3. Paramilitarism

Abstract

The culture of paramilitarism in Ireland was undiminished by the world wars. The Ulster Volunteer Force became a founding myth for Northern Ireland with the annual Orange parades being a quasi-formal institution of the state. After the 1916 Rebellion, the Irish Volunteers evolved into the Irish Republican Army (IRA). ‘Paramilitarism’ discusses the resurgence of both loyalism and republicanism in the 1960s and the rationale behind the violence on both sides. It describes how paramilitarism became consolidated as a ‘way of life’; the 1976 Peace People marches; the IRA ‘Long War’ strategy; the hunger strikes; the impact of the Anglo-Irish Agreement; the rise of Sinn Féin; and the peace process from the paramilitary perspective.