54% of Northern Ireland voters vote for unionist parties, 42% vote for nationalist parties, and 4% vote "other". Opinion polls consistently show that the election results are not necessarily an indication of the electorate's stance regarding the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Most of
19500-521: The "success" of the 30 March action, the INLA was facing internal turmoil. IRSP chairperson Miriam Daly threatened to resign over policy disagreements and perceived failings of the IRSP to raise funds, run in elections, and enact policy. Senior IRSP member Michael Plunkett was arrested after gardaí found bomb-making equipment in his flat in Dublin and later jumped bail and fled to Paris. A series of botched Middle East arms importation attempts precipitated tensions between Belfast and Dublin representatives to
19750-568: The 1922 disbanded Irish regiments of the British Army, capable of overwhelming the anti-treatyists. British supplies of artillery, aircraft, machine-guns and ammunition boosted pro-treaty forces, and the threat of a return of Crown forces to the Free State removed any doubts about the necessity of enforcing the treaty. Lack of public support for the anti-treaty forces (often called the Irregulars) and
20000-566: The 1970s Neave, an influential Tory Member of the House of Commons , had been advocating within British political circles for an abandonment of the British Government 's strategy of a containment of Irish paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland against the British State, and for the adoption of a strategy of waging a military offensive against it seeking its martial defeat. This brought him to
20250-576: The 1981 Irish hunger strike began. Three INLA members died during the latter hunger strike – Patsy O'Hara, Kevin Lynch , and Michael Devine , along with seven Provisional IRA members. The hunger strike leader Bobby Sands and Anti H-Block activist Owen Carron were elected to the British Parliament , and two other protesting prisoners were elected to the Dáil . In addition, there were work stoppages and large demonstrations all over Ireland in sympathy with
20500-657: The 20th century, but the 1980s and 1990s saw the British and Irish governments working with Northern Irish parties to resolve the conflict that had become known as the Troubles . Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the Irish government and Northern Irish government have co-operated on a number of policy areas under the North/South Ministerial Council created by the Agreement. Ireland
20750-525: The Amending Bill, and instead rushed through a new bill, the Suspensory Act 1914 , suspending Home Rule for the duration of the war, with the exclusion of Ulster still to be decided. By the end of the war (during which the 1916 Easter Rising had taken place), most Irish nationalists now wanted full independence rather than home rule. In September 1919, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George tasked
21000-462: The Assembly some time in the future. Excepted matters (such as international relations , taxation and elections) are never expected to be considered for devolution. On all other governmental matters, the Executive together with the 90-member Assembly may legislate for and govern Northern Ireland. Devolution in Northern Ireland is dependent upon participation by members of the Northern Ireland executive in
21250-549: The Atlantic Ocean via St George's Channel and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. The western landscape mostly consists of rugged cliffs, hills and mountains. The central lowlands are extensively covered with glacial deposits of clay and sand, as well as significant areas of bogland and several lakes. The highest point is Carrauntoohil (1,038.6 m or 3,407 ft), located in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range in
21500-554: The British Government. In January 1919, after the December 1918 general election , 73 of Ireland's 105 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected were Sinn Féin members who were elected on a platform of abstentionism from the British House of Commons . In January 1919, they set up an Irish parliament called Dáil Éireann . This first Dáil issued a declaration of independence and proclaimed an Irish Republic . The declaration
21750-491: The Constitution defined the national territory to be the whole island, they also confined the state's jurisdiction to the area that had been the Irish Free State. The former Irish Free State government had abolished the Office of Governor-General in December 1936. Although the constitution established the office of President of Ireland , the question over whether Ireland was a republic remained open. Diplomats were accredited to
22000-446: The Constitution to replace the earlier articles, implicitly acknowledge that the status of Northern Ireland, and its relationships within the rest of the United Kingdom and with the Republic of Ireland, would only be changed with the agreement of a majority of voters in each jurisdiction. This aspect was also central to the Belfast Agreement which was signed in 1998 and ratified by referendums held simultaneously in both Northern Ireland and
22250-620: The Dundalk area, McGlinchey began to organise the INLA in Armagh, Newry, Tyrone, South Londonderry, and South West Antrim. His release coincided with the theft of 1,000 lb (450 kg) of Frangex commercial explosives from the Tara mines in County Tipperary , enabling the organisation to carry out an "intensive" bombing campaign. Throughout 1982 the INLA stepped up its attacks on Unionist leaders with
22500-598: The Dáil must take place no later than thirty days after the dissolution. In accordance with the Constitution of Ireland , parliamentary elections must be held at least every seven years, though a lower limit may be set by statute law. The current government is a coalition of Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael , and the Green Party with Simon Harris of Fine Gael as Taoiseach and Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil as Tánaiste. Opposition parties in
22750-451: The EC, the country's government enacted a series of liberal economic policies that helped to boost economic growth between 1995 and 2007, a time now often referred to as the Celtic Tiger period. A recession and reversal in growth then followed during the Great Recession , which was exacerbated by the bursting of the Irish property bubble . The Great Recession lasted until 2014, and was followed by
23000-530: The INLA GHQ and Dessie Grew considered assassinating the leader of the Belfast faction opposed to the INLA chief of staff. Before the conflict broke out there were attempts to recruit veteran Provisional IRA leader Seán Mac Stíofáin as INLA chief of staff in the hope he would help stabilise the organisation. He was interested and met with INLA Army Council representatives on several occasions between 1978 and 1979 but nothing materialised. The unauthorised kidnapping of
23250-708: The INLA competed with the Provisional IRA for members, with both groups in conflict with the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary . The INLA leader in Belfast, Ronnie Bunting, called in claims of responsibility to the media by the code name "Captain Green". The first action to bring the INLA to international notice was its assassination on 30 March 1979 of Airey Neave , the British Conservative Party 's spokesman on Northern Ireland and one of Margaret Thatcher 's closest political supporters. Through
23500-676: The INLA developed into a modest organisation in Northern Ireland, operating primarily from the Divis Flats in west Belfast , which, as a result, became colloquially known as "the planet of the Irps" (a reference to the IRSP and the film Planet of the Apes ). They also had a large presence in Derry and the surrounding area, and all three of the INLA prisoners who died in the 1981 Irish hunger strike were from County Londonderry . Northern County Armagh reportedly had
23750-636: The INLA during its feud with the Official IRA) had merged to form a single organisation. Reportedly the People's Liberation Army name was chosen without the oversight of the group's Dublin-based leadership, although apparently throughout 1976 the INLA in Derry was still known to its own members and outsiders as the PLA. In July 1976 the PLA in Derry issued a lengthy statement concurring with a recent IRSP statement on recovering from
24000-413: The INLA in Belfast after the imprisonment of key activists following the supergrass trials brought the movement into further disrepute and the INLA leadership moved against the new Officer Commanding (OC) of the Belfast INLA. The INLA carried out a number of bomb attacks in 1985 but the INLA was more concerned with the internal battle for control of the disintegrating organisation. John O'Reilly, former OC of
24250-448: The INLA in Dublin in the 1970s. He was arrested in 1978 for smuggling arms but was acquitted. After dissension among local members, Ruddy drifted away from the main organisation and in 1983 went to Paris where he taught English . He disappeared in late May 1985, after a meeting with three leading members of the INLA, one of them being John O'Reilly. The three were searching for arms and believed that Ruddy knew where they could be found. At
24500-567: The INLA issued a statement of responsibility: We believe that it is only attacks of such a nature that bring it home to people in Britain and the British establishment. The shooting of an individual soldier, for the people of Britain, has very little effect in terms of the media or in terms of the British administration. On 20 November 1983, three members of the congregation in the Mountain Lodge Pentecostal Church, Darkley , (near Keady , County Armagh ) were shot dead during
