Northern Ireland and the Provisional IRA

Abstract

Internationally the name of the Provisional IRA is instantly recognised. This is due to its longevity as a militant nationalist organisation, and the extensive coverage it has been given over the years in news broadcasts, movies and American drama series. In Northern Ireland it has been the dominant nationalist militant group, primarily because it has killed more people than any other grouping and the involvement of its political wing, Sinn Féin, was regarded as central to the success of the peace process. But it also operated in accordance with the existing political opportunities and constraints, mobilising structures and cultural framing present during the conflict. Although the Provisional IRA was very successful in framing the conflict in terms that reflected favourably and emphasised the fact that its primary target was the British Army, it did kill civilians. What is apparent from the analysis of trends in the data collated for the databases for this book, is that there were two distinct time periods when ACV by the Provisional IRA escalated: Wave One from 1971–1976 and Wave Two from 1987–1993. What was it about these two time periods that resulted in the escalation of the use of political violence?