1
Blood upon Clovers: An Examination of the Provisional Irish Republican Army from
1969-1999
Zachary Michael Doyle
Student Number: 888888888
Dr. Marjory Lang
History 2249
2
The devastation known as the Troubles1 laid waste to the country of Ireland; the
spectre of death that was the Provisional Irish Republican Army2 was responsible for an
untold amount of destruction to both the people and peace of Ireland. As convenient as it
may be to blame a quarter of a century’s bloodshed3 on the P.I.R.A., peace in Ireland was
not just sacrificed by the I.R.A.4 and P.I.R.A., British and Protestant hands were just as
bloody if not more so than their Irish counterparts. Originally intended to be saviours of
the downtrodden Northeast Irish Catholics, the P.I.R.A. evolved into an overtly
aggressive guerilla movement involved in the murder or injury of thousands of Irish and
British citizens.5 The Provisionals’ nationalistic sentiment motivated their terrorist
tactics, which devastated both Ireland and Britain, while international connections
and outside revenue aided their attempts to achieve Irish sovereignty by fueling the
Provos’ war machine.
Initially, it is important to take into account what early social and political events
motivated the Provisionals’ Nationalism and later their continuing guerilla warfare. The
roots of the Provisional I.R.A. lay in its predecessor the I.R.A. and their bringing about
“But in our day the ‘Irish Troubles’ are generally understood to refer to a murderous dispute which, for
the past quarter of a century only, has come to involve the English and Irish in a sectarian quarrel in the
north-eastern part of Ireland commonly, but erroneously, referred to as ‘Ulster’.”
(Coogan “The Troubles”, 1)
2
The Provisional I.R.A. was formed after a coup in 1969 split it from the newly non-violent and
particularly Marxist section of the I.R.A. Typically after 1969 I.R.A. refers to the Provisional I.R.A. and
not the Original I.R.A.
“Cathal Goulding had been steering his movement towards quasi-Marxist political activity and away from
violence…Sean Mac Stiofain…The British-born hardliner, who had been imprisoned after a failed arms
raid in Essex in 1951 and was now the I.R.A. director of intelligence, led the coup that split the movement
in December 1969.”(Bardon, 675)
3
From 1966 until 1999 the Total No. of deaths due to the Irish conflict was 3633
(McKittrick Table 4, 1477)
4
The Original I.R.A. was only responsible for 54 deaths in a 33 year time period.
(McKittrick, Table2, 1475)
5
Republicans held responsibility for 2139 deaths with the Provisional I.R.A. responsible for at least 1771
deaths. (McKittrick Table 2,3, 1475-6)
1
3
the partitioning of Ireland in 1921.6 This was a critical event as it produced a Loyalist
government in Northern Ireland. The unionist government in place in Derry upset the
Catholic majority and long running disagreements ignited the Battle of the Bogsides in
1969.7 While the violence in the Bogsides subsided it created a wave of violence
throughout the rest of Ireland.8 Many Catholics feared for their lives and fled to new
locales.9 The lack of protection afforded to Catholics by the I.R.A. caused the schism
between competing factions in the I.R.A. leadership which led to the formation of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1969.10 From then on, the Provisional I.R.A. has
commonly been referred to as the I.R.A. while its predecessor is referred to as the
Original I.R.A. Hostilities between the two groups grew early on and escalated into
violence in early 1971.11 Six years later further altercations between O.I.R.A. and
P.I.R.A. were still contributing to the Troubles death rate.12 A galvanizing event
occurred in 1972 which united many Irish under a banner of anti-British sentiment. This
event, known as Bloody Sunday, in which British troops commenced to fire upon Irish
civilians,13 would live on in infamy as a significant scar upon Anglo-Irish relations. The
“However, partitioned it was and the treaty which the Irish negotiators signed with the British on 6
December 1921 accepted this fact.”(Coogan “The I.R.A”, 27)
7
“From behind a barbed-wire barrier Catholic youths threw nails and stones at the loyalists and in moments
an intense battle developed.”(Bardon, 666)
8
“The Battle of the Bogside was over and an uncertain calm settled on the city of Derry. Violence,
meanwhile, had spread elsewhere and was about to reach a fearful climax in Belfast.”(Bardon, 669)
9
(Provos, Loyalists, and Brits)
10
As remarked by Billy McKee Former Provos member in regards to the IRA’s response to the escalating
violence of 1969, “I told them it had failed the people. The voiceless people of the North.” (Provos,
Loyalists, and Brits, 14min40second)
11
“The tension between the Official and Provisional I.R.A. was intense in 1970-1, and in March 1971 there
was a fierce gun battle between the two groups in the Lower Falls area of Belfast, in which one man was
shot dead and several wounded while the British stood aside.”(Hennessey, 176)
12
“July 27, 1977 Thomas Tolan…’Toddler’ Tolan was one of four people shot dead on the same day
during a feud between the Provisional I.R.A. and Official I.R.A..”(McKittrick, 732)
6
4
constant animosity and violence between Protestant and Catholics towards the end of the
1960’s and early 1970s motivated the Provisionals’ nationalistic spirit and drove them
towards full scale guerrilla warfare out of fear for the safety of Northern Irish Catholics.
