"'Republican movement' is a euphemism to cloak the illegality of all those proscribed IRA organisations which come under that umbrella term, such as Na Fianna Eireann, the IRA and Cumann na mBann (the women's grouping). It is not unlawful to be a republican or to express the republican aspiration that Ireland should be unified. Therefore members of those organisations which are illegal use the term 'republican movement' to mask their true affiliations." p. 24.
"The term is broadly used to define all the groupings, the IRA included, who shape and promote the republican ideal of a United Ireland, with the specification that the 'armed struggle' of the IRA is central achieving that ideal. Therefore the umbrella term 'republican movement' is politically and intrinsically linked to the IRA .. they are all part of the 'war effort'. Sinn Fein is the political cutting edge and the IRA the Sword of Damocles." Killer p. 171.

Republicanism comes directly out of Protestant and very particularly Presbyterian thinking. The majority of Catholics sided with the state and against the United Irishmen . (1798).

"The first research [by the Army in 1972] was into the Provisional IRA in the major urban centres. It showed that the Provisional gunmen were usually unemployed, working-class Catholics, some of whom would probably have been ordinary criminal if it were not for the movement .. They were mostly young, under 23, and those who survived did so because they were 'streetwise' and cunning .. The greatest single factor in their joining the Provisional IRA was a family connection .. Surprisingly little time, if any, would be spent in the serious discussion of IRA business or operations .. They bothered little with their weapons, and the average gunman was unable to strip down the weapon he used, or even deal with a jam."

"The man whom the security forces named as being the driving force behind this Republican dedication to overthrowing the established order, north and south of the border, was Gerry Adams, a former Belfast barman. He had been interned in 1971 and released the next year to take part in secret cease-fire talks with William Whitelaw. He was interned once more but released in 1976 only to be charged again two months later with membership of the Provisional IRA .. In June 1979 he gave the keynote speech at the annual pilgrimage to Wolfe Tone's grave at Bodenstown. This speech marked an important step forward in the Provisionals' plans to develop a radical, socialist policy so that, 'with an Armalite in one hand and a ballot box in the other' they could sweep the country in elections, stating: 'We stand opposed to all forms and manifestations of imperialism and capitalism. We stand for an Ireland free, united, socialist and Gaelic .. To date our most glaring weakness lies in our failure to develop revolutionary politics and to build an alternative to so-called constitutional politics' ." [Pig in the Middle]

"The IRA was militarily unprepared for the attacks on Catholic areas. Having taken the gun out of Irish politics they sold their weapons to Welsh nationalist groupings in Britain." Killer in Clowntown p.10 (1969).

"It was apparent that instead of defending Catholics [the IRA] had been too busy moving towards a Marxist philosophy designed to exploit the civil rights protests int he interests of working-class solidarity .. Those republicans who recognised the antipathy towards the IRA in August 1969 joined defence committees - with a view to resurrecting the fortunes of republicanism ..
Several members of the IRA who observed this development quickly assumed important roles within the defence organisations, seeing them as means of establishing a new IRA which did not necessarily possess a Marxist philosophy .. and return to its basic policy of physical-force politics .. The Catholic Church seemed prepared to offer tacit support to this new breed of republican formed from the romantic nationalist tradition. Both the church and the Southern Irish Government were frightened by the leftward shift in IRA politics in the 1960s and were keen to see this new grouping emerge within the defence organisations." Killer in Clowntown p. 12.

"The concept of armed struggle in defence of Catholics, and to achieve the right to political self-determination, was taught as a morally sustainable doctrine. .. The Church, compromised by its past, encouraged the growth of the new IRA. Some priests even provided the Provisionals with assistance and transportation. Killer in Clowntown p. 21."

"The word 'sympathiser' has several connotations: people who vocally support the IRA; people who raise funds; who procure arms; who secretly assist the IRA by providing a safe haven for wanted terrorists."

"High-ranking PIRA member: "In South Armagh [the IRA] do their own thing .. They don't concern themselves with the niceties of politics or propaganda." Dirty War p. 167.

The people of west Belfast's attitude to the IRA ceasefire was similar to that in the Republic after the 1994 World Cup. They didn't win anything, but they still took to the streets.

"One expert in Irish policing estimates that the IRA possesses enough Libyan-supplied material for a campaign lasting twenty years. It is buried in underground concrete bunkers, covered with six feet of topsoil. The concrete is one foot thick, with no manhole entry'. It's just complete concrete and they have no intention of touching those arms for years and years: they see it as a long term war, a war of attrition.' As well as Semtex, the sealed concrete vaults hold Kalashnikov rifles, rockets, rocket launchers, hand grenades and hand guns. In 1992 Ireland's Garda mounted a search-and-find campaign codenamed Operation Silo. The 150 tons of ordnance recovered were estimated to be only twenty per cent of what is stored on both sides of the Irish border." (The Octopus)