Outline of the Troubles

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Troubles.

The Troubles – historical ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

Main articles

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Paramilitaries

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Laws in both the Republic of Ireland and the UK proscribe (ban) membership of a number of Irish republican and Ulster loyalist groups. Several other smaller paramilitary factions have appeared throughout the Troubles, and some groups have used cover-names to deflect responsibility for attacks.

In this context, operational refers to the period during which the 'official' paramilitary campaign was conducted.

Republicans

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Name Initials Operational
Saor Éire 1967–1975
Provisional Irish Republican Army PIRA 1970–2005
Official Irish Republican Army OIRA 1970–1972
Irish National Liberation Army INLA 1974–2009
Irish People's Liberation Organisation IPLO 1986–1992
Continuity Irish Republican Army CIRA 1994–
Real Irish Republican Army RIRA 1997–
Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group) ONH 2009–

Umbrella groups

Loyalists

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Name Initials Operational
Ulster Protestant Volunteers UPV 1966–1969
Ulster Volunteer Force
Red Hand Commando
UVF
RHC
1966–
1972–2007
Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Freedom Fighters
UDA
UFF
1971–
Ulster Resistance UR 1986–?
Loyalist Volunteer Force LVF 1996–2005
Orange Volunteers OV 1998–
Red Hand Defenders RHD 1998–

Umbrella groups

Cover names used by paramilitaries

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Periods of activity

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In the table below:

  • The period of activity for republican groups is shown in green.
  • The period of activity for loyalist groups is shown in orange.
  • The period of ceasefire is shown in grey.
Group Year
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
Provisional IRA
Official IRA
UVF
UDA
INLA
IPLO
Continuity IRA
Real IRA
LVF

State security forces

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United Kingdom

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Northern Ireland

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Republic of Ireland

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Political parties

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Listing includes brief summary of ideology and position on the Good Friday Agreement 1998.

Irish nationalist

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Pro-Agreement

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Anti-Agreement

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Others

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Unionist

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Pro-Agreement

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Anti-Agreement

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Other

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Political structures

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Northern Ireland government

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1921–1972

1998–

Northern Ireland legislatures

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1921–1972
The Parliament of Northern Ireland:

1972–1998

1998–

Republic of Ireland government

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United Kingdom government

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Peace process

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Co-operative bodies

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Key steps in the peace process

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Cultural and religious organisations

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Religious

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Sporting

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Politico-religious fraternal organisations

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Unionist/Protestant

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Nationalist/Catholic

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References

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  1. ^ "Interim Report on the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings" (PDF). Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights. Oireachtas. December 2003 – via Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).
  2. ^ "Workers' Party hit by fresh split in organisation". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 27 April 2021. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 March 2024.