24750-476: The INLA. The IPLO's initial aim was to destroy the INLA and replace it with their organisation. Five members of the INLA were killed by the IPLO, including leaders Ta Power and John O'Reilly. The INLA retaliated with several killings of their own. After the INLA killed the IPLO's leader, Gerard Steenson in 1987, a truce was reached. Although severely damaged by the IPLO's attacks, the INLA continued to exist. The IPLO, which
25000-621: The IRA launched a guerrilla offensive along the new Irish border . The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed between representatives of the governments of the UK and the Irish Republic on 6 December 1921, laying out the process for the creation of the Irish Free State . Under the terms of the treaty, Northern Ireland would become part of the Free State unless its government opted out by presenting an address to
25250-745: The IRA were in secret negotiations with mediators. According to Holland and McDonald, "as conditions inside the H-Blocks deteriorated, so did relations between the IRSP and the Provisionals." The Sinn Féin Ard-Chomhairle put out a directive in September 1978 banning any IRSP speaker from sharing a Provisional speaker, and at a meeting held in Liberty Hall to discuss the prison crisis all the Provisionals walked out when Mick Plunkett stood up to speak. The IRA regarded
25500-410: The IRSP in late 1975 after a dispute over a number of issues, most urgent being the question of whether the armed wing should be subordinate to the IRSP's political leadership. It was later reported McAliskey had attempted to initiate a discussion to clarify the status of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), what would later become the INLA, but the motion was defeated by majority vote and Costello insisted
25750-635: The Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland." The Irish Free State was a constitutional monarchy sharing a monarch with the United Kingdom and other Dominions of the British Commonwealth . The country had a governor-general (representing the monarch), a bicameral parliament, a cabinet called the "Executive Council", and a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council . The Irish Civil War (June 1922 – May 1923)
26000-548: The Irish Naval Service, and UN, EU and PfP peace-keeping missions. By 1996, over 40,000 Irish service personnel had served in international UN peacekeeping missions. The Irish Air Corps is the air component of the Defence Forces and operates sixteen fixed wing aircraft and eight helicopters. The Irish Naval Service is Ireland's navy, and operates six patrol ships , and smaller numbers of inflatable boats and training vessels, and has armed boarding parties capable of seizing
26250-523: The Irish border. In August 1969 there was a major outbreak of intercommunal violence in Northern Ireland, with eight deaths, six of them Catholics. On 14–15 August loyalists burned out several Catholic streets in Belfast in the Northern Ireland riots of August 1969 . IRA units offered resistance, however very few weapons were available for the defence of Catholic areas. These events and the dissatisfaction of more traditional and militant republicans with
26500-562: The Markets area of Belfast, emerged as the winner and usurped the Dundalk man McGlinchey had appointed to become chief of staff. John O'Reilly was regarded with suspicion by some within the INLA, he was dismissed from the organisation by Ronnie Bunting in the late 1970s after an internal inquiry into allegations of O'Reilly being a police informant. In jail, the INLA began to break up into warring factions. By late 1984 they could be divided into three broad groupings; one centred around Gerard Steenson,
26750-452: The Maze prison in 1976. Steenson's faction claimed they were the true INLA. In response, the old Dublin INLA leadership declared they be shot on sight. In summer 1982 in a "rare moment of tactical expediency" what was left of the INLA's Belfast leadership, a group with close contacts with the Lower Falls gang, patched up their differences with the old INLA leadership and agreed on the composition of
27000-747: The North (formed in 1928), the Northern Council for Unity (formed in 1937) and the Irish Anti-Partition League (formed in 1945). The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) of 1922 allowed for the altering of municipal and rural boundaries. This Act led to the gerrymandering of local election boundaries in the Nationalists majority cities of Derry City, Enniskillen, Omagh, Armagh and many other towns and rural districts. That action ensured Unionist control over local councils in areas where they were
27250-510: The Northern Ireland Office met with a council of representing all paramilitary organisations, loyalist and republican, inside Long Kesh prison. The British offered concessions in return for the removal of special category status. Only the IRSP would go on to flatly refuse the offer. On 14 November the first IRSP/INLA prisoner, James Connolly Brady of Derry, joined the blanket protest . Both the INLA and IRA attacked prison staff outside
27500-407: The Northern Ireland question, the British and Irish governments started to seek a peaceful resolution to the violent conflict involving many paramilitaries and the British Army in Northern Ireland known as " The Troubles ". A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement , was approved in 1998 in referendums north and south of the border. As part of the peace settlement,
27750-523: The November split, and stressed the necessity of the PLA as a socialist alternative to the Provisional IRA in the fight against British imperialism. Journalists had already deduced the Irish National Liberation Army was the military wing of the IRSP following their November 1975 release, although the IRSP would only admit that they had accepted "protection" from "armed groups" in their feud with
28000-585: The OIRA declared a ceasefire in 1972. The ceasefire, on 30 May, followed a number of armed actions which had been politically damaging. The organisation bombed the headquarters of the Parachute Regiment (the main perpetrators of Bloody Sunday ) in Aldershot , but killed only five female cleaners, a gardener and an army chaplain . After the killing of William Best, a Catholic British soldier home on leave in Derry,
28250-577: The OIRA declared a ceasefire. In addition, the death of several militant OIRA figures such as Joe McCann in confrontations with British soldiers, enabled the Goulding leadership to call off their armed campaign, which it had never supported wholeheartedly. As time passed discontent with the ceasefire in the movement grew and Seamus Costello , IRA veteran, operations officer for "general headquarters staff" (GHQ) and an elected representative on both Bray Urban District Council and Wicklow County Council , became
28500-570: The OIRA in Belfast, shot by INLA member Gerard Steenson . His murder was unauthorised and was condemned by Costello. This was followed by several more assassinations on both sides, the most prominent victim being Seamus Costello, who was shot dead on the North Strand Road in Dublin on 5 October 1977. Costello's death was a severe blow to the INLA, as he was their most able political and military leader. The Official and Provisional IRAs both denied responsibility and Sinn Féin/The Workers' Party issued
28750-624: The Official IRA. The INLA from its inception adopted a republican-paramilitary structure similar to the IRA. Under a chief of staff was an eight-man army council , the ultimate decision-making body of the organisation. All major operations were supposed to be sanctioned by the army council. Under the army council was "general headquarters staff" (GHQ). They acted as couriers, supplying INLA units with what they dubbed "gear" or "logistics" - weapons and explosives. In return, GHQ received information on potential targets and proceeds from robberies. Next came
29000-496: The Official IRA. Meanwhile, Costello's emerging anti-ceasefire faction, amongst them several Belfast men (including Ronnie Bunting , a Protestant nationalist ), carried out a series of robberies in the Republic to pay for arms. At the Sinn Féin Ardfheis in Dublin on 1 December 1974, a Costello sympathiser proposed a motion overturning his dismissal. However, many of Costello's supporters had been blocked from entering, including
29250-416: The PLA was a separate organisation from the IRSP and discussing its affairs was improper. After her resignation McAliskey accused the IRSP of "being objectively indistinguishable from either wing of the republican movement and possibly combining the worst elements of both". At the end of its first year in existence the IRSP had not progressed as Costello had hoped; ten members of the Ard-Chomhairle had resigned,
29500-690: The Plantation. It developed into an ethnic conflict between Irish Catholics and British Protestant settlers and became part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–53), which ended with the English Parliamentarian conquest . Further Protestant victories in the Williamite-Jacobite War (1688–91) solidified Anglican Protestant rule in the Kingdom of Ireland . The Williamite victories of
29750-487: The Provisional IRA declared an end to its campaign and has since decommissioned what is thought to be all of its arsenal . This final act of decommissioning was performed under the watch of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) and two external church witnesses. Many unionists, however, remained sceptical. The IICD later confirmed that the main loyalist paramilitary groups,
