Commentary

In the hopes that Britain was ready to negotiate its way out of the conflict the IRA declared another ceasefire to explore that possibility.  The IRA did this from what they believed was a position of strength and that they would finally get the long-awaited commitment of British withdrawal.  However, for the IRA this ceasefire proved disastrous.  The British used this period to essentially dismantle and defeat the IRA, while the Loyalists embarked on a ferocious campaign of sectarian violence.  In fact, the Loyalist groups “out-killed” the IRA in 1975, something they were not to do again until 1992-1993, as they once more feared a sellout by the British.  One other consequence of this truce and its failure was a reorganization of the IRA as the leadership passed from the traditional Southern leadership to a new “Northern” leadership which formulated the strategy of the “Long War.” 

Required Reading

1. Summary of 1975 Truce  at CAIN

2. The Long War - Video of the Long War on Courseweb - videos -IRA - The Long War

3. pp. 163-197 in Provos

4. pp. 142-149 in Loyalists

5. pp. 57-75 in Edwards and McGrattan

6. La Mon - video of LaMon

Recommended Reading

1.         Chapters 4 and 5 in The Secret History of the IRA – on Reserve

Study Questions

1.         Explain why the IRA felt that its time had come in 1975 when it called its truce?

2.         Explain what the unintended consequence (for the British) was when they negotiated with the IRA and set up “incident centres” in Northern Ireland.

3.         Analyze and explain what Britain’s real goals were when dealing with the IRA.

4.         How did this truce lead to the discrediting of the “Southern” leadership within the IRA?

5.         Explain the purpose of the policy of “criminalization.”

6.         Analyze and explain the doctrine of the “long war.”

7.         Explain how Sinn Fein fit into the strategy of the “Armalite and the Ballot Box.”

8.         Try to understand how the La Mon bombing fit into the “counterattack” strategy of the IRA after the failure of the 1975 truce. Understand the impact that it was to have on the Unionist/Loyalist community.

9.         Explain why Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were able to come out of Long Kesh with their hands “clean” after the failure of the truce and how that helped them to displace the “Southern Leadership.”

Terms and People to Know from this Unit

1.         Long War

2.         Criminalization

3.         Normalization

4.         Ulsterization

5.         Southern Leadership

6.         Northern leadership

7.         La Mon

8.         Kingsmill

9.         Gerry Adams

10.       Martin McGuinness