Border campaign (Irish Republican Army) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Border campaign(Operation Harvest) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Irish Republican Army |
|||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| IRA Army Council Seán Cronin Ruairí Ó Brádaigh |
 Insp.-Gen. Sir Richard Pim Insp.-Gen. Sir Albert Kennedy (from 1961) |
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~About 200 Volunteers |
 12,500+ |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8 IRA members killed, 4 civilians killed Over 400 republicans held without trial in Northern Ireland, about 150 in Republic of Ireland |
6 RUC police officers killed, 32 wounded |
||||||
The Border Campaign (12 December 1956 – 26 February 1962) was a series of attacks by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). This campaign was also known as Operation Harvest. The IRA aimed to end British rule in Northern Ireland and create a united Ireland. They used guerrilla warfare tactics, which means small groups of fighters used surprise attacks.
This campaign was not successful in its main goals. However, some members felt it was important because it kept the IRA active for another generation.
Contents
Why the Campaign Started
The Border Campaign was the first major military action by the IRA since the 1940s. Back then, strong security measures by both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland governments had made the IRA much weaker.
In the 1930s and 40s, the IRA had tried other campaigns. For example, in 1939-40, they set off bombs in England. They wanted to force Britain to leave Northern Ireland. These actions caused deaths and injuries. From 1942 to 1944, they also tried a campaign in Northern Ireland, but it didn't work well. Many IRA members were held without trial, which almost destroyed the group. These earlier campaigns officially ended in 1945.
The IRA believed that both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) were not proper states. They thought these states were created by Britain in 1922. However, in 1948, the IRA decided not to attack forces in the Republic of Ireland. This meant they mostly accepted the Republic of Ireland as a state.
From then on, the IRA focused its armed actions only on Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom and was mostly controlled by unionists, who were mainly Protestant. The idea of attacking Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland became more popular within the IRA in the 1950s.
The IRA wanted to create a "new Army" that was strong and organized. They also started to work more closely with Sinn Féin, a political party. IRA members were told to join Sinn Féin, which became like the political side of the IRA.
Getting Weapons Again
By the mid-1950s, the IRA had gathered many more weapons. They did this by raiding British military bases in Northern Ireland and England.
- In 1954, they took many rifles and machine guns from Gough Barracks in Armagh.
- In 1953, they raided a school in Essex, England, and took many weapons. However, the police found the stolen weapons a few hours later.
By 1955, some smaller groups within the IRA became impatient. They started their own attacks in Northern Ireland. For example, one group attacked a police station in Roslea in 1955. One police officer was badly hurt, and a republican fighter was killed. Later, some IRA members burned down customs posts on the border.
In November 1956, the IRA finally started its own Border Campaign. They were partly motivated to prevent more groups from breaking away. They were also encouraged by the 1955 UK general election results. In that election, Sinn Féin candidates won seats in Northern Ireland. This seemed to show that many people in Northern Ireland supported Irish republicans.
Planning the Campaign
The plan for the Border Campaign was called "Operation Harvest." It was designed by Seán Cronin. The plan involved using small groups of fighters called flying columns. These groups, each with about 50 men, would operate from the Republic of Ireland. They would attack military targets and important buildings in Northern Ireland.
The IRA also sent about twenty organizers into Northern Ireland. Their job was to train new groups, gather information, and report back to the leaders in Dublin.
An IRA document explained the goal of the campaign. It said they wanted to "break down the enemy’s administration" until they were forced to leave. They planned to use guerrilla warfare and spread their message to the people. They hoped to free large areas where the British government would no longer have control.
The plan did not include attacks in Belfast, the biggest city in Northern Ireland. This was partly because the IRA unit there was disorganized. Also, they didn't want to cause attacks by loyalists against the Catholic population in Belfast. Such attacks had happened before, during the Irish War of Independence.
The Campaign in Action
1956: The Start
The campaign began on 12 December 1956 with attacks by about 150 IRA members. These attacks happened at the same time along the border.
- A BBC radio transmitter was bombed in Derry.
- A courthouse was burned in Magherafelt.
- A police post near Newry was attacked.
- A half-built Army barracks in Enniskillen was blown up.
- An attack on Gough Barracks in Armagh was stopped after a short gunfight.
The IRA announced the start of the campaign. They said they were fighting for a "new Ireland" that would be "independent, united, democratic." They promised to fight until the "invader is driven from our soil." Even though the Catholic Church officially spoke against the IRA, many units received blessings before their operations.
On 14 December, an IRA group attacked the Lisnaskea police station with bombs and gunfire. Other attacks on police barracks in Derrylin and Roslea were fought off.
