A Broad Church 2: The Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1980-1989

In this fascinating sequel to the ground-breaking publication ofBroad Churchin 2019, ABroad Church 2reveals the true history of the Provisional Republican movement in the south of Ireland in the cataclysmic decade of the 1980s. This period saw a sea-change in the movement, with the political wing increasingly coming to fore of the republican struggle. This led to a rethink on the movements policy of abstentionism both within the military and political movements, culminating in the historic overturning of the policy in the Republic.

This growing politicisation supplemented the armed struggle, which saw the most significant arms importations in the IRAs history take place in the South during the mid-1980s. With the acquisition of an array of new weaponry, the IRA took on larger and more prestigious British targets. The decade also saw a return to attacking commercial targets in Britain in a concerted and systematic strategy for the first time since the mid-1970s.

Outlining the developments year by year, and the Irish states attempts to deal with the Provisional IRA,A Broad Church 2presents a comprehensive and fascinating picture of the evolution of the republican movement.