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3 unusual facts about Official Irish Republican Army|


Brendan Hughes

He was a cousin of Charles Hughes, who was the OC of D Company in the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade during the Falls Curfew, and was shot and killed in March 1971 by the Official Irish Republican Army during the feud between the Provisional and Official IRA.

Official Irish Republican Army

However it retained a strong presence in certain localities, notably the Lower Falls, Andersonstown, Turf Lodge and the Markets areas of Belfast, along with a big presence in Derry but particularly Free Derry in the Bogside area as well as Newry and South Down.

The Official IRA's first major confrontation with the British Army came in the Falls Curfew of July 1970, when over 3,000 British soldiers raided the Lower Falls area for arms, leading to three days of gun battles.


Timeline of the Irish Republican Army

There is a further dispute regarding the 1969 split between the "Official" IRA and the (subsequently dominant) splinter groups the Provisional IRA and Irish National Liberation Army, again despite widespread usage in practice.


see also