30000-452: The Republic of Ireland, independent from the United Kingdom. These two opposing views are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly Ulster Protestant , descendants of mainly Scottish , English, and Huguenot settlers as well as Gaels who converted to one of the Protestant denominations. Nationalists are overwhelmingly Catholic and descend from the population predating
30250-587: The Republic's government also has the right to "put forward views and proposals" on non-devolved matters about Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . Northern Ireland is a distinct legal jurisdiction , separate from the two other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom ( England and Wales , and Scotland ). Northern Ireland law developed from Irish law that existed before
30500-477: The Republic. At the same time, the UK Government recognised for the first time, as part of the prospective, the so-called "Irish dimension": the principle that the people of the island of Ireland as a whole have the right, without any outside interference, to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent. The latter statement was key to winning support for the agreement from nationalists. It established
30750-591: The Spa Hotel in Lucan, Dublin and the movement's military wing, the Irish National Liberation Army, was founded later the same day. The IRSP's foundation was made public but the INLA's was kept a secret until the group could operate effectively. One delegate suggested the armed wing be named the Irish Citizen Army after the paramilitary group founded by James Connolly that participated in the 1916 Easter Rising but this
31000-495: The Taoiseach, Seán Lemass . It was the first meeting between the two heads of government since partition. The Troubles, which started in the late 1960s, consisted of about 30 years of recurring acts of intense violence during which 3,254 people were killed with over 50,000 casualties. From 1969 to 2003 there were over 36,900 shooting incidents and over 16,200 bombings or attempted bombings associated with The Troubles. The conflict
31250-491: The UK Government introduced an Amending Bill to allow for 'Ulster' to be excluded from Home Rule. There was then debate over how much of Ulster should be excluded and for how long. Some Ulster unionists were willing to tolerate the 'loss' of some mainly-Catholic areas of the province. The crisis was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, and Ireland's involvement in it . The UK government abandoned
31500-466: The UK as being made up of two countries (England and Scotland), one principality (Wales) and one province (Northern Ireland). However, this term can be controversial, particularly for nationalists for whom the title province is properly reserved for the traditional province of Ulster, of which Northern Ireland comprises six out of nine counties. Some authors have described the meaning of this term as being equivocal: referring to Northern Ireland as being
31750-472: The UK, but with strong links to Ireland". The state extends over an area of about five-sixths (70,273 km or 27,133 sq mi) of the island of Ireland (84,421 km or 32,595 sq mi), with Northern Ireland constituting the remainder. The island is bounded to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and to the northeast by the North Channel . To the east, the Irish Sea connects to
32000-497: The UK, launched an armed insurrection against British rule in the 1916 Easter Rising , together with the Irish Citizen Army . This commenced on 24 April 1916 with the declaration of independence . After a week of heavy fighting, primarily in Dublin, the surviving rebels were forced to surrender their positions. The majority were imprisoned, with fifteen of the prisoners (including most of the leaders) were executed as traitors to
32250-583: The UK. This included Patrick Pearse , the spokesman for the rising and who provided the signal to the volunteers to start the rising, as well as James Connolly , socialist and founder of the Industrial Workers of the World union and both the Irish and Scottish Labour movements. These events, together with the Conscription Crisis of 1918 , had a profound effect on changing public opinion in Ireland against
32500-586: The UN thought it was necessary. Interest towards membership of the European Communities (EC) developed in Ireland during the 1950s, with consideration also given to membership of the European Free Trade Area . As the United Kingdom intended on EC membership, Ireland applied for membership in July 1961 due to the substantial economic linkages with the United Kingdom. The founding EC members remained sceptical regarding Ireland's economic capacity, neutrality, and unattractive protectionist policy. Many Irish economists and politicians realised that economic policy reform
32750-560: The United Kingdom (either directly ruled or with devolved government ), while 14% express a preference for membership of a united Ireland. This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK (93%), while Catholic preferences are spread across several solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK (47%), a united Ireland (32%), Northern Ireland becoming an independent state (4%), and those who "don't know" (16%). Official voting figures, which reflect views on
33000-428: The United Kingdom and United States are also important. It held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on six occasions, most recently from January to June 2013. Ireland tends towards independence in foreign policy; thus the country is not a member of NATO and has a longstanding policy of military neutrality. This policy has led to the Irish Defence Forces contributing to peace-keeping missions with
33250-449: The United Kingdom government reiterated its commitment to the Belfast Agreement. Concerning Northern Ireland's status, it said that the UK Government's "clearly-stated preference is to retain Northern Ireland's current constitutional position: as part of the UK, but with strong links to Ireland". On 3 February 2022, Paul Givan resigned as first minister, which automatically resigned Michelle O'Neill as deputy first minister and collapsed
33500-460: The United Kingdom under the Terrorism Act 2000 and an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland. During the 1960s, the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Féin under the leadership of Cathal Goulding , radically re-assessed their ideology and tactics after the dismal failure of the IRA's Border Campaign in the years 1956–62. They were heavily influenced by popular front ideology and drew close to communist thinking. A key intermediary body
33750-399: The United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . From 1956 to 1962, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out a limited guerrilla campaign in border areas of Northern Ireland, called the Border Campaign . It aimed to destabilize Northern Ireland and bring about an end to partition but failed. In 1965, Northern Ireland's Prime Minister Terence O'Neill met
34000-448: The United Nations since 1960, including during the Congo Crisis and subsequently in Cyprus , Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina . Despite Irish neutrality during World War II , Ireland had more than 50,000 participants in the war through enlistment in the British armed forces. During the Cold War , Irish military policy, while ostensibly neutral, was biased towards NATO. During the Cuban Missile Crisis , Seán Lemass authorised
34250-439: The United States. Noraid had objected to O'Hara being on the tour because her brother Patsy was a "communist" and would sully the image republicans had in the United States. However, the other relatives refused to go unless she accompanied them. There were disputes over the exact amount of money raised but the only certainty is INLA prisoners received none of it. IRSP member Seán Flynn travelled to New York where he met Martin Galvin
34500-489: The appeals of the various parties within the population. Of the 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) , 37 are unionists and 35 are nationalists (the remaining 18 are classified as "other"). The 1998 Good Friday Agreement acts as a de facto constitution for Northern Ireland. Local government in Northern Ireland since 2015 has been divided between 11 councils with limited responsibilities. The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are
34750-458: The attack. On 17 March 1984, Dominic McGlinchey and three other INLA members were surrounded by armed Garda detectives at a safe house in Newmarket-on-Fergus , County Clare . Over one hundred bullets were exchanged in a shootout before Gardai of the Special Branch task force made their way into the farmhouse, subsequently causing McGlinchey to call for a priest in surrender. On going into jail McGlinchey handed over his position as Chief of Staff to
35000-443: The attention of both the Provisional IRA and the INLA as a potential threat to their organisations and activities. A political source in Westminster hostile to Neave's statements on the security situation in Northern Ireland is believed to have passed on information to the INLA which gave it the means to carry out the assassination attack upon him within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster . The information it had received gave it
35250-513: The bombing of the Mount Gabriel radar station in County Cork , which the INLA believed was providing assistance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in violation of Irish neutrality , although this was disputed by the Irish government. Their deadliest attack came on 6 December 1982 – the Ballykelly disco bombing of the Droppin' Well Bar in Ballykelly , County Londonderry, which catered to British military personnel, in which 11 soldiers on leave and 6 civilians were killed. Shortly afterwards,
