Irish Republican Army Research Paper

I will talk about terrorism in the United Kingdom from 1969–1998. We will focus on an Irish republican paramilitary organization that called themselves the Irish Republican Army. The IRA sought to liberate Northern Ireland from the UK and to join with the Irish republic. They carried out many bombings during a period colloquially known as the Troubles. Their prime target was members of the British Army and officers of the Irish national police force. They fought a guerrilla warfare against the army and police, rarely confronting them “head on” but using surprise attacks and car bombs. The IRA was an incredibly strong and brutal paramilitary group vying for an Independent Northern Ireland who's methods were undefeatable by any conventional police …show more content…
The bombs were usually placed outside of a valuable target somewhere in the business district of London or near a military installation. The IRA’s most commonly used routine was to load the bomb/bombs into a van or truck, drive it to the target, park outside and then leave. Depending on whether the target was a military installation of not, the IRA would place a phone call to the police and tell them to evacuate the building and cordon off the area. They would not, however, give them time to defuse the bomb. One of the largest of these bombings was the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing where the IRA detonated a powerful truck bomb (VBIED) in the center of the London financial district. An hour before the bomb detonated, a phone call was made requesting the evacuation of the area. Due to the meticulous police efforts, the only civilian casualty was Ed Henty, a photographer for News of the World who ignored police warnings and ran past blockades in the search for a perfect shot. The bomb detonated a 10:27am with the equivalent force of 1200kg of TNT. The damage was estimated to have cost around £1 billion at the time, which is equivalent which is nearly $2.5 billion