September 25 - The IRA Officially Disarms

This Day in History: 25 September 2020

 

25 September 2005

 

15 years ago, today, the IRA officially disarmed. The removal of the group's substantial arsenal took place in secret locations in the Republic of Ireland. One Protestant and one Catholic priest, as well as officials from Finland and the United States, served as witnesses for the event. In their supply, automatic weapons, ammunition, missiles and explosives were found. Although many Northern Irish Protestants did not believe that the IRA was actually giving up all of its weapons, the disarmament represented an important step towards peace in the region. After the demilitarisation, IRA splinter groups did, however, threaten to continue the violence.

 

The IRA was originally founded in 1919 to militarily oppose British rule in Ireland. Since the 1960s, the group had operated as the military arm of Sinn Fein, the Irish nationalist party. For more than 30 years, the IRA had used terrorist tactics and assassinations to free Northern Ireland from British rule. In April 1998, a peace accord called the Good Friday Agreement was finally signed. This agreement included power-sharing among both Catholics and Protestants in government, a commitment to peace and democracy, and a pledge by paramilitary groups to decommission weapons within two years. The IRA initially refused, despite the fact a ceasefire had been put in place since 1997. This led to the peace process being stalled for almost six years.

 

Want to find out more about the IRA? Click here for more information, or here for a video that explains more about them.

BBC programmes

Some excellent programmes on BBC2 and BBC4 over the last couple of days. For historians, Fergal Keane's Story of Ireland covered Elizabeth's reign and Hugh O'Neill's rebellion with a clear Irish interpretation but one that reveals more about how the Irish were viewed in the 16th century. Last night, for the politicians there were two excellent programmes - the Highest Court in the Land about the UK Supreme Court with an interesting interview with Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court and Heath and Wilson which was a fascinating exploration of the relationship between these two prime ministers of the 1960s and 70s. All on iplayer, all worth watching - both for interest and the exams.

Barack's in town

Today marks the beginning of President Obama's state visit to the UK - only the third such visit made by an American President in the last century, although the Queen has notched up an impressive 101 state visitors during her reign.

Obama has already had a very successful tour of Ireland, where he has drunk Guiness in his ancestors' home of Moneygall (and got his car stuck on a ramp). Americana this Sunday had a very interesting report on why Presidents (and Americans in general) are so keen to celebrate their Irish ancestry, and it is well worth listening to. You can also click on this map to see how other Presidents, including Reagan, Bush and, of course, Kennedy have acknowledged their Irish roots.

There will be much talk during the UK visit about the "Special Relationship" between the US and the UK. Obama and Cameron have published an article in the Times this morning explaining that the relationship remains "essential". Not everyone would agree, and this article suggests that Obama has deliberately moved away from emphasizing the UK as a key ally in order to promote alliances elsewhere.

Here is some more information about what exactly state visits are for, and here is some footage of some previous presidential visits.

PS: Here is a super-detailed Daily Mail graphic of the Presidential Car - known as the Beast! Click on it to enlarge the picture and ">click here for further info and videos.



PPS: Here are further articles on the "Special Relationship" from the New York Times and Washington Post.

The Queen in Ireland

It is 100 years since a British monarch was in Ireland and the first time since Ireland became independent from Britain. Quite a historic occasion. The BBC have an overview of the historical significance by the articulate Alan Little and also a magazine article on the history.

STV and the Irish Election

This week's Irish elections look set to result in a coalition between Fine Gael and Labour, with Fine Gael's Enda Kenny appointed as the new Taoiseach. It is of particular interest to Nonsuch HP readers as it is an example of how the Single Transferable Vote system works on a national scale. The elections have seen the previous ruling party, Fianna Fáil, resoundingly defeated over their handling of the economic crisis. Not all the results are yet in due to the need to have several recounts within each constituency, as the votes are transferred until sufficient candidates have met their quota. You can read a good explanation of how the system works here, and get the latest statistics on the Irish Elections here, courtesy of the Irish Times.