The I. R. A. Disarms

Earlier this week the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) announced its long-delayed decision to not only lay down its guns but to actually allow for the decommissioning of all stockpiled weapons and miscellaneous armaments scattered throughout Ireland. It makes you wonder what in hell it had hidden around the country. On top of that, what was it planning on doing with it all?

I have to wonder what reactions will be like when these stockpiles are revealed. It’s long been known they have plenty of munitions, explosives, and small/ light arms but what might they have been storing up for a rainy day? A few surface to air missiles, anti-personnel mines, and any number of the newer and lighter methods of inflicting harm on your fellow human beings that are available these days.

The I.R.A. has long ceased to have any real relevance as a political force. Its brand of terrorism in the name of nationalism has always had the scent of a protection racket about it. Recent events like the murder outside of a pub of somebody who had made derogatory remarks about them only served to further tarnish their image.

I don’t think there is any coincidence concerning the timing of this announcement either. Coming as it does only weeks after the largest bombing to hit London since the I. R. A’s last wave of bombings it doesn’t take much of a genius to figure out which way the wind's blowing. They have to realize that people’s enthusiasm for their “armed struggle” has waned to almost non-existent.

The thing that has always puzzled me is how people have romanticized the I.R.A. Throughout North America they were turned into some heroic figures standing up to an invading force. Pour a few pints of bitter down somebody’s throat, sing a few sad songs about the potato famine and everybody is ready to throw money in a jar to pay for guns to kill women and children.

But when the same people talked about the Palestine Liberation Organization, or the African National Congress, they called them terrorists. The only difference being the colour of their skin and their religion. Nobody in mainstream North America ever referred to Yassar Arafat as plucky or heroic, words nearly always associated with the I.R.A. by their supporters.

Up until recently a common element of St. Patrick's Day parades would be some sort of semi-secret show of support for “the lads”. How many of those people knew or cared that St. Patrick was a British-born child of Roman parents? Or that the snakes he drove out of Ireland were the original Irish people who refused to give up their traditional way of life and surrender to the invading Christian church. Irony has never been the strong suit of the fanatical.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the recently published What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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