British Military Intelligence During the Troubles (1969-1984)

     The Provisional Irish Republican Army was formed in 1969 as a paramilitary group to combat British soldiers and Protestant paramilitaries, eventually hoping to unite with the Republic of Ireland. As a group, the PIRA ( subsequently shortened to IRA) that the British Army first faced in 1969 was immature; it had split with the Official IRA that year over differing political ideologies and visions for a united Ireland. Originally formed as a Republican Catholic defense organization against Loyalist Protestant paramilitaries like the Ulster Defense Regiment and Ulster Volunteer Force, the Provos found their mission expanded after it decided that the best way to expedite change in the North would be through a war of attrition against the British Army.   Despite being in its infancy, it was well-organized and separated into three battalions, each operating regional brigades. Additionally, the Provisional IRA was well armed, importing increasingly sophisticated weaponry from Libya and the United States over the course of the conflict. At the time of their disarmament in 2005, the IRA relinquished their arsenal, which contained over 1,000 automatic rifles, two tons of Semtex, 20-30 heavy machine guns, seven surface-to-air missiles, seven flamethrowers, 1,200 detonators, and 11 rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The IRA drew its greatest strength, however, from rural Catholics in Ulster and especially the Belfast Catholic working class. It was an organization of both men and women united in a zealous ultranationalist cause motivated by shared religious and political interests. Most importantly, the members of the IRA knew the land in which they worked and stuck close to the safe havens of their clannish Republican neighborhoods.