"Little Armalite", "My Little Armalite" or "Me Little Armalite" is an Irish Republican

Irish rebel music

Irish rebel music is a subgenre of Irish folk music, with much the same instrumentation, but with lyrics predominantly concerned with Irish republicanism.-History:...

 song that praises the Armalite

ArmaLite

ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...

 rifle which was used by republican paramilitaries against the British security forces in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

The song dates from the early 1970s, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 secretly imported modern weaponry, including Armalite rifles, from the United States. The Armalite can refer to a version of the AR-15

AR-15

The AR-15 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation. It is manufactured with the extensive use of aluminum alloys and synthetic materials....

 (M16) rifle made specifically by the Armalite Corporation or to the Armalite AR-18

AR-18

The AR-18 is a gas operated, selective fire assault rifle chambered for 5.56x45mm ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an improved alternative to the AR-15 design, which had just been selected by the U.S....

, a slightly later, improved, 5.56mm rifle. Both weapons have been used by the IRA in its armed campaign, however, the song originally referred to the Armalite AR-180 semi-automatic rifle

Semi-automatic rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...

 that was available to civilians in the United States at the time. (See also Provisional IRA arms importation

Provisional IRA arms importation

The Provisional Irish Republican Army began importing large quantities of weapons and ammunition into the Republic of Ireland for use in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s...

)

The song places the narrator at first in a disadvantaged position, he is beaten and insulted by a British soldier. However, when he obtains his rifle, he is able to fight back against the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary

Royal Ulster Constabulary

The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...

 (RUC), even when they are equipped with Saracen and Saladin armoured cars. Each chorus celebrates Provisional IRA ("Provo") actions and references different republican strongholds. Firstly the Falls Road and Poleglass

Poleglass

Poleglass is the name of an electoral ward of Belfast City Council and a mainly nationalist/republican housing estate on the outskirts of West Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, then the Bogside

Bogside

The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of The Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s...

 area of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

 and Bellaghy

Bellaghy

Bellaghy , is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north of Magherafelt. At the centre of the village lies the junction of three main roads leading to Magherafelt, Portglenone and Toome. It had a population of 1,063 people in the...

 in southern County Londonderry

County Londonderry

The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

 and Crossmaglen

Crossmaglen

Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh...

 in South Armagh

South Armagh

South Armagh can refer to:*The southern part of County Armagh*South Armagh *South Armagh...

.