The IRA's history of splits

The attacks against the military and police in Northern Ireland are part of a pattern in Irish history in which dissident groups split away from mainstream Republican organisations to maintain their dream of a united Ireland.

The question always arises as to whether these groups themselves then take over as the main flag-bearers.

Lessons from history

But because they exist does not necessarily mean that breakaways will succeed. The history of Irish republicanism shows that only when the conditions are right can dissident groups take over.

The Irish Republican Army was founded in 1919 in the uprising against British rule in Ireland. It was a very successful guerrilla organisation but, even in victory, it almost immediately faced what has become the traditional republican dilemma: should there be a compromise which falls short of the all-Ireland ambition?

There was a split between those led by Michael Collins who accepted that while British rule in 26 counties of Ireland would end, in the North, where there was a majority in favour of the ties with Britain, it would not. Collins negotiated and signed the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921, allowing six counties in the North to remain with Britain, as Northern Ireland.

Those opposed launched their own war. One of their leaders declared: "We repudiate the Dail", the Irish parliament, which accepted the compromise agreement. Collins was himself shot dead in an ambush but the dissidents were beaten as the majority of the people favoured the compromise. In this case, the breakaway group did not succeed.

However, the IRA, clinging to its traditional aim, never went away and from time to time resurfaced as one faction more militant than another gained control.

There was an IRA bombing campaign in Britain in 1939 and 1940, when there were, by the British count, 127 "outrages". But amid the crisis of a world war, the campaign achieved little beyond keeping the dream alive.