The IRA and Brexit (attempted to post Dec. 1)

The Old IRA, founded in 1919 and dissolved in 1921 after the Treaty.

As Brexit looms closer and closer to us, there are a number of enormous challenges that the United Kingdom will have to deal with. Some of these include the trade alliances between the United Kingdom and the European Union; preparations for economic shutdown; import and export tariffs; and travel visas and passports. But there is also one very old issue that the UK may have to deal with: the IRA.

The IRA—Irish Republican Army—was a military and paramilitary force established to fight the English forces (the “Black and Tans”) in 1919. During this time, the English rule attempted to solidify its power in the island of Ireland. The IRA fought the British Army and attempted to free Ireland from English rule. In 1921, the British Army relented and a treaty was drawn up. The IRA, however, was divided. Part of it signed the treaty and established the Irish Free State. But the other part remained the IRA, fighting against the British forces that remained within the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

Over the years, the IRA’s popularity fell. The IRA split into a half-dozen parties, each claiming that they were the original: the Official IRA, or Official Sinn Féin, became a Marxist organization. There were further splits, and the Official IRA dissolved, while the Sinn Féin became the Workers’ Party of Ireland. The Irish National Liberation Army arose from this split, as did the Irish Republican Socialist Party (the leader of whom was assassinated by the Official IRA).

(By Esste8 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77734385)
The IRA genealogy, with a timeline. Probably shouldn't take too close a look.

Official IRA members formed the Provisional IRA, the Republican Sinn Féin, the Continuity IRA, the Irish Republican Liberation Army, the Real IRA, the Irish Republican Movement, and the Óglaigh na hÉireann (Soldiers of Ireland). Confused? So were the IRA, in all their various forms. Assassinations were carried out constantly.

The IRA didn’t confine its fighting to within its ranks, though. During the splits, IRA members were still very much anti-English. They fought tooth and nail, planting bombs, using snipers against English soldiers, and attempting to free Ireland of the colonial English rule. A great part of the struggle was the liberation of Northern Ireland, which the English had refused to give up in the 1921 treaty. This struggle continues today, which brings us back to Brexit.

Britain’s departure from the EU would include the departure of Northern Ireland (which is a part of Britain) from the EU as well. This would make for a difficult issue: how to secure the border between the six counties of Northern Ireland and the other 26 counties of Ireland? Here are a few options:

Continued unionism: Northern Ireland remains a part of the UK and leaves the EU—favored by unionists in Northern Ireland.

Economic separation: Northern Ireland remains a part of the UK but remains in the EU’s single market—favored by Boris Johnson.

Irish unionism: Northern Ireland becomes a part of Ireland—favored by the IRA and much of the Irish Catholic population in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

However Brexit is implemented, we can expect to see a significant amount of border violence in any of these three scenarios, whether from the current Real IRA or Óglaigh na hÉireann.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Irish-Republican-Army

https://web.archive.org/web/20120229043534/http://www.passia.org/seminars/2004/John-Coakley-Ireland-Seminar.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4283444.stm