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Real Irish Republican Army
Ireland
The RIRA is a splinter group formed after a split with the larger Provisional Irish Republican Army. Both groups have their origins in the 1916 Irish revolt against British rule, and are dedicated to a unified and self-governing Irish island. The IRA’s main focus has been the six counties of Northern Island, which formally belong to Great Britain, and which it feels should be part of a united Ireland. The “Troubles,” as its activities are referred to, have continued for most of the latter part of the 20th century consisting of bombings, assassinations, paramilitary operations, and more peaceful activities such as hunger strikes and propaganda campaigns.
The Real IRA formed in 1997, following the Provisional IRA’s 1994 ceasefire and subsequent political developments. The larger group’s participation in the peace process culminated in 2005, when it agreed to lay down its arms and resort to nonviolent means to achieve its goals. The Real IRA rejected those terms-comparing them to the 1921 partition of Ireland which it viewed as an unacceptable compromise-and continued to wage a terrorist campaign in the intervening years. Its stated goal is the complete withdrawal of the British government from Ireland, and it claims it will never agree to a ceasefire until that goal is reached. Early incidents included a mortar attack on a police station in the town of Beleek, and a pair of high-profile car bombings in Banbridge and Omagh. A brief ceasefire curtailed its activites for a time, but the new century saw a renewed activity: focusing both on attacks in Northern Ireland, and across the sea in Great Britain.
Informants and declining membership has cost the organization of late. Its leader, Michael McKevitt, was arrested in 2001, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Other key members have been imprisoned as well, and both the British and Irish governments consider the Real IRA a terrorist organization. But it continues to conduct operations, including firebombing campaigns in the town of Newry and a failed mortar attack in Craigavon, both in August, 2006.
The Provisional IRA organizes itself along the lines of classic guerilla organization, with a centralized command controlling the actions of a number of autonomous cells. Its Army Council consists of seven members, who coordinate various branches of the operation (training, finances, etc.). Individual cells retain absolute secrecy, so that the loss of one does not compromise the remainder of the operation. Scotland Yard estimates the Real IRA is fairly small, with about 150 members to its name. It sometimes conducts operations with sister organizations- fellow splitters from the Provisional IRA such as the Continuity IRA-though it remains its own entity, distinct from such groups.
In addition to prosecution from the British and Irish governments, the Real IRA suffers the unwanted attentions of its former colleagues in the Provisional IRA. Real IRA members claim to have been threatened and attacked by the Provisional IRA, and the assassination of Real IRA member Joe O’Connor in October, 2000, purportedly came at the hands of the Provisional IRA. Support comes primarily from the United States, where sympathetic Irish Americans make financial contributions to its cause. It has attempted to purchase weapons from US gun dealers, and purportedly seeks more sophisticated technology in the Balkans. In 2006, three members were arrested in Spain for smuggling cigarettes; their activities may have expanded into similarly conventional criminal enterprises. Its tactics include hit-and-run raids, covert assassinations, and targeted bombings. Mortar attacks are preferred method of assault, especially against police stations and other symbols of authority. Its arsenal consists mainly of small arms, assault rifles, military-grade explosives, anti-tank weapons, and rocket launchers.
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