Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
The Real IRA was a republican dissident group that adhered closely to the Irish Republicanism associated with the original IRA. As a republican group, the rIRA’s ultimate goal was to achieve the unity and independence of Ireland.[83] The Real IRA was also associated with the Catholic population of Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, traditional Catholic doctrines did not heavily affect the rIRA’s decision making. Catholic leaders have spoken out against the activities of the IRA groups, claiming that these organizations were “a perversion of everything the church stood for.”[84]
The rIRA had several concrete objectives. rIRA members wanted to see Northern Ireland unite with the Republic of Ireland as one nation. They believed the British presence in Northern Ireland was and has always been illegitimate. [85]As a result, they did not believe in compromising with the unionist population, which advocated for a continued British presence in the North. [86] The rIRA also rejected the principle of a non-violent resolution to the conflict.[87] This resolution, detailed in the 1997 adoption of the Mitchell Principles, formed the basis of ceasefire negotiations for several IRA groups. The rIRA believed that groups who agreed to this ceasefire and other non-violent agreements had betrayed the republican cause.
The rIRA recognized that it did not have the operational capabilities or strength to secure an immediate British withdrawal. It adhered to a long-term strategy with the goal of creating a perceived threat of violence in Northern Ireland. rIRA militants ultimately wanted to prevent the impression of peace and stability in the country. Through continual terrorist threats and attacks, the rIRa hoped to spoil the peace agreement institutes by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.[88]
The Real IRA was heavily affiliated with the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM). 32CSM was founded in December 1997, one month after the rIRA’s foundation.[89] Following Sinn Fein’s adoption of the Mitchell Principles in September 1997 – which ensured a non-violent approach to peace in the region – many republican leaders resigned from the organization and formed 32CSM. 32CSM’s founder, Bernadette Sands McKevitt, was the wife of former rIRA leader Michael McKevitt.[90] 32CSM’s split from Sinn Fein is often seen as parallel to the rIRA’s split from the PIRA.
32CSM shared many of the same goals as rIRA. In its constitution, 32CSM stated that the group’s primary objective was to restore Irish National Sovereignty. The constitution also called for the release of all Irish republican prisoners around the world, the end of Britain’s illegal occupation of Northern Ireland, and the use of “all legitimate means necessary to restore National Sovereignty as declared in the Declaration of Independence 1919.”[91] 32CSM was also a heavy critic of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. They claimed that the agreement was a partitionist solution that would lead to a corrupt state. [92]32CSM ultimately valued independence over peace in Northern Ireland. Despite being labeled a political group, 32CSM’s constitution explicitly stated it was not a political organization. The group did not participate in elections. Instead, it engaged in council meeting, community organizing, lobbying and protests.[93]
32CSM was considered by many to be the political associate of the rIRA. Both the British and American governments believed that the two organizations were indistinguishable. The U.S. State Department designated 32CSM as a terrorist organization in 2001 for its affiliation with the rIRA.[94] At one point, rIRA leader Michael McKevitt confided to an FBI agent that all original 32CSM members were “were all military people… put there for that purpose to keep army politics in the hands of the military.”[95] 32CSM strongly contested the claim that it was the political wing of the rIRA and dismissed suggestions that it affiliated itself with any terror groups. 32CSM strongly condemned the 1998 Omagh attack, stating that the killing of innocent civilians could never be justified.
Outside of its affiliation with the 32CSM, the rIRA did not involve itself in any type of formal politics. However, the group often publicized strong political beliefs. The rIRA stated that it strongly opposed gay marriage and abortion. It also criticized Sinn Fein for its relaxed and ‘anti-Catholic’ position on the subject.[96] The rIRA was previously involved in protests arranged by Reclaim the Streets (RTS), a historic anti-capitalist group based in London. [97]
The Real IRA used bombings, homemade explosives, gun attacks, kidnappings, armed robbery, and punishment shootings to achieve its goals. [98] After its founding, the rIRA sought to attack Northern Ireland’s economic infrastructure as a means of protesting the peace agreement. The group set off car bombs in town centers and in front of court houses. [99] In August 1998, a rIRA car bomb killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Despite the significant casualty level, the rIRA had not intended to kill civilians; the bomb was meant to explode outside of the town courtyard, but botched communication on the intended location of the car lead to the crucial mistake.[100]
Following the incident, the rIRa moved away from bombing economic infrastructure and towns. Instead, the group focused on targeting British security forces and Northern Irish policemen.[101] The rIRA often attacked police stations, army barracks, and members of the military in Northern Ireland. The group used homemade mortars, explosives, and landmines to inflict damage on security forces. The rIRA’s efforts were largely ineffectual, only injuring or killing a handful of policemen and military members over the last two decades. The rIRA’s efforts were often been spoiled by Garda, MI6, or FBI informants.[102]
Aside from targeting police forces, the rIRA threatened other communities and groups in Northern Ireland. The rIRA often threatened Protestant communities in Belfast and other towns.[103] The rIRA fashioned itself as a protector against crime, and it regularly engaged in hunt and kill missions aimed at local criminals and drug dealers.[104] In Dublin, rIRA militants fought drug dealers for years. The Dublin-rIRA leader Alan Ryan was gunned down by a crime boss in 2012 for his interference in the drug business.[105] Despite fighting against the criminal world, the rIRA participated in criminal activites itself. rIRA members were known to rob banks and smuggle cigarettes into Northern Ireland.[106]
The rIRA also targeted and killed PIRA, ex-rIRA, and Sinn Fein members over ideological and organizational disagreements.[107]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
