The republican movement refers to the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) and other political, social and paramilitary organisations and movements associated with it. It can refer to:
*Republican Movement, which consisted of the
IRA and
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
prior to 1969.
*Provisional Republican Movement or simply Republican Movement,
which consisted of the
Provisional IRA
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
,
Provisional Sinn Féin and other associated organisations.
['No Irish model for Palestinians'](_blank)
Henry McDonald, The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
, 26 January 2006
*Official Republican Movement, which consisted of the
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerg ...
,
Official Sinn Féin and other associated organisations.
*
Irish Republican Socialist Movement, which consists of the
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ) is an Irish republicanism, Irish republican Socialism, socialist paramilitary group formed on 8 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seeks to remove ...
and the
Irish Republican Socialist Party.
*
Dissident Republican Movement, which includes the
Continuity IRA
The Continuity Irish Republican Army (Continuity IRA or CIRA), styling itself as the Irish Republican Army (), is an Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a united Ireland. It claims to be a direct continuation of the or ...
,
Republican Sinn Féin, the
Real IRA
The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a Dissident republican, dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional Irish Republica ...
and
32 County Sovereignty Movement.
The Dissident Republican Movement itself consists of multiple movements:
*Continuity Republican Movement, which consists of the Continuity IRA and Republican Sinn Féin.
*Real Republican Movement, which consisted of the Real IRA and 32 County Sovereignty Movement.
Usage
The term was in use at least as early as 1949 when Criostóir O'Neill, the vice president of Sinn Féin, gave a speech at
Bodenstown Graveyard:
J. Bowyer Bell, in ''The Secret Army'', uses the term throughout to refer to the several organisations associated with the IRA in the 1960s and beyond. For instance, in chapter XVII he says: "But beneath the smooth patina applied by MacGiolla, The Republican movement seethed with bitter faction and the advanced rot of despair." Specifically mentioned in relation to this are Sinn Féin,
Clan na Gael in America, the ''
United Irishman'' and the
National Graves Association.
writes the term includes the IRA,
Sinn Féin,
,
and
Cumann na mBan.
Dillon and
Peter Taylor state the term is used by members of the IRA to avoid making an
incriminating statement, since membership of the IRA is illegal.
A Sinn Féin 'members course' of around 1979 states: "Sinn Féin is the political section of the Republican Movement". Robert White states in the early 1980s Sinn Fein was the junior partner in the relationship with the IRA, and they were separate organisations despite there being some overlapping membership.
See also
*
Irish republicanism
Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...
*
Irish Republican Army (disambiguation)
References
{{SIA
Irish republicanism