35500-434: The city's houses had been destroyed, highlighting the terrible slum conditions in Belfast, and about £20 million worth of damage was caused. The Northern Ireland government was criticised heavily for its lack of preparation, and Northern Ireland Prime Minister J. M. Andrews resigned. There was a major munitions strike in 1944. The Ireland Act 1949 gave the first legal guarantee that the region would not cease to be part of
35750-411: The commission's final report recommended only small transfers of territory, and in both directions. The Free State, Northern Ireland, and UK governments agreed to suppress the report and accept the status quo , while the UK government agreed that the Free State would no longer have to pay a share of the UK national debt. Northern Ireland's border was drawn to give it "a decisive Protestant majority". At
36000-404: The context of the Broad Front in order to ensure the ultimate success of the Irish Working Class in their struggle for Socialism. The IRSP also called for an end to sectarian murders "on the basis of united action by Catholic and Protestant working class against British Imperialism in Ireland", opposition to Ireland joining the European Economic Community , nationalisation of natural resources, and
36250-421: The current Dáil are Sinn Féin , the Labour Party , People Before Profit–Solidarity , Social Democrats , Aontú , as well as a number of independents . Ireland has been a member state of the European Union since 1973. Citizens of the United Kingdom can freely enter the country without a passport due to the Common Travel Area , which is a passport-free zone comprising the islands of Ireland, Great Britain,
36500-409: The deaths of the same five people that Kirkpatrick himself had been convicted of, these included Ulster Defence Regiment soldier Colin Quinn, shot in Belfast in December 1980. Holland and McDonald summarise the impact the supergrass trials had on the INLA: The impact on the INLA had been devastating. Though many of its most active volunteers were incarcerated for several years, this proved not to be
36750-432: The determination of the government to overcome the Irregulars contributed significantly to their defeat. Following a national plebiscite in July 1937, the new Constitution of Ireland ( Bunreacht na hÉireann ) came into force on 29 December 1937. This replaced the Constitution of the Irish Free State and declared that the name of the state is Éire , or "Ireland" in the English language. While Articles 2 and 3 of
37000-452: The early months of summer. Southwestern areas experience the most rainfall as a result of south westerly winds, while Dublin receives the least. Sunshine duration is highest in the southeast of the country. The far north and west are two of the windiest regions in Europe, with great potential for wind energy generation. Ireland normally gets between 1100 and 1600 hours of sunshine each year, most areas averaging between 3.25 and 3.75 hours
37250-415: The end of the century, especially during the County Armagh disturbances , where the Protestant Peep o' Day Boys fought the Catholic Defenders . This led to the founding of the Protestant Orange Order . The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was led by the United Irishmen ; a cross-community Irish republican group founded by Belfast Presbyterians, which sought Irish independence. Following this, the government of
37500-439: The executive of Northern Ireland. On 30 January 2024, leader of the DUP Jeffrey Donaldson announced that the DUP would restore an executive government on the condition that new legislation was passed by the UK House of Commons. The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who wish to see Northern Ireland unified with
37750-491: The existence of an armed Anti-Imperialist organisation, which will play an effective role in the current struggle. We totally reject the right of Britain to interfere in Irish affairs and we are determined to resist any British-imposed solution, through the use of armed force against British Occupation Forces and their allies in Ireland. In February 1976 a statement was issued declaring that the "National Liberation Army" and "People's Liberation Army" (the nom de guerre employed by
38000-410: The extensive clearing of woodland for farming are believed to be the main causes of deforestation . Today, only about 10% of Ireland is woodland, most of which is non-native conifer plantations , and only 2% of which is native woodland. The average woodland cover in European countries is over 33%. According to Coillte , a state-owned forestry business, the country's climate gives Ireland one of
38250-406: The fact that the state would remain part of the British Empire and that members of the Free State Parliament would have to swear what the anti-treaty side saw as an oath of fidelity to the British king. Pro-treaty forces, led by Michael Collins , argued that the treaty gave "not the ultimate freedom that all nations aspire to and develop, but the freedom to achieve it". At the start of the war,
38500-414: The fastest growth rates for forests in Europe. Hedgerows , which are traditionally used to define land boundaries, are an important substitute for woodland habitat, providing refuge for native wild flora and a wide range of insect, bird and mammal species. It is home to two terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests and North Atlantic moist mixed forests . Agriculture accounts for about 64% of
38750-414: The figurehead of those within the Official movement opposed to it. In 1972 an Official IRA army convention voted to endorse Costello's position of continued support for armed struggle in Northern Ireland. However, supporters of Costello did not have the numbers on the Army Council to enable what was voted for at the convention. At Official Sinn Féin Ardfheis in 1972 and 1973 Costello's policy was accepted by
39000-413: The first military operations of the INLA was the shooting of OIRA leader Sean Garland in Dublin on 1 March. Although shot six times, he survived. After several more shootings (according to the RUC the feud had claimed two lives and wounded nineteen others up to this point) a truce was arranged, but fighting started again. The most prominent victim of the restarted feud was Billy McMillen , the commander of
39250-466: The first step on the road to a 32-county socialist republic in Ireland was the "democratisation" of Northern Ireland (i.e., the removal of discrimination against Catholics) and radicalisation of the southern working class. This would allow "class politics" to develop, eventually resulting in a challenge to the hegemony of both what they termed " British imperialism " and the respective unionist and Irish nationalist establishments north and south of
39500-417: The gerrymandered local electoral boundaries and the abolishing of proportional representation as proof of government-sponsored discrimination. Until 1969 a system was in place called plural voting which was a practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. Property and business owners could vote both in the constituency where their property lay and that in which they lived, if
39750-485: The government. In the 1918 Irish general election, the pro-independence Sinn Féin party won the overwhelming majority of Irish seats. Sinn Féin's elected members boycotted the British parliament and founded a separate Irish parliament ( Dáil Éireann ), declaring an independent Irish Republic covering the whole island. Many Irish republicans blamed the British establishment for the sectarian divisions in Ireland, and believed that Ulster unionism would fade once British rule
40000-447: The group used the cover names People's Liberation Army, People's Republican Army, and Catholic Reaction Force for attacks its volunteers carried out but the INLA did not want to claim responsibility for. The INLA became a proscribed group in the United Kingdom on 3 July 1979 under the 1974 Prevention of Terrorism Act . After a 24-year armed campaign, the INLA declared a ceasefire on 22 August 1998. In August 1999, it stated that "There
40250-500: The hands of landlord-dominated grand juries of the Protestant Ascendancy . Home Rule seemed certain when the Parliament Act 1911 abolished the veto of the House of Lords , and John Redmond secured the Third Home Rule Act in 1914. However, the Unionist movement had been growing since 1886 among Irish Protestants after the introduction of the first home rule bill, fearing discrimination and loss of economic and social privileges if Irish Catholics achieved real political power. In
40500-410: The hunger strikers. It was reported the turnout for Patsy O'Hara's funeral was equal to that of Bloody Sunday. 1980s 1990s There was a bitter clash over the IRSP's share of money raised in an American fund-raising tour undertaken by three of the hunger-strikers' relatives, Liz O'Hara, Malachy McCreesh, and Seán Sands. The tour had been organised by Noraid , the Provisional IRA's support group in
40750-433: The implementation of the Act at the end of the war through Ireland's engagement in the war , Redmond and the Irish National Volunteers supported the UK and its Allies . 175,000 men joined Irish regiments of the 10th (Irish) and 16th (Irish) divisions of the New British Army , while Unionists joined the 36th (Ulster) divisions. The remainder of the Irish Volunteers , who refused Redmond and opposed any support of
41000-402: The intervening period, the powers of the Parliament of the Irish Free State and Executive Council of the Irish Free State did not extend to Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland exercised its right under the treaty to leave the new Dominion and rejoined the United Kingdom on 8 December 1922. It did so by making an address to the King requesting, "that the powers of the Parliament and Government of