The extreme nationalism of the Provisionals led to the decades of murderous
rampages that terrified the public in both Ireland and Britain. It is critical to analyze the
tactics and strategy used by the Provisionals in their campaign for Irish sovereignty. In
the outset, the Provos’ tactics were to undermine Protestants stake in the economy
through non violent bombings targeted at Protestant businesses.14 Guerilla tactics
escalated into a plethora of orchestrated murders, of everyone from civilians to soldiers,
undertaken by the Provos in attempt to terrorize Protestant Loyalists and British troops
out of Ireland. Harrowing documentation exists of the over one thousand victims, of the
Provisionals’ campaign for independence, exhibiting the shockingly violent crimes
wrought upon Northern Ireland and Great Britain by the P.I.R.A. In addition to regular
targets, the Provisionals would also attempt to assassinate many key political or cultural
figures. Assassination was even attempted on such targets as Queen Elizabeth II15 and
Margaret Thatcher.16 The attempt on Thatcher’s life resulted in the casualties of several
“On Sunday 30 January 1972 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association held a march in Derry to
protest against internment…Civilians claimed that the soldiers fired without warning and shot
indiscriminately at unarmed people. But whatever the precise circumstances, the fact remained that after a
few minutes’ firing thirteen civilian men lay dead and thirteen others had been wounded. No soldiers were
hurt.”(Hill, 350-1)
14
(Provos, Loyalists, and Brits)
15
“The ‘sleeper bomb’s’ most illustrious target was Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England. One of
these devices went off some hours after she had visited Coleraine University during her visit to the North in
August 1977.”(Coogan “The I.R.A.”, 431)
16
“The I.R.A. had decided to try to kill Margaret Thatcher. On 15 September 1984 I.R.A. man Patrick
Magee (and a colleague) planted a Semtex bomb in the Grand Hotel, setting it on a long-delay timer to
explode the following month during the Conservatives’ Conference.”(English, 248)
13
5
civilians17 displaying the danger brought to regular civilians by the Provisionals and their
bombing campaigns. Lesser nobility were also targeted by Provisional bombs including
the Earl Mountbatten.18 Bombs were not the only weapons of terror used in the
Provisionals’ strategy. The graphic depictions of the rampant gun violence19 during the
Troubles are poignant examples of the devastation brought about by Provisional Irish
Republican Army shootings. One of the Provos’ commonly used tactics was the use of
ambush to eliminate chosen opponents or targets.20 Other more unconventional methods
would also be used in the Provisionals’ terrorist-style attacks, such as landmines.21
Furthermore, the Provisionals utilized brutal intimidation in an effort to persuade any
witnesses of crimes to remain silent, thereby securing the freedom of Provisionals
involved in violent crimes. The great deal of executions dolled out by the P.I.R.A., of
suspected informants, served to dissuade civilians and others from informing on the
Provos’ activities.22
“The bomb detonated on schedule in Room 629 just as the occupant of Room 628, Mrs. Jeanne Shattock,
the wife of the chairman of the Western Area Conservatives, was running a late bath. She was killed
instantly. The couple in 629 were mangled; Donald MacLean, a senior figure in the Scottish Conservative
Party, survived, but his wife, Muriel, did not.”(Bell “The Irish Troubles”, 686)
18
“The Provisional I.R.A. had blown up Earl Mountbatten’s boat off Mullaghmore in County Sligo, killing
the earl, his grandson, and a boat-boy.”(Hill, 377)
19
“They knocked the part-time soldier off his motorcycle with a shotgun blast…one gunman ran forward
and fired four more times at the private as he lay on the ground.”(McKittrick, 987)
“April 16, 1979 Michael Cassidy…I.R.A. gunmen shot him at close range. He was killed while holding
his three-year-old daughter’s hand as he left the church…They shot him three or four times in the head as
he lay on the ground.”(McKittrick, 781)
20
“Desmond Irvine…The chief principal officer at the Maze prison and secretary of the Prison Officers
Association, he was ambushed by I.R.A. gunmen in Wellington Park.”(McKittrick, 736)
“John McFadden…was shot by I.R.A. gunmen lying in wait. The reserve constable had just parked his
car when two gunmen opened fire.” (McKittrick, 959)
“August 3, 1988 Raymond McNicol…He was on the road to Desertcreat, near the town, when he was
fatally wounded by gunmen who were waiting to ambush him.”(McKittrick, 1137)
