ABSTRACT
So long as the declared objective of the Provisional IRA's violent campaign was the abolition of the Protestant-dominated Northern Ireland Government, many Northern Catholics gave political or moral support. Propaganda mobilized this audience and was also directed outwards, mainly towards America and Britain, utilizing ancient myths, current allegations or revolutionary fervor according to the taste of each audience. But once Stormont had fallen, the Provisionals were unable to convince their supporters that the IRA had been wise to reject negotiations offered by the UK Government and instead to adhere to a strategy of uniting Ireland by force. Violence became an end in itself, appealing only to minority audiences held under propaganda's spell, and diminishing rather than enhancing the prospects of a united Ireland.
