What is the history of IRA?
Irish Republican Army (IRA), Republican paramilitary organization, founded in 1919, seeking the establishment of a republic, the end of British rule in Northern Ireland, and the reunification of Ireland. The IRA used armed force to achieve the same objectives as Sinn Féin, though the two operated independently. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an .This new entity was named the New IRA by the media but members continue to identify themselves as simply the Irish Republican Army. Small pockets of the Real IRA that did not merge with the New IRA continue to have a presence in the Republic of Ireland, particularly in Cork and to a lesser extent in Dublin.