41250-428: The island's population of over 8 million fell by 30%. One million Irish died of starvation and disease and another 1.5 million emigrated, mostly to the United States. This set the pattern of emigration for the century to come, resulting in constant population decline up to the 1960s. From 1874, and particularly under Charles Stewart Parnell from 1880, the Irish Parliamentary Party gained prominence. This
41500-497: The joint heads of government of Northern Ireland. Since 1998, Northern Ireland has had devolved government within the United Kingdom, presided over by the Northern Ireland Assembly and a cross-community government (the Northern Ireland Executive ). The UK Government and UK Parliament are responsible for reserved and excepted matters . Reserved matters comprise listed policy areas (such as civil aviation , units of measurement , and human genetics ) that Parliament may devolve to
41750-485: The king, although in practice partition remained in place. The Irish Free State came into existence on 6 December 1922, and on the following day, the Parliament of Northern Ireland resolved to exercise its right to opt out of the Free State by making an address to King George V . The text of the address was: Most Gracious Sovereign, We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Senators and Commons of Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, having learnt of
42000-399: The king, but the president exercised all internal functions of a head of state. For instance, the President gave assent to new laws with his own authority, without reference to King George VI who was only an "organ", that was provided for by statute law. Ireland remained neutral during World War II, a period it described as The Emergency . Ireland's Dominion status was terminated with
42250-406: The largely ceremonial head of state , but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the Taoiseach (prime minister, lit. ' chief ' ), elected by the Dáil and appointed by the president, who appoints other government ministers. The Irish Free State was created with Dominion status in 1922, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty . In 1937, a new constitution
42500-435: The late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17.2% in 1986, but dropped back down to below 10% in the 2010s, similar to the rate of the rest of the UK. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, with Northern Ireland sharing both the culture of Ireland and the culture of the United Kingdom . In many sports, there is an All-Ireland governing body or team for
42750-404: The late 19th and early 20th-century unionism was particularly strong in parts of Ulster , where industrialisation was more common in contrast to the more agrarian rest of the island, and where the Protestant population was more prominent, with a majority in four counties. Under the leadership of the Dublin-born Sir Edward Carson of the Irish Unionist Party and the Ulsterman Sir James Craig of
43000-487: The late 19th century, a large and disciplined cohort of Irish Nationalist MPs at Westminster committed the Liberal Party to "Irish Home Rule" —self-government for Ireland, within the United Kingdom. This was bitterly opposed by Irish Unionists , most of whom were Protestants, who feared an Irish devolved government dominated by Irish nationalists and Catholics. The Government of Ireland Bill 1886 and Government of Ireland Bill 1893 were defeated. However, Home Rule became
43250-421: The long-held British position, which had never before been fully acknowledged by successive Irish governments, that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom until a majority of voters in Northern Ireland decides otherwise. The Constitution of Ireland was amended in 1999 to remove a claim of the "Irish nation" to sovereignty over the entire island (in Article 2). The new Articles 2 and 3 , added to
43500-459: The major kingdoms of Ulster would mostly remain intact with English authority in the province contained to areas on the eastern coast closest to Great Britain. English power gradually eroded in the face of stubborn Irish resistance in the centuries that followed; eventually being reduced to only the city of Dublin and its suburbs. When Henry VIII launched the 16th century Tudor re-conquest of Ireland , Ulster once again resisted most effectively. In
43750-466: The majority in Southern Ireland (which became the Irish Free State in 1922), and a significant minority in Northern Ireland, were Irish nationalists (generally Catholics ) who wanted a united independent Ireland . Today, the former generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see themselves as Irish, while a Northern Irish or Ulster identity is claimed by a significant minority from all backgrounds. The creation of Northern Ireland
44000-436: The manner in which nationalist anger at it was handled, were a major contributing factor to the Troubles. The political unrest went through its most violent phase between 1968 and 1994. In 2007, 36% of the population defined themselves as unionist, 24% as nationalist, and 40% defined themselves as neither. According to a 2015 opinion poll, 70% express a long-term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of
44250-423: The members of an Executive (before 25 November 2006) as a preliminary step to the restoration of devolved government. Following the election on 7 March 2007 , the devolved government returned on 8 May 2007 with Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin deputy leader Martin McGuinness taking office as First Minister and deputy First Minister, respectively. In its white paper on Brexit
44500-413: The most articulate who would have been able to sway the members gathered. The motion was defeated by 197 votes to 15 and a split was now inevitable. Local branches of Official Sinn Féin throughout the island of Ireland announced they were resigning from the party and on 8 December the dissidents met in the Spa Hotel in Lucan , Dublin . The Irish Republican Socialist Party was founded on 8 December 1974 in
44750-426: The most part, Protestants feel a strong connection with Great Britain and wish for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Many Catholics however, generally aspire to a United Ireland or are less certain about how to solve the constitutional question. Catholics have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to the latest Northern Ireland census. The make-up of the Northern Ireland Assembly reflects
45000-425: The most serious impact the supergrass trials and their aftermath had on the organisation. For more important was the suspicion and bitterness within the organisation that was planted during those years. It would soon grow to deadly proportions. Holland and McDonald argue the "frenzy of activity generated under the rule of Dominic McGlinchey" had "masked the seriousness of the situation facing the IRSP and INLA. By 1984
45250-483: The movement had "degenerated into a loosely knit group of often mutually suspicious fiefdoms." The IRSP took a more rigidly Marxist/Leninist line than that ever previously adopted by the movement in an attempt to delineate the IRSP/INLA more clearly from the Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA. The adoption of this rigid line meant the effective abandonment of the broad front strategy as initially conceived by Seamus Costello. Widespread criminality and ruthless racketeering by
45500-405: The new organisation republican credibility. Shortly after it was founded, the INLA/IRSP came under attack from their former comrades in the Official IRA, who wanted to destroy the new grouping before it could get off the ground. On 20 February 1975, Hugh Ferguson, an INLA member and an Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) branch chairperson, was the first person to be killed in the feud. One of
45750-410: The oath to serve the King that is required before MPs are allowed to take their seats. In addition, the upper house of the UK parliament, the House of Lords , currently has some 25 appointed members from Northern Ireland . The Northern Ireland Office represents the UK Government in Northern Ireland on reserved matters and represents Northern Ireland's interests within the UK Government. Additionally,
46000-414: The organisation in Derry had lost many members, Belfast was at odds with the leadership, and recruitment overall had been hurt by the bloody feud with the Official IRA. The National Liberation Army (NLA) announced its existence and claimed responsibility for several attacks on British security forces in a press release published in November 1975, sent to newspapers and diplomatic missions in London, although
46250-431: The organisation together. The INLA lost another of its founding leadership in 1980, when Ronnie Bunting was assassinated at his home. Noel Lyttle, another Protestant member of the IRSP, was killed in the same incident. The Ulster Defence Association , an Ulster loyalist paramilitary, claimed responsibility for both killings. Miriam Daly, who had resigned from the IRSP four months earlier, was killed by loyalist assassins in
46500-453: The other twenty-six counties ( Southern Ireland ) being ruled from Dublin . Both would have a shared Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , who would appoint both governments and a Council of Ireland , which the UK government intended to evolve into an all-Ireland parliament. The Act received royal assent that December, becoming the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It came into force on 3 May 1921, partitioning Ireland and creating Northern Ireland.
