Talk:Irish Republicanism in Northern Ireland/Rewrite

 Currently massive work in progress for the rewrite of this article 

The term Irish republicanism is used in Northern Ireland to refer to the more transigent and potentially violent strands of Irish nationalism. It has become associated with groups such as Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army, as distinct from moderate nationalism exemplified by groups such as the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

Republican political parties
Below is a list of political parties associated with Irish republicanism in Northern Ireland:

Sinn Féin
Irish for ourselves, Sinn Féin was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith and Bulmer Hobson. It originally sought for Ireland to become an equal partner with the rest of the United Kingdom as a dual monarchy, however after the Easter Rising of 1916 (of which it didn't take part) it became the new face of militant nationalism.

In the General Election of 1918, the last national election to take place spanning the entirety of Ireland, Sinn Féin won 73 out of the 105 Irish seats. This success has always appealed to republicans in continuing their fight for independance despite only taking less than 48% of the vote - constituencies with no opposing candiate were excluded from this count.

In 1921 Ireland was partition by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, creating the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin rejected all the institutions set up by the act and recognised only the second Dáil (elected in May 1921) as the sole legitimate government of the Irish Republic that was declared in 1916. Despite this they still participated in Northern Irish and Irish Free State elections, however fared better in the Free State than in Northern Ireland where the Nationalist Party had the majority of nationalist support.

In 1926 Sinn Féin split with Eamon de Valera and his supporters walking out to form Fianna Fáil, which took away most of Sinn Féins national and international support as well as funds. After this the party became irrelevant and lacking money, they could not contend elections. In the 1940s a High Court judge would rule in the Sinn Féin Funds Case that it was not the direct successor of the Sinn Féin of 1917.

After the Second World War, Sinn Féin re-established official links with the IRA, who realised they needed a political front to mobilise public support. In the UK General Election of 1955, Sinn Féin won two seats in Northern Ireland: Mid-Ulster and Fermanagh and South Tyrone, with a total of 152,310 votes (0.57% of the total vote). As the mainstream Nationalist Party didn't field any candidates in the election, nationalists simply voted for Sinn Féin in their place.

During the 1960s the party moved more and more to the left of politics becoming increasingly involved in social issues. This would increase tensions within the party between its socialist members who sought to enter the Dáil and the militarists who believed in the armed struggle. The mounting violence in Northern Ireland such as the 1969 Northern Ireland riots would further bring tensions to the boil.

On 11 January 1970 at the party's Ard Fheis, a proposal was put forward to end abstentionism and to take seats, if elected, in the Dáil, the Northern Ireland Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A similar motion had been adopted by an IRA convention the previous month, which resulted in the split of the group into the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. The proposal was defeated however the party Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy. This led to Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and other members walking out from the meeting and later pledging allegiance to the Provisional IRA Army Council and forming Provisional Sinn Féin. The rest of the party that voted for an end to abstentionism became known as Official Sinn Féin, which in 1977 changed its name to the Workers' Party.

Provisional Sinn Féin kept to its objectives of abstentionism and functioned mainly as a propaganda machine for the Provisional IRA. In 1974, the Secretary of State, Merlyn Rees, legalised Sinn Féin. By the late 1970's Sinn Féin was losing popular support and republicans started to realise that the military conflict could not be won. Advocates for a greater involvement in politics included Gerry Adams.

The Sinn Féin publicity machine helped IRA hunger-striker Bobby Sands to be elected as the Memeber of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. After his death, his election agent held onto the seat in the resulting by-election with an increased vote. Sinn Féin, convinced they could generate support, once more turned to abstentionist politics by standing candidates in elections however abstaining from attending Westminster.

The 1981 Ard Fheis saw the origin of what became known as the armalite and ballot box strategy. In 1983 Ó Brádaigh stepped down as leader, to be replaced by Gerry Adams, under which Sinn Féin became more fully-involved in politics.

The increased political involvement saw Alex Maskey elected to Belfast City Council in 1983, the first Sinn Féin member to sit on that body. Sinn Féin would also poll over 100,000 votes in the Westminster elections that year, with Gerry Adams being elected as MP for West Belfast, previously held by the SDLP. By 1985 it held fifty-nine seats on seventeen of the twnety-six Northern Ireland councils, including secon of Belfast City Council.

In 1986 Sinn Féin decided to accept the Dáil, and an IRA Convention indicated its support for elected Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) taking their seats in the Dáil. Ó Brádaigh would walk away with twenty other delegates and form Republican Sinn Féin and its military wing; the Continuity Army Council, more commonly known as the Continuity IRA.

Republican paramilitary groups
Below is a list of republican paramilitary groups that operate or have operated in Northern Ireland.

Minor republican paramilitary groups

 * Óglaigh na hÉireann meaning "warriors of Ireland" is the title taken by a small republican paramilitary group based around the Strabane area. It split from the Continuity Irish Republican Army in 2005.
 * Saoirse na hÉireann meaning "freedom of Ireland" is the title taken by a small republican paramilitary group formed from a split in the Continuity IRA in 2005. Its existence has been denied by Richard Walsh, a member of the Ard Chomhairle of Republican Sinn Féin.
 * Cumann na mBan

Republican paramilitary campaigns

 * 1) 1939-1941 Sabotage Campaign (IRA)
 * 2) 1942-1944 Northern Campaign (IRA)
 * 3) 1956-1962 Border Campaign (IRA)
 * 4) 1969-97 Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997 during The Troubles
 * 5) 1998-present Real Irish Republican Army, Continuity Irish Republican Army