The Irish Republican Army started in Northern Ireland to protect and fight for the rights of the catholic citizens there. Ireland was conquered in 1607 by England, this brought protestant immigrants from England and Scotland. The Protestants quickly came to be the majority of the population. In the 1920s the island was partitioned and Catholics in the north felt that they had been removed from their political heritage. The Protestants felt like they were losing out on resources and wanted to keep control of the north. Neither side was satisfied and problems continued.Over time there came to be ethnic controversy between the Catholic and Protestant groups. The Catholic people were not able to get the same jobs or housing. They were also treated badly by the police and Army. The IRA was formed by the Catholic people to protect the catholic citizens and fight for there rights The IRA was mostly a militant force that took extreme actions to make their point. Most think the actions taken by the IRA are mindless acts of violence. This is not the truth at all the violence has always been used for a purpose. The IRA has used violence as a form of propaganda to show there resistance to the British government and Military. Most violent attacks have taken place against British troops, policemen, government officials. These attacks are planned in retaliation against British actions against the Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland. On January 30th 1972 the catholic people held a march to protest against the unfair treatment they had been receiving from the British government. The government deemed the march illegal and Army troops were brought in to control it. The two groups met and a section of the crowd broke away and stormed the troops. The Paratroopers over reacted and fired on the crowd. Fourteen were killed and hundreds where wounded. This day will forever be remembered as Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday brought the catholic people togeth...