46750-420: The passage of The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 , which came into force on 18 April 1949 and declared that the state was a republic. At the time, a declaration of a republic terminated Commonwealth membership. This rule was changed 10 days after Ireland declared itself a republic, with the London Declaration of 28 April 1949. Ireland did not reapply when the rules were altered to permit republics to join. Later,
47000-403: The passing of the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 , being the Act of Parliament for the ratification of the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, do, by this humble Address, pray your Majesty that the powers of the Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State shall no longer extend to Northern Ireland. Shortly afterwards, the Irish Boundary Commission
47250-536: The political direction taken by the leadership, particularly their moves to end Abstentionism , led to a split and the formation of the Provisional IRA . The "Official" IRA units who remained loyal to the Goulding leadership occasionally fought the British Army and the RUC throughout 1970 (as well as the Provisional IRA during a 1970 feud). In August 1971, after the introduction of internment without trial , OIRA units fought numerous gun battles with British troops who were deployed to arrest suspected republicans. However,
47500-406: The population of Northern Ireland is at least nominally Christian, mostly Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations. Many voters (regardless of religious affiliation) are attracted to unionism's conservative policies, while other voters are instead attracted to the traditionally leftist Sinn Féin and SDLP and their respective party platforms for democratic socialism and social democracy . For
47750-405: The press, and in common speech. The choice of term can be controversial and can reveal one's political preferences. This has been noted as a problem by several writers on Northern Ireland, with no generally recommended solution. ISO 3166-2:GB defines Northern Ireland as a province. The UK's submission to the 2007 United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names defines
48000-438: The prison. However, unlike Sinn Féin, the IRSP engaged in popular agitation on the streets in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, and elsewhere. Behind the public rhetoric, there was deep concern within the IRSP about the commitment of the IRA/Sinn Féin to the H-Block protest; Sinn Féin had voted at its Ard Chomhairle to prohibit cooperation with the IRSP in protest activities in the South and in June 1978 Sinn Féin protests stopped as it emerged
48250-443: The prisoners with officially issued civilian clothing, whereas the prisoners demanded the right to wear their own clothing. In addition, the militancy of INLA blanket men, who were refusing to withdraw from the protest, was causing problems. On 27 January INLA prisoners rioted because the INLA Officer Commanding Patsy O'Hara was not permitted by the authorities to see his own men. The stage was set for another confrontation and in March
48500-410: The prisons campaign as a distraction from the armed struggle and were reluctant to get too involved in any protest movement they could not control. However, hunger strike publicity events in continental Europe received an enthusiastic reception. On 27 October 1980, republican prisoners in HM Prison Maze began a hunger strike. One hundred and forty-eight prisoners volunteered to be part of the strike, but
48750-421: The provision of a traffic control organisation to allow rapid movement of military formations to their mission areas. Other wartime roles include control of prisoners of war and refugees. Ireland's citizenship laws relate to "the island of Ireland", including islands and seas, thereby extending them to Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom. Therefore, anyone born in Northern Ireland who meets
49000-426: The rank and file but blocked by the party executive. A smear campaign was initiated against Costello and he was marginalised within the movement and some of his prominent associates were expelled. Costello himself was dismissed from Sinn Féin after ignoring an order not to stand in local elections or attend meetings of the two local authorities of which he was a member. In Spring 1974 Costello was also court-martialled by
49250-424: The release of all internees and sentenced "political prisoners", abolish all repressive legislation, outlaw discrimination of all kinds, and "agree to compensate the Irish People for the exploitation which has already occurred." In the statement, Costello summarised the "broad front" strategy: It shall be the policy of the Irish Republican Socialist Party to seek an active working alliance of all radical forces within
49500-434: The requirements for being an Irish citizen, such as birth on the island of Ireland to an Irish or British citizen parent or a parent who is entitled to live in Northern Ireland or the Republic without restriction on their residency, may exercise an entitlement to Irish citizenship, such as an Irish passport . Foreign relations are substantially influenced by membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with
49750-526: The reserve Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) were militarized police forces due to the perceived threat of militant republicanism. In 1936 the British advocacy group - the National Council for Civil Liberties characterised the USC as "nothing but the organised army of the Unionist party". They "had at their disposal the Special Powers Act , a sweeping piece of legislation which allowed arrests without warrant, internment without trial, unlimited search powers, and bans on meetings and publications". This 1922 Act
50000-479: The same year. Although no group claimed responsibility, the INLA claimed that the Special Air Service (SAS) was involved in the killings of Bunting and Little. All three were strongly identified with the campaign against criminalisation of republican paramilitary prisoners. IRA and INLA prisoners convicted after March 1976 did not have Special Category Status applied in prison. Defending paramilitary prisoners' right to special category status, i.e. political status
50250-441: The search of Cuban and Czechoslovak aircraft passing through Shannon and passed the information to the CIA . Ireland's air facilities were used by the United States military for the delivery of military personnel involved in the 2003 invasion of Iraq through Shannon Airport . The airport had previously been used for the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, as well as the First Gulf War . Since 1999, Ireland has been
50500-457: The settlement, with a minority from the Scottish Highlands as well as some converts from Protestantism. Discrimination against nationalists under the Stormont government (1921–1972) gave rise to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. While some unionists argue that discrimination was not just due to religious or political bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic, socio-political and geographical factors, its existence, and
50750-637: The southwest. River Shannon , which traverses the central lowlands, is the longest river in Ireland at 386 kilometres or 240 miles in length. The west coast is more rugged than the east, with numerous islands, peninsulas , headlands and bays . Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe. Until the end of the Middle Ages , the land was heavily forested. Native species include deciduous trees such as oak , ash , hazel , birch , alder , willow , aspen , elm , rowan and hawthorn , as well as evergreen trees such Scots pine , yew , holly and strawberry trees . The growth of blanket bog and
51000-406: The state with the constitution and the law. Except in exceptional circumstances, court hearings must occur in public. The Garda Síochána ( lit. Guardians of the Peace), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí, is the state's civilian police force. The force is responsible for all aspects of civil policing, both in terms of territory and infrastructure. It is headed by the Garda Commissioner, who
51250-414: The state. It was not until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , when the state dropped its claim to Northern Ireland , that it began calling the state "Ireland". The state is also informally called "the Republic", "Southern Ireland" or "the South"; especially when distinguishing the state from the island or when discussing Northern Ireland ("the North"). Irish republicans reserve the name "Ireland" for
51500-410: The statement was issued too late to be included in the December issue of The Starry Plough . We wish to issue the following press statement on behalf of the Army Council of the National Liberation Army. The NLA was recently formed with the aim of ending British Imperialist rule in Ireland and creating a 32 county Democratic Socialist Republic. As revolutionaries, we recognise the paramount necessity for
51750-416: The territorial claim to Northern Ireland in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland was removed by referendum. In its white paper on Brexit the United Kingdom government reiterated its commitment to the Good Friday Agreement. With regard to Northern Ireland's status, it said that the UK Government's "clearly-stated preference is to retain Northern Ireland's current constitutional position: as part of
52000-668: The time of its creation, Northern Ireland's population was two-thirds Protestant and one-third Catholic. Most Protestants were unionists/loyalists who sought to maintain Northern Ireland as a part of the United Kingdom, while most Catholics were Irish nationalists/republicans who sought an independent United Ireland . There was mutual self-imposed segregation in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics such as in education, housing, and often employment. For its first fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Ulster Unionist Party governments . Every prime minister and almost every minister of these governments were members of
