ABSTRACT
One of the great consistencies in British policy for over a decade had been to ignore Northern Ireland, if at all possible, where no gain or political advantage or promise lurked. One of the driving purposes of any armed struggle is the aspiration to escalate, and in Northern Ireland even persistence was difficult for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) so that a truly long war without surprises seemed the most likely prospect. Most IRA operations, as is always the case underground, flickered out before a shot has been fired: the car did not turn up, the routine of the target changed, the security forces were on alert or an informer discovered. After 1922 the IRA had mostly been a secret army-in-waiting and the rare campaigns undertaken with at best the grudging toleration of Irish nationals. The IRA had a line-of-sight view and a control device constructed with a model-aircraft radio.
