Do you know anyone that is/was in the IRA?

ONeill2013 · 10-05-2013 09:00PM

Grayson wrote: »

I've known a few oldtimers who were in the original IRA. So was my granddad although He died just after i was born so I can't really claim to have known him except through stories that were passed down.

I've known a few people that were members of the IRA in the 80's-90's. But I have no idea how active they were. And like the ones c_man knew, they were dickheads.

It's pretty hard to find out about old family members involvement in the war of independence, it's hard enough finding a census, I'm just going by word of mouth

The True Puka · 10-05-2013 09:02PM

Here's the barstool republican version of Irish history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBT4ZWy6Lm4

Doom · 10-05-2013 09:03PM

It's like fight club, the st rule of fight club is..........;)

Gilbert Grape · 10-05-2013 09:08PM

Lando Griffin wrote: »

Great place to build a barracks in case someone didn't have enough explosives to blow it up they built it bedside an oil refinery.

That's the whole point,was to destroy the place.Below the A in the map is where the barracks used to be,east to that you can see the refinery.http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wlBay Road, Derry

johnny_knoxvile · 10-05-2013 09:35PM

I know lads in the Irish Rat Association does that count?

It's not as scary...unless you are scared of rats.

anndub · 10-05-2013 09:46PM

My grandfather was a gun runner for them back in the 1920's, during the war of independence. My great grandparents found out and sent him to boarding school and that was the end of that. He remained a staunch republican for life though and wasn't best pleased when my fathers career choice involved him working towards disbanding such organisations.

Mr Benevolent · 10-05-2013 09:47PM

Asking Boardsies if they know any terrorists... great idea.

The Queen of England · 10-05-2013 09:55PM

A guy I knew from Wexford was a IRA member. In the 90s, he was carrying a semtex bomb on a bus in London when the bomb exploded, blowing him to bits.

He was a fucking tool as were the majority of his ilk who carried out bombings back then.

I did a Google search & found an article about the "event" ; http://www.independent.co.uk/news/dead-ira-man-had-hitlist-of-bomb-targets-1305236.html

kfk · 10-05-2013 09:56PM

I'm a member of the International Reading Association. Does that count?

elefant · 10-05-2013 09:58PM

Yer man from the Da Vinci code- he's in the Ra.

Pacing Mule · 10-05-2013 09:59PM

kfk wrote: »

I'm a member of the International Reading Association. Does that count?

No it reads !

Scruffles · 10-05-2013 10:04PM

back in the day an uncle of mine was offered hitman services by one of their lot,he told him where to go.:P

Cody Pomeray · 10-05-2013 10:23PM

Quite a few locals were in the Southern Brigade of the IRA, even a local TD was a member of the Army Council up until the Good Friday Agreement, according to the Minister for Justice.

You always know the ones who were never in the IRA by their loud claims of having been in it!

With the 'genuine' IRA dying out and being romanticised, I expect it's similar to most of the population of Dublin having been in the GPO on Easter Monday...

mfceiling · 10-05-2013 10:32PM

Growing up in east tyrone i knew a few of the heads. Kept themselves to themselves but you wouldn't cross them.

One of my good mates in work his uncle was one of the original hunger strikers - this lad had connections (he used them to get out of a serious assault charge in dublin - got away with it after 2 phonecalls!!)

Foreman on a job i was on had lost both his parents in the troubles and was involved someway in something!!

St.Spodo · 10-05-2013 10:36PM

Yes, I know one person who was involved in Provisional activity, and I strongly suspect one more.

tdv123 · 10-05-2013 10:39PM

Yeah, knew a guy who got done for gun running back in the 70's.

Grayson · 10-05-2013 10:41PM

ONeill2013 wrote: »

It's pretty hard to find out about old family members involvement in the war of independence, it's hard enough finding a census, I'm just going by word of mouth

There's a load of records in the military archives. We were lucky. family members still have things like the service revolver (which was decomissioned) and medals. But there was little paper work.
We looked in the records office and some stuff was still classified. But apparently that's not unusual. There's feck loads that hasn't passed the 100 year rule yet.