52250-626: The time, the INLA denied that it was involved with his disappearance and resisted pressure from the Ruddy family to help it locate his whereabouts. In late 1993, a former high-ranking member of the INLA, Peter Stewart, finally admitted that the INLA had killed Ruddy in Paris. Ruddy's remains were found there in 2017. In 1987, the INLA and its political wing, the IRSP came under attack from the Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO), an organisation founded by disaffected INLA members centred around Tom McAllister, Gerard Steenson, Jimmy Brown and Martin "Rook" O'Prey who had resigned or been expelled from
52500-545: The total land area. This has resulted in limited land to preserve natural habitats, in particular for larger wild mammals with greater territorial requirements. The long history of agricultural production coupled with modern agricultural methods, such as pesticide and fertiliser use, has placed pressure on biodiversity . The Atlantic Ocean and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream affect weather patterns in Ireland. Temperatures differ regionally, with central and eastern areas tending to be more extreme. However, due to
52750-415: The tradition, by no longer claiming to be the "Irish Republican Army" the INLA abandoned a series of perceived political inheritances which constructed a legal continuity from the Second Dáil . At a press conference five days later Costello read a statement outlining how the IRSP would seek to build a "broad front" on the basis of demanding a British declaration of intent to withdraw from Northern Ireland,
53000-485: The traditional counties of Cork , Dublin and Galway containing two or more local government areas. The Local Government Act 2001 , as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014 , provides for a system of thirty-one local authorities – twenty-six county councils, two city and county councils, and three city councils. Counties (with the exception of the three counties in Dublin) are divided into municipal districts . A second local government tier of town councils
53250-413: The two were different. This system often resulted in one person being able to cast multiple votes. Decades later, UUP First Minister of Northern Ireland , David Trimble , said that Northern Ireland under the UUP had been a "cold house" for Catholics. During World War II , recruitment to the British military was noticeably lower than the high levels reached during World War I. In June 1940, to encourage
53500-429: The violence. The UK Government's position is that its forces were neutral in the conflict, trying to uphold law and order in Northern Ireland and the right of the people of Northern Ireland to democratic self-determination. Republicans regarded the state forces as combatants in the conflict, pointing to the collusion between the state forces and the loyalist paramilitaries as proof of this. The "Ballast" investigation by
53750-404: The whole island and often refer to the state as "the Free State", "the 26 Counties", or "the South of Ireland". This is a "response to the partitionist view [...] that Ireland stops at the border". From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, the island of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . During the Great Famine , from 1845 to 1849,
54000-440: The whole island; the most notable exception is association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games , and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games . The region that is now Northern Ireland was long inhabited by native Gaels who were Irish-speaking and predominantly Catholic. It was made up of several Gaelic kingdoms and territories and
54250-417: The workings of the bill for a trial period of six years, with an as yet undecided new set of measures to be introduced for the area to be temporarily excluded. Though it received the Royal Assent and was placed on the statute books in 1914, the implementation of the Third Home Rule Act was suspended until after the First World War which defused the threat of civil war in Ireland. With the hope of ensuring
54500-414: Was 1887, according to measurements made at the Phoenix Park in Dublin; 1980 was the dullest. Ireland is a constitutional republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Oireachtas is the bicameral national parliament composed of the President of Ireland and the two Houses of the Oireachtas: Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (Senate). Áras an Uachtaráin
54750-449: Was a major step in the peace process , including paramilitary disarmament and security normalisation, although sectarianism and segregation remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued. The economy of Northern Ireland was the most industrialised in Ireland at the time of partition, but soon began to decline, exacerbated by the political and social turmoil of the Troubles. Its economy has grown significantly since
55000-434: Was abolished in 2014. Local authorities are responsible for matters such as planning, local roads, sanitation, and libraries. The breaching of county boundaries should be avoided as far as practicable in drawing Dáil constituencies . Counties with greater populations have multiple constituencies, some of more than one county, but generally do not cross county boundaries. The counties are grouped into three regions , each with
55250-877: Was accompanied by violence "in defence or opposition to the new settlement" during The Troubles (1920–1922) . The IRA carried out attacks on British forces in the north-east but was less active than in the rest of Ireland. Protestant loyalists attacked Catholics in reprisal for IRA actions. In the summer of 1920, sectarian violence erupted in Belfast and Derry, and there were mass burnings of Catholic property in Lisburn and Banbridge . Conflict continued intermittently for two years, mostly in Belfast , which saw "savage and unprecedented" communal violence between Protestants and Catholics, including rioting, gun battles, and bombings. Homes, businesses, and churches were attacked and people were expelled from workplaces and mixed neighbourhoods. More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, most of them Catholics. The British Army
55500-418: Was accompanied by violence both in defence of and against partition. During the conflict of 1920–22 , the capital Belfast saw major communal violence , mainly between Protestant unionist and Catholic nationalist civilians. More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, mostly Catholics. For the next fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Unionist Party governments . There
55750-445: Was adopted, in which the state was named "Ireland" and effectively became a republic, with an elected non-executive president . It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 . Ireland became a member of the United Nations in 1955. It joined the European Communities (EC), the predecessor of the European Union (EU), in 1973. The state had no formal relations with Northern Ireland for most of
56000-461: Was an issue the IRSP and INLA advocated for from the outset, both within the prisons and on outside, when others, including the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin, seemed reluctant to do so. This could be partly attributed to IRSP/INLA prisoners being immediately forced into confrontation with prison staff as soon as the movement was formed. Because IRSP prisoners were not members of the Official IRA or Provisional IRA they were denied political status while it
56250-564: Was caused by escalating tensions between the Irish nationalist minority and the dominant unionist majority ; Irish nationalists object to Northern Ireland staying within the United Kingdom. From 1967 to 1972 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), which modelled itself on the US civil rights movement, led a campaign of civil resistance to anti-Catholic discrimination in housing, employment, policing, and electoral procedures. The franchise for local government elections included only rate-payers and their spouses, and so excluded over
56500-422: Was charged with the murder of a police officer. Others escaped; Jim Barr, an IRSP member named by Kirkpatrick as part of the INLA, fled to the US where, having spent 17 months in jail, he won political asylum in 1993. In December 1985, 27 people were convicted on the basis of Kirkpatrick's statements. By December 1986, 24 of those convictions had been overturned. Gerard Steenson was given five life sentences for
56750-406: Was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , creating a devolved government for the six northeastern counties . As was intended by unionists and their supporters in Westminster , Northern Ireland had a unionist majority, who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom; they were generally the Protestant descendants of colonists from Britain . Meanwhile,
57000-406: Was deployed and the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) was formed to help the regular police. The USC was almost wholly Protestant. Members of the USC and regular police were involved in reprisal attacks on Catholic civilians. A truce between British forces and the IRA was established on 11 July 1921, ending the fighting in most of Ireland. However, communal violence continued in Belfast, and in 1922
57250-474: Was ended. The British authorities outlawed the Dáil in September 1919, and a guerrilla conflict developed as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) began attacking British forces. This became known as the Irish War of Independence . Meanwhile, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 passed through the British parliament in 1920. It would divide Ireland into two self-governing UK territories: the six northeastern counties (Northern Ireland) being ruled from Belfast , and