May 9, 1998: A dissident republican group carried out a bombing on the Royal Ulster Constabulary station in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The militants were suspected members of the newly formed Real IRA. The blast resulted in no injuries (0 killed, 0 wounded).[108]
August 15, 1998: The rIRA set off a car bomb in the town of Omagh, Northern Ireland. The bomb killed 29 civilians and wounded hundreds of others. After the bombing, national and international backlash overwhelmed rIRA, prompting the group to announce a ceasefire three days after the bombing.[109] The casualty level was apparently the result of botched planning and poor communication.[110] The Omagh bombing was the greatest single loss of life during the Troubles[111] (29 killed, 200+ injured).[112]
September 20, 2000: rIRA militants fired missiles at the MI6 headquarters in London. The attack caused significant structural damage to the intelligence agency but resulted in no casualties (0 killed, 0 wounded).[113]
February 21, 2001: rIRA militants set off an explosive device at a military base in west London. A 14-year old cadet was injured from the attack (0 killed, 1 wounded). [114]
March 4, 2001: The rIRA set off a bomb outside the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) in London. The militants warned officials of the bomb to ensure no civilians were harmed (0 killed, 0 wounded).[115]
August 1, 2002: The rIRA set off an explosive device at an army base outside of Derry, Northern Ireland. David Caldwell, a civilian construction worker, was killed by the explosion (1 killed, 0 wounded).[116]
April 4, 2006: The rIRA shot and killed Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Fein member, at his home. Donaldson had just been expelled from Sinn Fein after it was revealed he had been a British intelligence informant for nearly two decades (1 killed, 0 wounded).[117]
November 2017: After announcing a campaign targeting policemen in Northern Ireland, rIRA militants shot and injured two policemen in November of 2007 (0 killed, 2 wounded).[118]
March 7, 2009: rIRA militants attacked military barracks in County Antrim. The militants murdered two soldiers and wounded four others. This attack was the largest the group had carried out since the Omagh bombing (2 killed, 4 wounded). [119]
February 24, 2010: The rIRA carried out a punishment shooting against one of its own members in Derry. The organization claimed that the member had been involved in drug dealing. The community of Derry reacted harshly against the rIRA, hosting a rally after the shooting and condemning the group (1 killed, 0 injured).[120]
The Real IRA lacked support among civilians in Northern Ireland. The 1998 Omagh bombing tarnished the rIRA’s reputation among Irish Catholics, a population from which the group was trying to elicit support. Nearly half of the 29 victims killed were Catholic.[123] Public outrage from republicans and unionists alike immediately followed the attack. The outrage was so significant that rIRA leader Michael McKevitt and his wife were forced to leave their home and close their business.[124]
After the bombing, the rIRA began to target police and military institutions instead of civilian centers. [125] However, rIRA never gained any substantial sympathy or support from citizens in Northern Ireland. In 2002, support for the Good Friday Agreement reached its lowest levels since the document’s adoption. In response, the BBC ran a poll to understand the shifting political views of people in Northern Ireland. In those surveys, only 3.3 percent of the nationalist community claimed that 32CSM – the political associate of the rIRA – best represented their views. In 2006, that number dropped 1 percent. [126] Civilians generally regard the rIRA as an irrelevant, extremist group.
In 2009, the Northern Irish Police Service found evidence that the rIRA was gaining pockets of support among Irish teenagers. The rIRA had begun to recruit young teenagers through social media websites by forming republican dissident chat groups. Social websites like Bebo were found to have group chats with titles such “Support the Dissidents” with hundreds of active teenagers members.[127]
The Real IRA had a complicated relationship with the Provisional IRA (PIRA). The PIRA was one of the most active republican militant groups during the Troubles. In 1997, the PIRA signed on to the Mitchell Principles, agreeing to only use non-violent methods to reach a compromise in Northern Ireland.[128] However, many within the PIRA disagreed with this decision and chose to resign from the organization. Some of these ex-members went on to help found the rIRA; in fact, some sources suggest almost all of the founding members of the rIRA were previously affiliated with the PIRA. [129] British security forces also believe the rIRA received covert backing and support from members of the PIRA who had not severed their links with the organization.[130]
After the 1998 Omagh bombing, the PIRA became increasingly critical and hostile towards the rIRA.[131] In 2000, the PIRA carried out a punishment shooting against a suspected the rIRA member in Belfast.[132] The two groups continued to engage in minor tit-for-tat shootings and attacks in the years following. In 2005, the PIRA announced it had formally ended its armed campaign and began the process of demilitarizing. Since then, conflict between the PIRA and the rIRA has decreased.
Since its founding, the rIRA had a close relationship with the Continuity IRA (CIRA). The CIRA formed as a splinter group from the PIRA in 1986 with the similar goal of fighting to unite Ireland.[133] When the PIRA agreed to the Mitchell Principles in 1997, the CIRA and the rIRA became the only two major republican militant groups still active in Northern Ireland. The CIRA and the rIRA are believed to have collaborated in several attacks.[134] CIRA militants were also allegedly involved in the 1998 Omagh bombing. [135] In 2012, the rIRA announced its plan to merge with three other dissident republican groups into the New IRA. The CIRA, however, chose not to join this merger, signaling that the rIRA and the CIRA contain separate leadership and follow different strategies.[136]
In the early 2000s, the rIRA engaged in arms deals with several mafia groups from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. (See the Resources section for more information.) The rIRA also had a close relationship with the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. (See the Political Activity section for more information.)
The Real IRA was not supported or funded by any foreign government. Garda (the police service of the Republic of Ireland), the Northern Irish Police Service, MI5, and the FBI have all engaged in efforts to infiltrate the rIRA and arrest its members.
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