Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) was an armed paramilitary organization active mainly from the late 1960s to 2005, advocating for the reunification of Ireland and the end of British rule in Northern Ireland. They employed guerrilla tactics, including bombings, shootings, and sabotage, targeting British security forces and symbolically significant sites. The PIRA aimed to achieve political goals through violence, claiming to fight for Catholic Irish nationalists. Their activities fueled decades of conflict known as "The Troubles," which involved widespread violence, but the group formally declared a ceasefire in 1997 and decommissioned their weapons in 2005, contributing to peace efforts.