57500-452: Was established to decide on the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Owing to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War , the work of the commission was delayed until 1925. The Free State government and Irish nationalists hoped for a large transfer of territory to the Free State, as many border areas had nationalist majorities. Many believed this would leave the remaining Northern Ireland territory too small to be viable. However,
57750-423: Was far enough away to be safe. The city's fire brigade was inadequate, and as the Northern Ireland government had been reluctant to spend money on air raid shelters, it only started to build them after the Blitz in London during the autumn of 1940. There were no searchlights in the city, which made shooting down enemy bombers more difficult. In April–May 1941, the Belfast Blitz began when the Luftwaffe launched
58000-410: Was firstly through widespread agrarian agitation via the Irish Land League , which won land reforms for tenants in the form of the Irish Land Acts , and secondly through its attempts to achieve Home Rule , via two unsuccessful bills which would have granted Ireland limited national autonomy. These led to "grass-roots" control of national affairs, under the Local Government Act 1898 , that had been in
58250-457: Was heavily involved in drug dealing, was forcibly disbanded by the Provisional IRA in a large-scale operation in 1992 . Directly after the feud in October 1987, the INLA received more damaging publicity when Dessie O'Hare , an erstwhile INLA volunteer, set up his own group called the "Irish Revolutionary Brigade" and kidnapped a Dublin dentist named John O'Grady. O'Hare cut off two of O'Grady's fingers and sent them to his family in order to secure
58500-487: Was held later that year which confirmed Ireland's entry into the bloc, and it finally joined the EC as a member state on 1 January 1973. The economic crisis of the late 1970s was fuelled by the Fianna Fáil government's budget, the abolition of the car tax, excessive borrowing, and global economic instability including the 1979 oil crisis . There were significant policy changes from 1989 onwards, with economic reform, tax cuts, welfare reform, an increase in competition, and
58750-541: Was informal mutual segregation by both communities, and the Unionist governments were accused of discrimination against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority. In the late 1960s, a campaign to end discrimination against Catholics and nationalists was opposed by loyalists , who saw it as a republican front. This unrest sparked the Troubles , a thirty-year conflict involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured 50,000 others. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement
59000-436: Was involved in the killing of Billy McMillen), was actually killed by Provisional IRA members. The Officials had denied involvement at the time of the killing and had instead blamed it on the Provisionals, who also denied involvement. The inter-republican violence had a negative effect on the growth of the fledgling IRSP; its first Ardfheis, scheduled for the end of March, had to be cancelled. Bernadette McAliskey and others left
59250-415: Was made permanent in 1933 and was not repealed until 1973. The Nationalist Party was the main political party in opposition to the UUP governments. However, its elected members often protested by abstaining from the Northern Ireland parliament, and many nationalists did not vote in parliamentary elections. Other early nationalist groups which campaigned against partition included the National League of
59500-442: Was mainly a restatement of the 1916 Proclamation with the additional provision that Ireland was no longer a part of the United Kingdom. The Irish Republic's Ministry of Dáil Éireann sent a delegation under Ceann Comhairle (Head of Council, or Speaker, of the Daíl) Seán T. O'Kelly to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, but it was not admitted. After the War of Independence and truce called in July 1921, representatives of
59750-403: Was necessary. The prospect of EC membership became doubtful in 1963 when French President General Charles de Gaulle stated that France opposed Britain's accession, which ceased negotiations with all other candidate countries. In 1969 his successor, Georges Pompidou , was not opposed to British and Irish membership. Negotiations began and in 1972 the Treaty of Accession was signed. A referendum
60000-446: Was not publicised until 1970. Belfast was a key industrial city in the UK's war effort, producing ships, tanks, aircraft, and munitions. The unemployment that had been so persistent in the 1930s disappeared, and labour shortages appeared, prompting migration from the Free State. The city was thinly defended, and had only 24 anti-aircraft guns. Richard Dawson Bates , the Minister for Home Affairs, had prepared too late, assuming that Belfast
60250-413: Was part of the province of Ulster . In 1169, Ireland was invaded by a coalition of forces under the command of the English crown that quickly overran and occupied most of the island, beginning 800 years of foreign central authority. Attempts at resistance were swiftly crushed everywhere outside of Ulster. Unlike in the rest of the country, where Gaelic authority continued only in scattered, remote pockets,
60500-407: Was rejected by Costello because of sectarian attacks carried out in Northern Ireland by another group using the same name. Costello advocated the name "National Liberation Army" and this appeared in some subsequent claims of responsibility for attacks, although delegates settled on "Irish National Liberation Army". Unlike the Provisional IRA, and the Official IRA who also saw themselves as inheritors of
60750-401: Was still granted and in summer 1975 twenty IRSP prisoners went on hunger strike for the right to wear their own clothes, to associate freely, refuse to do prison work, and to elect their own spokesmen. These would later become the core of the five demands of the H-Block protest and the 1981 hunger strike was fought. As the 1 March 1976 deadline for the removal of special category status approached
61000-405: Was suspended in 1972. Alongside the violence, there was a political deadlock between the major political parties in Northern Ireland, including those who condemned the violence, over the future status of Northern Ireland and the form of government there should be within Northern Ireland. In 1973, Northern Ireland held a referendum to determine if it should remain in the United Kingdom, or be part of
61250-417: Was the Communist Party of Great Britain 's organisation for Irish exiles, the Connolly Association . The Marxist analysis was that the conflict in Northern Ireland was a " bourgeois nationalist" one between the Ulster Protestant and Irish Catholic working classes , fomented and continued by the ruling class . Its effect was to depress wages, since worker could be set against worker. They concluded that
61500-402: Was the consequence of the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the creation of the Irish Free State. Anti-treaty forces, led by Éamon de Valera , objected to the fact that acceptance of the treaty abolished the Irish Republic of 1919 to which they had sworn loyalty, arguing in the face of public support for the settlement that the "people have no right to do wrong". They objected most to
61750-530: Was to disadvantage Catholics and, to a lesser extent, Presbyterians . Some 250,000 Ulster Presbyterians emigrated to the British North American colonies between 1717 and 1775. It is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the United States, along with many Scotch-Irish Canadians in Canada. In the context of institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in Ulster and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. This escalated at
62000-453: Was to preserve the INLA as an organisation. McAllister at first leaned towards O'Reilly but later veered towards those opposed to him. O'Reilly saw the remnants of the original INLA organisation based in Dublin and Munster as a threat to his legitimacy as chief of staff. Harry Flynn and Gerry Roche were released from Portlaoise Prison in 1984 and set about trying to reconstruct the organisation founded by Costello. Gerry Roche won an agreement by
62250-669: Was viewed as a reflection of his disagreement with the new Marxist/Leninist line. In response, the O'Reilly faction tried to assassinate both Flynn and Roche. The old arms links were re-activated by the Dublin-Munster grouping as part of an effort to either create a new republican socialist movement or reform the existing INLA; between 1984 and late 1986 they held meetings with Al-Fatah and other Arab sympathisers in Prague, East Berlin, Warsaw, and Tunisia. In 1984 guns started coming into Ireland in modest amounts; Škorpion machine pistols, VZOR pistols, and grenades were smuggled, as well as some "remotes" for bomb detonators. Seamus Ruddy from Newry joined
62500-607: Was virtually inevitable following England's victory at the siege of Kinsale . In 1607, the rebellion's leaders fled to mainland Europe alongside much of Ulster's Gaelic nobility. Their lands were confiscated by the Crown and colonized with English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, in the Plantation of Ulster . This led to the founding of many of Ulster's towns and created a lasting Ulster Protestant community with ties to Britain. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began in Ulster. The rebels wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to roll back
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