21
“February 3, 1986 John Early…was killed by an I.R.A. landmine explosion on the Belcoo to Garrison
road.”(McKittrick, 1032)
22
“July 26, 1984 Brian McNally…He was shot by the I.R.A. as an alleged informer.”(McKittrick, 991)
“Brendan Megraw, one of those who made a witness statement to police, was later abducted and killed by
the I.R.A.”(McKittrick, 732)
17
6
The salience of the Provisionals’ international connections can not be overlooked
in assessing their motivations and strategies. The Provisionals’ organization was backed
by rival factions like the United States and Libya during the 1980s.23 The connection to
Libya through Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi24 was an important early international
relationship for the Provisionals. Qaddafi’s contribution to I.R.A. armaments25 would be
an important boost to the military actions of the Provisionals early on. Likewise, an
important American connection, George Harrison, distributed guns from gun stores in
Brooklyn to the Provisionals in Northern Ireland.26 This was a considerably important
relationship because it was responsible for bringing a large quantity of semi-automatic
Armalite rifles into Ireland for a time span of roughly ten years.27 The United States also
generated a great deal of proceeds towards the Provisionals as will be seen in the
following analysis of P.I.R.A. assets.
The assets of the Provisionals were aided by various groups as well as through
various methods of procurement. The United States was a particularly beneficial area for
“July 11, 1979 Michael Kearney…He had been shot in the head. An I.R.A. statement said he was
‘executed for breaches of general army orders in that he imparted information of vital importance to the
British war machine and that he agreed to act as an informant.’”(McKittrick, 790)
“Bernard Teggart…15[years]…he was found near the Floral Hall at Bellevue Zoo, where the I.R.A. left
his body after shooting him as an alleged informer.” (McKittrick, 400)
23
“Similarly, the Provisionals have obtained backing from, for example, supporters in the USA and also –
at the same time – from the USA’s dedicated opponent during the 1980s, Libya.”(English, 367)
24
“The first really successful contact to be exploited was with Libya, a state run on the simple whims and
anti-imperialist ideological assumptions of the leader Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi.”
(Bell “The I.R.A.”, 184)
25
“In effect he [Qaddafi] allowed I.R.A. agents to move what they could from warehouses filled with small
arms and even the cherished missiles…And so the I.R.A. brought in the arms in 1986 and 1987…By then
the QMG had more AK-47s than volunteers, an enormous amount of Semtex explosives that would allow
for sophisticated bombs, and a variety of other gear including reportedly SAM ground-to-air missiles that
could not be made to work, perhaps so intended not to work.”(Bell “The I.R.A.”, 187)
26
“The major long-lasting connection, however, came through a well-known radical Irish Republican in
Brooklyn, George Harrison…bought guns from gun stores, deceptively packed the results, and shipped to
an unknown receiver in Ireland.”(Bell “The I.R.A.”, 183)
27
“Thus for nearly ten years the American connection supplied the QMG with the ideal guerilla weapon,
the civilian version of the military M-16, the Armalite, that could be purchased legally as a deer-rifle.”
(Bell “The I.R.A.”, 183)
7
the Provos to raise funds for their movement; various social functions in Ireland also
funded the Provos coffers.28 One particularly deadly Provisional method of asset
procurement was armed robbery. The Provisionals use of armed robbery as a fundraising
venture would lead to the deaths of many individuals including civilians.29 Armed
robberies by the Provos contributed a great deal of revenue into the Provisionals coffers
and were enacted with ruthless precision.30 Train robberies also supplied the Provisionals
with funds for armaments to continue their guerilla war.31 Legal methods of revenue
acquisition were also employed by the Provisional I.R.A. such as the ownership of
drinking clubs.32 The extortion of protection money as well as fraud also existed in the
P.I.R.A.’s repertoire of revenue collection schemes.33 A rather frowned upon method of
asset collection for the Provisionals was the distribution of illegal drugs.34 Distribution of
illicit substances was however only taken on by financial supporters of the Provisionals
“With the growth in efficiency of I.R.A. fund-raising in the US and amongst its supporters in Ireland by
way of socials, raffles, dances, bingo, even poitin* making!”(Coogan “The Troubles”, 252)
*Irish bootleg whiskey.
