Irish Republican Counterpublic

This volume examines the critical factors and processes by which the Provisional Irish Republican movement campaign from 1969 to 1998 transformed a once acquiescent nationalist population in Northern Ireland into a counterpublic of resistance demanding national self-determination and social justice. Considering the establishment of Irish Republican community institutions, prison protests, Republican Feminism, and Provisional IRA media and communications, this volume explores the emergence of Republicanism as a mass social movement in the nationalist Catholic ghettos and rural regions of Northern Ireland in the 1970s – a development that helped to sustain the armed struggle of the Provisional Irish Republican Army for three decades. An examination of the emergence and transformative power of the counterpublic discourse and action of the Irish Republican movement, this volume provides a framework for conceptualizing counterpublics in social movement studies. As such it will appeal to scholars of sociology, history, and politics with interests in social movements and mobilization.

A history of the Official Irish Republican movement, from the IRA's 1962 ceasefire to the Official IRA's permanent ceasefire in 1972. The civil rights movement, the outbreak of violence in August 1969, the links with the communist party, the Official IRA's campaign, the ceasefire, and later developments towards 'Sinn Fein the Workers' Party', are explored. "This book is the first in-depth study of this crucial period in the history of Irish republicanism. Using his unprecedented access to the internal documents of the movement and interviews with key participants Swan's work will transform our understanding of this transformative period in the history of the movement.", Henry Patterson, Author of 'The Politics of Illusion: A Political History of the IRA' and 'Ireland Since 1939'. "There is much fascinating material ... and also much good sense.", Richard English, Author of 'Armed Struggle, A History of the IRA' and 'Radicals and the Republic: Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free State'.

These eleven essays explore various aspects of Irish republicanism, north and south, from the early twentieth century to today. An awareness of history, and its uses, has long been a notable characteristic of modern Irish republicanism. Some of the topics covered include republicanism and democracy, paramilitarism, IRA veterans, the IRA and its relationship with Nazi Germany, and the mentality of extreme republicanism. -- Publisher description

Would the 'real' IRA please stand up? Why, and how, the IRA splintered. The Real IRA, the Continuity IRA, the Irish National Liberation Army, the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA have all assumed responsibility for the struggle for Irish freedom over the course of the late-20th century. Yet as recently as 1969 there was only one Irish Republican Army trying to unify Ireland using physical force., Andrew Sanders explains how and why the transition from one IRA to several IRAs occurred, analysing all the dissident factions that have emerged since the outbreak of the Northern Ireland troubles. He looks at why these groups emerged, what their respective purposes are, and why, in an era of relative peace and stability in Northern Ireland, they seek to prolong the violence that cost over 3500 lives.

This collection of papers examines the current rise in violence by Dissident Irish Republicans and its impact on the Northern Ireland Peace Process. The work will address advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Terrorism Studies, Irish Politics, Political Violence, and Conflict Studies.

This book analyzes the ideology and organizational traditions of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), its role in Irish politics and its place in Irish history. While the IRB has long been associated with the insurrections of 1867 and 1916, Owen McGee argues that it was never primarily an insurrectionary conspiracy; rather it was a popular fraternal organization and propagandistic body, committed to bringing about popular politicization in Ireland along republican lines. Focusing primarily on the new departures in Irish politics between the land war of 1879-81 and the outbreak of the First World War, this study identifies this period as being a critical phase in the evolution of modern Irish republicanism, as well as being the pivotal stage in the history of the IRB itself. It throws fresh light on the social and political origins of the Irish revolution of 1912-23, as well as the IRB's intended political role during that eventful epoch. Prominent members included: Michael Collins, James Stephens, Arthur Griffith, Bulkmer Hobson, Eamonn Ceannt and Edward Daly (the latter two fought in 1916 and were executed as a result of their involvement).

Out of the Ashes is the definitive history of the Provisional Irish Republican movement, from its formation at the outset of the modern 'Troubles' up to and after their official disarmament in 2005. Robert White, a prolific observer of the IRA and Sinn Fein's activities, has amassed an incomparable body of interview material from leading members of the organisation over a thirty-year period. In this defining study, the interviewees' perspectives provide extraordinary insights, not only into the inner workings of the paramilitary group, but also the complex motivations that provoked their violent actions, their eventual reform, and the mind-set of 'dissidents' who refused to lay down their arms. Those interviewed stem from every stage of the Provisionals' history, from founding figures such as Se���¡n Mac Stiof���¡in, Ruari ���� Br���¡daigh and Joe Cahill to the new generation who replaced them: Danny Morrison, Martin McGuinness, Marian Price, and Brendan Hughes, amongst others. Their oral perspectives provide completely unique insights into key moments within the movement's history, highlighting the real motives behind the violence that caused worldwide consternation. Out of the Ashes is a pioneering history that breaks new ground in defining how the Provisional Republican groups operated and survived from within their own ranks, and how they continued to act under international pressures to disband. [Subject: Irish Studies, Northern Ireland, Military History, History, Oral History]