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THE IRISH GROUPS
Who's who in Northern Ireland
By Kathleen Hennrikus, Globe Staff
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Primarily Catholic groups
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Primarily Protestant groups
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Nationalists
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Want Northern
Ireland to become part of the
Republic of Ireland.
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Republicans
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Nationalists
who are not reluctant to use
violence to bring about a united
Ireland.
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Unionists
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Want Northern
Ireland to remain part of the
United Kingdom.
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Loyalists
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Unionists who are
not reluctant to use violence to
preserve the union with Britain.
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Irish Republican Army (IRA)
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Paramilitary group whose
central aim is to end British control
of Northern Ireland and to
achieve the reuni. cation of the
island of Ireland.
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The Provisional IRA
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Established when the IRA split in
December 1969. Developed from
a small splinter into a large, well-financed, well-equipped guerrilla
organization involved in what it
calls an "armed campaign" for
almost three decades.
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The Real IRA
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Paramilitary
group formed November 1997
from IRA members opposed to
the peace process. Responsible
for the bomb in Omagh in August
1998 that killed 29 and injured
hundreds, the single worst attack
in the current conflict.
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Sinn Fein
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The official political
party allied with the IRA. Has
refused to condemn the IRA's
use of force, but has on occasion
said it regretted the loss of innocent
life. SF has 18 seats (17%) in
the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP)
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The largest
of the Nationalists. Wants to
see the reunification of Ireland
by agreement. Holds 24 seats
in the Northern Ireland Assembly
(22%). Support comes
from middle- and working-class
Catholics.
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Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
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The second largest
Unionist political party with
24 seats (22%) in the Assembly.
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Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) aka Ulster Defense Association (UDA)
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The UDA was and remains, the
largest loyalist paramilitary
group in Northern Ireland. Its
current strength is probably several
hundred with a few dozen
being "active" forces.
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Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
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Loyalist paramilitary
group. Membership of the UVF is
estimated up to several hundred,
with a smaller number "active"
forces.
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Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)
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The largest Unionist political
party has 28 seats (26%)
of seats in the Assembly.
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Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
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(formerly
the Royal Ulster Constabulary - RUC) The Northern Ireland
police force. During the 1990s
approximately 93% of of. cers
were Protestant. Following the
signing of the Good Friday agreement
in 1998 the Patten Commission
was established to make
recommendations on the future
of the RUC.
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