29
“February 3, 1978 Bernard Brown…was shot by the I.R.A. during a robbery at supermarket…and died
several days later.”(McKittrick, 743)
30
“August 10, 1984 Frank Hand…he was killed by I.R.A. raiders who stole IR£220,000 from a post
office…Ten raiders were involved in the attack. Two men armed with Sten submachine guns an from a
small garden beside the post office…the gunmen opened fire…After the shooting two cars with six or
seven men arrived and unloaded money from the van.”(McKittrick, 992)
31
“For instance, a train robbery at Sallins, Co. Kildare, appropriately enough not far from Wolfe Tone’s
birthplace, netted the Provisionals some £¼ million.”(Coogan “The I.R.A.”, 429)
32
“The various drinking clubs controlled by the Provisionals such as the Prisoners’ Defence Fund Club in
Andersonstown or in what is known as the Pound Loney area off the Falls Road, thee very large Pound
Loney Club.”(Coogan ”The I.R.A.”, 430)
33
“The General defined the Provisionals’ other main illegal source of income as ‘protection payments from
shops and businesses and fraud involving dole money and ‘lost’ pension books’.”
(Coogan “The Troubles”, 251)
34
“Another Kildare fundraising venture which the I.R.A. found highly embarrassing concerned a haul of
cannabis worth approximately £1 million which the Gardai seized on 25 August 1979…the fact of being
implicated through the capture of a man once prominently associated with the I.R.A. in drug-running was
both infuriating and, particularly where their conservative supporters were concerned, was potentially
highly damaging to the Provisionals.” (Coogan “The I.R.A., 430)
28
8
and not the Provisionals themselves due to the I.R.A.’s strict anti-drug policies.
Altogether the estimated annual revenue of the Provos was just shy of £1,000,000.35
Initially, the Provisional Irish Republican Army stood up to protect the North
Irish Republicans, but, in time they grew into a fiendish abomination of what they once
were. The line between freedom fighter and terrorist was blurred so finely throughout the
Troubles that assessing the Provisional Irish Republican Army becomes quite difficult. It
is crucial to recognize that the violence throughout the Troubles was not a one sided
assault; by no means were the Provisionals responsible for all of the casualties or
bloodshed. Protestants, Loyalists, Original I.R.A., and British Soldiers were also
responsible for hundreds of deaths throughout the three decades of the Irish Troubles.36
The Irish Troubles show that throughout the late 1900s, centuries of English imperialism
still wrought havoc upon the island of Ireland and proved that occupation did not
necessarily mean victory. For years the Provisional Irish Republican Army was able to
obtain foreign aid and armaments, rob and extort the local Irish populations, and thereby
continue its guerilla warfare in support of its dream of nationalism, all at the expense of
thousands of victims. Perhaps one of the most heart wrenching facts concerning the Irish
Troubles was that the majority of the casualties were civilian;37 not even children38 were
safe from the wrath of the Provos’ warfare. The Irish Troubles remain as a blight upon
twentieth century British civilization and display the long running effects of imperialism
(Coogan “The Troubles” ,Table 1 252)
These groups have a confirmed combined death toll of over 1200 deaths. (McKittrick, Table 2, 1475)
37
2037 civilian deaths occurred throughout the troubles with nearly half (832 deaths) occurring in Belfast.
(McKittrick, Table 13, 1481)
38
“September 3, 1971 Angela Gallagher…18 months A baby girl, she died in the arms of her young sister
after a bullet fired by an I.R.A. man ricocheted and hit her.”(McKittrick, 96)
“April, 29, 1972 Rosaleen Gavin,8, schoolgirl From Ardilea Street in the Bone district, she was shot on the
Oldpark Road by a sniper aiming at soldiers…It would appear the I.R.A. carried out the attack.”
(McKittrick, 180)
35
36
9
and exhibits the brutality that can grow from nationalism and the fight for political
sovereignty.
10
Bibliography
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Bell, J.Bower. The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence 1967-1992. New York:
St.Martin’s Press, 1993.
Coogan, Tim P. The I.R.A. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000.
Coogan, Tim P. The Troubles. New York: Palgrave, 2002.
English, Richard. Armed Struggle: A History of the I.R.A. London: Macmillan, 2003.
Hennessey, Thomas. A History of Northern Ireland 1920-1996. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1997.
Hill, J.R. A New History of Ireland VII: Ireland 1921-1984. Oxford: Oxford University
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McKittrick, David. Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women, and Children who died
as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1999.
Provos, Loyalists, and Brits. Film. Directed by Peter Taylor. London: BBC, 1997.