ABSTRACT
On 10 April 1998, the historic Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was reached between the main political parties in Northern Ireland and the British and Irish governments. The Agreement brought to an end violent conflict in the North of Ireland, which had lasted for over 30 years, during which over 3,500 people lost their lives with thousands more injured. The Provisional IRA (PIRA) campaign, which began in 1969, ended with the 1994 and 1997 ceasefires. Whilst PIRA volunteers put their weapons ‘beyond use’, violence continued from so-called dissident Irish republicans who had split from Sinn Fein or the Provisional IRA at different points in time and over various issues. Drawing on a range of literature and primary interviews with the author, this chapter examines the ideology, politics, and strategy of so-called dissident Irish republicanism.
