Just because he is quiet doesn't mean he's behaving.

Considering the history of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and of Libya, it is very probable that the IRA has continued to maintain contact with Libyan sponsors. The IRA has always been an organization which participates in guerilla warfare, buying weapons secretly, and relying on outside funding for its support. Although the IRA claimed in 2005 that it was ending its armed campaign, if it rescinds this claim it would not be the first time.[1] Its violent activity waxes and wanes, but the IRA has existed for nearly one hundred years. The main reasons for its advent have not disappeared, so it is unlikely that the IRA will disband anytime soon. As long as the IRA exists, it will continue to rely on secretive financing and guerilla warfare to achieve its goals.

The IRA formed as a nationalist group in favor of a united Ireland independent from the United Kingdom. It is not a national army and received no governmental support. As a result, the IRA has had to rely on whatever strategies inflict the maximum casualties, provide the most media coverage, and provoke the greatest reaction from the enemy. In 1919, the IRA’s Director of Intelligence organized a unit he called “The Squad”, the purpose of which was to serve as a group of assassins who would kill police involved in the effort to uncover information about the IRA.[2] Additionally, since the Irish Republican army could not adequately wage conventional warfare, it was reorganized into “flying columns”[3] which were guerilla style units with bases hidden in remote mountainous areas. Even after successive reorganizations in 1920-1921, the IRA maintained its guerilla strategy. By 1921, there were less than 3,000 guerilla fighters left in the IRA. By 1922, their training and recruiting efforts allowed the IRA’s membership to swell to approximately 72,000 men.[4] The IRA may temporarily decline in strength, but like weeds in a garden, it always comes back.

In 2005, the IRA issued a statement declaring its commitment to disarm. It ordered its units to dump their weapons and outlined the IRA’s pledge to pursue a peaceful solution. However, the document clearly states that the IRA remains dedicated to a united, independent Ireland. This is not the first time the IRA has declared a cease-fire. However, it is the first time the IRA has agreed to disarmament.[5] What is the difference in disarmament and a cease-fire? That is left to interpretation. Does the IRA mean that it is permanently disarming, or is it just disarming for the moment? There are many other instances in which the IRA has insisted on a peaceful cease-fire. In 1994, Sinn Fein began talks with the British after the IRA declared a cease-fire. However, it did not take long for the IRA to begin its campaign of terrorist bombings again. Unless there is a fundamental change in the attitude of the British loyalists in Northern Ireland, there will still be reason for the IRA to exist. According to the postings about this topic at http://www.politics.ie/viewtopic.php?topic=16850, the tension between the loyalists and the republicans has not diminished.[6] It seems that the bitterness, hatred, and separation between the two groups is still strong.

Libya is an oil-rich nation, and its leader, Moammar Qadafi, is bitter toward the West. Anything he can do as revenge for the bombing of Tripoli, he will. The planes the United States used in the bombing were launched from Great Britain. As a result, he has a great deal of animosity toward the British, a common sentiment of the IRA By remaining anonymous, but waging war by proxy, Qadafi is able to continue to avenge himself without suffering the consequences of openly declaring war. [7]

Qadafi has, in the past, provided monetary support as well as weapons and training. A ship en route from Libya was captured by police in Waterford Bay in 1973. It was carrying five tons of arms. This was the first of many such interceptions. As recently as 1987, the French intercepted another ship bound for Ireland, containing SAM missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar bombs, all bound for Ireland. In 1983, an IRA operative known only as “Cassidy” met a Libyan in the airport in Tripoli. They exchanged suitcases. Cassidy’s was empty, but the Libyan’s contained cash intended for financing the IRA. In all, estimates show that Libya gave approximately 6.75 million British pounds to the IRA over the past three decades. .[8]

With the surge in Islamic fundamentalism and its bitterness toward the West, it is likely that Qadafi’s attitude towards Britain has become more rather than less hateful. Fearing that he might suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein, it is in his best interest to remain behind the scenes in any attack on the West. Given these circumstances along with the instability of the relationship between the IRA and the loyalists, it is likely that the IRA has continued to maintain a relationship with Libya that provides each with political might.




[1] Irish Republican Army. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from: http://www.brittanica.com
[2] Chronology of the Irish War of Independence. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from: http://www.answers.com/topic/irish-republican-army
[3] Ibid.
[4] Coogan, T. (1990). Michael Collins. Dublin: Hutchinson.
[5] IRA Statement, 28 July, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2007 from: politics.ie
[6] http://www.politics.ie/viewtopic.php?topic=16850
[7] Retrieved February 8, 2007 from: http://victims.org.uk/libyanconnection.html
[8] Ibid.