COLUMNS

Is the IRA Back?

undefined and VP of Tactical Analysis
Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

Apr 23, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

An IRA sniper warning sign on April 20, 2019, overlooking the Bogside area of Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

An IRA sniper warning sign on April 20, 2019, overlooking the Bogside area of Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Two teenagers have been arrested over the killing of journalist Lyra McKee shot dead in Derry, Northern Ireland, police said on April 20, after a murder that has triggered international condemnation.

(PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Recent attacks, including the April 18 shooting death of a journalist, have raised the profile of the militant New Irish Republican Army.
  • Though the group has received extensive press coverage, it is small, marginalized and tactically unsophisticated — essentially a street gang using the Republican cause to justify criminality.
  • The group could possibly grow in capability, but incidents like the recent shooting will diminish the scant public support it previously had.

"Is the IRA back?" is a question I've been asked several times in recent months. And it is not really surprising, given recent headlines such as "'IRA' claims responsibility for Londonderry car bomb," "New IRA claims 5 parcel bombs sent to London and Glasgow," and "Northern Ireland journalist killed by gunman during riot." Certainly, the New Irish Republican Army (NIRA), a group that often refers to itself as simply the Irish Republican Army, has been fairly active, reminding us all that while Republican violence along the Irish border has decreased significantly since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, it never really ended. ...

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