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Defining the Irish
Monday, October 25, 1999 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dozens of organizations have formed, splintered and regrouped in the 30-year history of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Here's a quick guide to the players:
Republicans: Supporters of a reunited Ireland who trace their beliefs back to Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone. In modern times, it has come to mean a supporter of a reunified Ireland open to the use of revolutionary means.
Sinn Fein: Founded nearly a century ago, the party has had several incarnations. Currently, the largest group going by the name is Provisional Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
IRA: Successor to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret army that fought in the 1916 Easter Uprising. The current IRA grew out of a split in the 1970s to become the Provisional IRA.
Republican Sinn Fein: Formed in 1986 after Gerry Adams replaced Ruairi O Bradaigh as president of Provisional Sinn Fein. Republican Sinn Fein, led by O Bradaigh, does not recognize the governments either of Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. It advocates a four-province confederation.
Continuity IRA: Thought by police officials in Ireland to be the military wing of Republican Sinn Fein, a claim flatly denied by Republican Sinn Fein officials.
32 County Sovereignty Committee: Founded by ex-IRA and Sinn Fein officials and led by Bernadette Sands McKevitt, sister of famed hunger striker Bobby Sands, the group rejects the Good Friday Accord as an abandonment of long-standing Irish Republican goals of a United Ireland.
Real IRA: Also known as Oglaigh na hEireann -- a name officially claimed by the Provisional IRA -- it is made up mostly of former Provisional IRA members who align themselves with the goals of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee. Real IRA set off the worst terrorist bombing in the history of Northern Ireland, a 1998 bombing that killed 29 and injured 300 in the Northern Ireland town of Omagh.
Irish Northern Aid: Known as Noraid and INA, it was founded by Americans who raised money for families of Irish republican prisoners, many of whom were interned for years without trial. Authorities long suspected Noraid was diverting funds to the IRA and in 1983 its leader was acquitted of gun-running charges after convincing a federal jury he believed he was working for the CIA.
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