Who founded the IRA?
The Irish Republican Army of 1922–1969, an anti-Treaty sub-group of the original Irish Republican Army (1919-1922), fought against the Irish Free State in the Irish Civil War, and its successors up to 1969 when the IRA split again into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA. On the outbreak of civil war in June 1922, the…
The Irish Republican Army of 1922–1969, an anti-Treaty sub-group of the original Irish Republican Army (1919-1922), fought against the Irish Free State in the Irish Civil War, and its successors up to 1969 when the IRA split again into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA.
On the outbreak of civil war in June 1922, the government of the Irish Free State issued directives to newspapers that its Army was to be called “The National Army”, and that its opponents were to be called “Irregulars” and were not to be associated with the IRA of 1919–1921. This attitude hardened as the Civil War went on, especially after the killing of Michael Collins in an ambush in August 1922.
Who founded the IRA?
In the summer of 1925, the anti-treaty IRA had sent a delegation led by Pa Murray to the Soviet Union for a personal meeting with Joseph Stalin, in the hopes of gaining Soviet finance and weaponry. The pact was originally approved by Frank Aiken, who left soon after to co-found Fianna Fáil with De Valera, before being succeeded by Andrew Cooney and Moss Twomey, who kept up the secret IRA-Soviet espionage relationship until around 1930–31.