On 21 December, the Northern Ireland government reacted strongly. They used a special law to hold hundreds of suspected republicans without trial. This made it very hard for the IRA to build up its groups within Northern Ireland.
On 30 December, an IRA group attacked the Derrylin police station again. During this attack, police officer John Scally was killed. He was the first person to die in the campaign.
1957: The Most Active Year
The year 1957 saw the most activity from the IRA, with 341 incidents.
The most famous attack happened on 1 January. 14 IRA volunteers attacked a police barracks in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh. During the attack, Fergal O'Hanlon and Seán South were badly wounded and died while trying to escape. The rest of the group was chased back across the border by police and British soldiers.
The funerals of South and O’Hanlon in the Republic of Ireland caused strong emotions among the public. Many people still see them as heroes. Up to 50,000 people attended their funerals.
Soon after, the Republic of Ireland's government became worried. They feared the IRA's actions would cause problems with Britain. So, they used a law to arrest most of the IRA's leaders, including Seán Cronin.
A new government in the Republic of Ireland, led by Éamon de Valera, was even tougher on the IRA. In July 1957, after a police officer was killed, de Valera started holding IRA suspects without trial. This policy, used on both sides of the border, made it very difficult for the IRA to continue their campaign. Most of their leaders were in prison.
On 11 November, the IRA suffered its worst loss of life during this time. Four of its members died when a bomb exploded too early in a farmhouse in Edentubber, County Louth. The owner of the house also died. These individuals are remembered by republicans as the "Edentubber Martyrs."
1958-1960: Slowing Down
By 1958, the campaign had lost most of its energy. Some of the IRA's actions made the public unhappy. Many within the IRA wanted to stop the campaign. By mid-1958, about 500 republicans were in jail or held without trial in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Because the activity decreased, the Republic of Ireland's government felt confident enough to end holding people without trial in March 1959. Some of the released leaders decided to continue the campaign, but the number of incidents dropped sharply in 1960. Many actions were minor acts of damage, like making holes in roads.
In the summer of 1960, two IRA men were killed in gunfights with the police on the border in County Fermanagh.
The campaign had clearly weakened by 1960. The Republic of Ireland's government closed the camp where they held prisoners in March 1959. The Northern Ireland government did the same in April 1961.
1961: The Final Year
In November 1961, a police officer named William Hunter was killed in a gunfight with the IRA in south County Armagh. This was the last death of the conflict. The Minister for Justice in the Republic of Ireland brought back a special court. This court gave long prison sentences to IRA members who were found guilty.
End of the Campaign
By late 1961, the campaign was mostly over. It had resulted in the deaths of eight IRA members, four people who supported them, and six police officers. Also, 32 police officers were injured. A total of 256 republicans were held without trial in Northern Ireland, and about 150 in the Republic.
The campaign officially ended on 26 February 1962. The IRA Army Council released a statement. It said they were stopping the campaign of resistance against British rule. They said all weapons had been hidden, and all full-time fighters had been pulled back.
The statement also mentioned that the public's attention had been "distracted" from the goal of a united Ireland. The IRA promised to continue its fight against British forces in Ireland. They hoped to work with other republican groups to prepare for the "final and victorious phase" of their struggle.
The statement showed that the IRA realized they had not gained much public support for their campaign, especially after a strong start in 1957.
What Happened Next
Some IRA members thought the Border Campaign was a failure. They felt it didn't get much support from the nationalist people in Northern Ireland. Even before the campaign ended, some in the IRA started thinking about other ways to achieve their goals. Many believed that the lack of support was because they didn't focus on the everyday problems of ordinary people.
The larger unionist population in Northern Ireland felt even more against Irish republicanism because of the campaign. They believed that holding people without trial had worked. However, this policy would fail when it was used again in the 1970s.
Cathal Goulding, who became the IRA Chief of Staff in 1962, tried to change the IRA. He wanted them to move away from just military actions and get involved in politics. This led to a split in the republican movement in 1969-70. This split created the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA.
The Officials wanted to become a political group, involved in both elections and street protests. The Provisionals, however, wanted to keep the movement's traditional focus on armed action. More importantly, the Provisional IRA wanted to use force to protect the Catholic community in Belfast from attacks. This was at the start of a period of conflict known as "The Troubles." The Provisional IRA also wanted to rebuild its military strength for a new armed campaign.
The Officials and Provisionals went their separate ways in 1969. The Official IRA continued some armed actions until 1972, but they called them "defensive." Fights between the two IRA groups in the 1970s caused about twenty deaths. The Provisional IRA then launched a much longer and more violent campaign, the Provisional IRA campaign 1969–1997, which led to about 1,800 deaths.
