res against its illegal activities, the IRA declined swiftly. Eventually outlawed by both Irish governments, it became a secret organization. It perpetrated bombing attacks in Belfast, London, and at the Ulster border during the 1950s, particularly in 1956–57, but then became quiet until the late 1960s. This shows that acts of terrorism were carried out to create a climate of fear among the British in an attempt to make northern Ireland free.(The Terrorism Reader, pg 102)In 1969 the IRA split into two groups, the majority, of the IRA were known as the officials,” wanting a united socialist Ireland but disapproving of any terrorist activities. The “provisionals,” claiming terrorism as a necessary ingredient for northern Ireland’s freedom. The “provisionals” then began a systematic terrorist campaign in Northern Ireland. In 1972 the “provisionals” extended their terrorism to England, where it culminated in the bombing in 1974 of a Birmingham pub that killed 19 people. In response the British parliament passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act, outlawing the IRA in Britain. The IRA assassinated Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1979. They unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Brighton, England. Many cease-fires were made but many were broken due to off breaks of the IRA bombing locations. Sinn Fin was involved in many talks for peace in Ireland, but it wa s impossible to stop all the attacks on the behalf of the IRA. Following the IRA's announcement of a new cease-fire in July 1997, Sinn Fin was allowed to participate in talks that convened in September of that year and resulted in an accord that provided for a new Northern Ireland Assembly comprised of Protestants and Catholics, and greater cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. The IRA is also alive today, there are many off breaks of the group but mainly it is ov...