BTW, the census from 100 years ago is online. I managed to find both my grand fathers in it. Although they were still teenagers in the newest one.

Cody Pomeray · 10-05-2013 11:00PM

Grayson wrote: »

There's a load of records in the military archives. We were lucky. family members still have things like the service revolver (which was decomissioned) and medals. But there was little paper work.
We looked in the records office and some stuff was still classified. But apparently that's not unusual. There's feck loads that hasn't passed the 100 year rule yet.

BTW, the census from 100 years ago is online. I managed to find both my grand fathers in it. Although they were still teenagers in the newest one.

A quick search in the national newspaper archives search engine can bring up pretty good findings too.

They listed things like Sinn Féin contributions/ subscriptions and the amounts paid, so even if someone's family member wasn't in the IRB/ SF, you can tell what their political views were.

pragmatic1 · 10-05-2013 11:14PM

Yeah I know a few ex stickies, an ex INLA man and worked with two former provos. No different to you or me, just circumstances can make people do crazy things.

Dyr · 10-05-2013 11:19PM

Grandfather was in it back in the 40s, knew him anyway

Growing up as a kid I knew men who were involved back in the 70's, looking back one of them was deffo a PTSD case. Then, as it turned out, some lads my age that I knew wound up in the provos and the reality real IRA. Possibly the continuity error bunch too.

shanered · 10-05-2013 11:29PM

My Great Grandad was in the IRA in Cork/Kerry region during the rising and the 20's.
Found some great stories by googling him that i was never told by the family, like where he found a british spy in the ranks by his tattoo and had him executed.
Link below:
http://books.google.ie/books?id=xdIMzA6emeoC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=david+mccarthy+ira&source=bl&ots=mzLiPTppQR&sig=_6OFeTgqsF8V_HZnvTO3u5z0B4M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-3ONUaTxCobJhAeV0IHABw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=david%20mccarthy%20ira&f=false
Even has my grandparents house mentioned in it.
He was also involved in the Headford Junction Ambush in 1921, and was leader of a flying column.
McCarthy, David, d. 4 Dec 1973, age: 83yr, bro/o Hannah (Commandant Kerry No1 & No 2 Brigade I.R.A), [FC]
Was very interesting to dig up these stories of grandfather on the internet.

Schnitzel Muncher · 10-05-2013 11:31PM

Who was that super grass chap again? Made a bit of a joke of the boyos?

YFlyer · 10-05-2013 11:32PM

Yeah some guy in London nicknamed Tex.

HiGlo · 10-05-2013 11:35PM

I stumbled across this thread, but it reminded me that Jim Monaghan was a lodger of my Gran's in the 70's or so and her house was monitored and raided by special branch a few times.....

uch · 10-05-2013 11:41PM

Yep

pragmatic1 · 10-05-2013 11:49PM

Schnitzel Muncher wrote: »

Who was that super grass chap again? Made a bit of a joke of the boyos?

Your auld one I think.

Schnitzel Muncher · 10-05-2013 11:51PM

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Your auld one I think.

No, some lad with an Italian name. Scarpacchio or something.

rambutman · 10-05-2013 11:52PM

One of my best friends in school from about the age of 8, his dad was never around, we hung around together every day, were in the swimming club, same class, the works, i knew him all through school up until leaving cert. In foundation year as part of a social studies class we had to all sit at the top of the class and talk about ourselves, our lives and our families. He told 30 of us at the same time for the first time ever that his dad had been in prison all along for making bombs for the IRA. It was a pretty intense and emotional experience for him.

martinedwards · 11-05-2013 12:11AM

I worked with Bobby Sands' son Gerrard.

Does that count?

Senna · 11-05-2013 01:04AM

I worked for two years with a guy who was one of the Maze escapees, only found out after I left the job, really nice quiet fella.
Then a few years ago I worked at a "Maze Escape Reunion", Gerry Kelly got up to recount what happened on that night in-front of 300 people, the callousness of his language would send shivers down your spine "so there was a dead screw lying there (James Ferris)", "that screw was stabbed a pile of times" etc etc joking about people in the audience who had been involved in beating and stabbing the prison officers.

Do you know anyone that is/was in the IRA?

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