The IRA is a Marxist organization who’s goal also includes the overthrough of the government in the south. This was told to me in writing by an IRA terrorist (and murderer) named Joe Doherty in 1987 and was also printed on IRA materials.
“Also, how do you counter the argument that the provisional IRA is the same as the 1776 American colonists? “
I must have forgotten the chapter on the American Revolution where the rebels left package bombs in tightly populated public places where they could explode and do the most damage.
Or where kneecapping was a accepted means of dealing with colonists who dealt with the Tories.
As a Catholic who is part Irish I say without any hesitation that the provisional IRA are murdering, terrorist bastards who shame the name of civilization.
A good place to start would be to look up incidents of IRA sponsored terrorism. I am sure a lot of the information is available for public perusal.
The Provos killed kids - did Washington?
I’m no expert, but she might want to research and see what kind of government the IRA wanted to set up if they were successful in breaking free of British rule. If they wanted a self-governing republic that protected the individual rights of its citizens, that would be similar to the goal of the American colonists. If, however, they wanted to be a state whose loyalty was to the USSR, then they were simply trying to force a switch in allegiance from one foreign ruler to another. She’ll need to find out their stated goals.
It may have had some legitimacy in the days of Michael Collins, but after he was killed (by a fellow IRA member angry over his willingness to deal with the Brits) it became a full-blown terrorist outfit. They got in bed with whoever England’s enemies happened to be at a given time, accepting aid from the Nazis in WWII and the Soviets during the cold war.
“Also, how do you counter the argument that the provisional IRA is the same as the 1776 American colonists?”
Who elected the IRA to anything? Are they duly constituted by anyone to represent the people of Northern Ireland? No, they’re a volunteer terrorist gang. Your daughter should focus on the history of the Provos (Provisional IRA). They’re basically an unrepresentative group that believes in violence to achieve their objectives.
Actually, you are comparing them to the wrong period of US History. The right comparison would be the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s if the democrats got their way.
“The Troubles” began when the local Catholics wanted equal treatment under the law. And they followed in the non-violent tradition of MLK and Ghandi and the Protestants responded by slaughtering Catholic Women and Children. Now apparetnly, most freepers seem willing to let the government kill their wives and children, Irish Catholics on the other hand thought that these deeds shouldn’t go unpunished. And like men, fought back.
The Catholics never wanted this fight, the Protestants kept the bloodshed going on for 30 years. And the evidence is the voting for the Good Friday accords, 95% of the Catholics in the Republic voted for it, 90% of the Catholics in the north voted for it. Yet in Northern Ireland, less than 50% of the Protestants voted for peace.