Are sinn fain and the IRA the same thing?

Question

I always thought so but some here dont seem to think so.

Answer 1

Sinn Fein are the political wing of the Republican movement although from what I can see most Sinn Fein members do not condemn and indeed support and approve of the IRA civillian murder campaigns.

I guess its like the BNP. They may be politicians but most of them are former thugs or thugs at heart.

Answer 2

The IRA are the Military wing of Sinn Fein.

Answer 3

I thought the sinn fain was the political arm of the IRA.

Answer 4

They are the same. The IRA men take their balaklavas off and put on suits to become Sinn Fein.

Answer 5

They would say no but sinn fein was the political voice for the IRA.

Answer 6

I live in N. Ireland.

Yes, they're the same. The IRA is the armed wing of Sinn Fein. Like thee army is the armed wing of the government. Same thing.

Answer 7

No, and you are an ignoramus, mate, as you can not even spell Sinn Féin!

The RA is no more. Sinn Féin is our political wing.

I am from Derry and have only ever been involved with politics.

EDIT: I, and my comrades, have never been 'thugs' or 'thugs at heart', ffs.

Answer 8

They are different though linked.


Sinn Féin (pronounced /ˌʃɪnˈfeɪn/ in English, IPA: [ʃiːɲ
fʲeːnʲ] in Irish) is a name used by a series of Irish political movements of the 20th century, each of which claimed sole descent from the original party established by Arthur Griffith in 1905. The name means "ourselves" or "we ourselves", [2] though it has often been incorrectly translated as "ourselves alone" or "we alone" (see Sinn Féin (19th century)). The name originally came from a newspaper that was printed as a local paper in Oldcastle, County Meath. Arthur Griffith asked the publishers if he could use the name of their paper for a new political party that he was setting up and they gave him permission to use the paper's name.

In modern politics, the name almost always refers to the political party dedicated to Irish Republicanism that is often seen as the political front of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The party emerged from a 1970 fissure in the Irish republican movement. Its current leader is Gerry Adams, a controversial figure in Irish politics. Sinn Féin’s most notable feature is its Irish Nationalism, but it is also a left-wing organization, espousing socialist views with support for greatly increased public spending on the poor, as well as universal healthcare.

It is established in both the Republic of Ireland (with four seats out of 166 in Dáil Éireann and one seat in Seanad Éireann) and Northern Ireland (with 28 seats out of 108, the largest Irish nationalist party in the Northern Ireland Assembly). Having been in opposition to the previous governments of the Republic of Ireland, the party have already declared they will not support the new Fianna Fáil/PD/Green Party cabinet that has been formed[3].

The party also holds the majority of Irish nationalist Westminster Members of Parliament with 5 seats (out of 646), although these members practise abstentionism.


The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the 'RA.[2]) is an Irish Republican, left wing[3] paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom and bring about a United Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion. Since its emergence in 1969, its stated aim has been the overthrow of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their replacement by a sovereign socialist all-island Irish state.[4] The organisation is classified as an illegal terrorist group in the United Kingdom[5] and as an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland.[6]

The IRA sees itself as a direct continuation of the Irish Republican Army (the army of the Irish Republic — 1919–1921) that fought in the Irish War of Independence. Like all other organisations calling themselves the IRA (see List of IRAs), the Provisionals refer to themselves in public announcements and internal discussions as Óglaigh na hÉireann ("The Irish Volunteers"), which is also the Irish language title of the Irish Defence Forces (the Irish army).

On 28 July 2005, the IRA Army Council announced an end to its armed campaign, stating that it would work to achieve its aims using "purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means" and that IRA "Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever".[7]

An internal British Army document released in 2007 stated an expert opinion that the British Army had failed to defeat the IRA by force of arms but also claims to have 'shown the IRA that it could not achieve its ends through violence'. The military assessment describes the IRA as 'professional, dedicated, highly skilled and resilient'.[8]

Answer 9

They are ALL terrorist scum.
There is NO difference.