Provisional Ira (Noun)
Meaning
A militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland.
Classification
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects.
Examples
- The provisional IRA was formed in 1969 as a splinter faction of the Irish Republican Army with the goal of violently driving British forces out of Northern Ireland.
- Members of the provisional IRA used tactics such as bombings and sniper attacks to target British soldiers and police in Northern Ireland.
- The provisional IRA's campaign of violence, known as "the Troubles," lasted for over three decades and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
- Although the provisional IRA was responsible for many bombings and shootings, the organization claimed to be fighting a legitimate war of national liberation.
- In 1998, the provisional IRA agreed to a ceasefire as part of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal that helped to bring an end to sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.