The Mackenzie Institute
Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) (the Provos)
Description/History:
The Provisional Irish Republican Army, considered the armed wing of the left-wing, Irish republican Sinn Féin political movement, split from the original IRA in 1969 with the aim of using force to reunite Northern Ireland with Ireland.
At its peak, supporters for the PIRA numbered in the thousands, with small cells operating under the leadership of the Army Council against the British in Northern Ireland. The decades of violence of "the Troubles" continued until the Belfast Agreement in 1998, after which PIRA activities have become mostly political, although the group remains a proscribed a terrorist organization. The threat of violence exists from disenchanted diehard members, many of whom support the offshoot CIRA and RIRA groups.
Activities
The PIRA was responsible for bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, robbery, and other crime, resulting in hundreds of casualties between 1969 and the 1994 ceasefire. The group targeted British officials, military, and economic targets in order to weaken the British administration of Northern Ireland. They had a reputation for making highly sophisticated bombs and for using more advanced weaponry than other European terrorist groups.
The group has officially abandoned violence and adopted legal methods. The group has been generally inactive since a 1997 ceasefire, has accepted the 1998 Belfast Agreement, and has declared the end of its armed campaign as of 2005.
Location
The Provisional IRA operates in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Financing
The PIRA received donations illegally from the United States, and is believed to have received training and arms from Libya and the PLO. PIRA has links with various leftist groups, including ETA. The group also profited from a variety of criminal activities, such as extortion and robbery.