Irish Republican Army (IRA), nationalist organization dedicated to the unification of Ireland. It was organized by Michael COLLINS after the Easter Rebellion of 1916 and became the military wing of the SINN FEIN party.
Despite the establishment of the Irish Free State (1922), the IRA refused to accept a separate Northern Ireland under British rule. With popular support lessened by its violent actions and pro-German agitation during WORLD WAR II, it was outlawed by both Irish governments and became a secret organization. In 1969 it split into an “official” majority, which disclaimed violence, and a terrorist “provisional” wing, whose attacks on British troops in Northern Ireland, random bombings, and other acts of terror in England kept tensions high. In 1981 some imprisoned IRA leaders, protesting British policies, engaged in hunger strikes to the death.

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