Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade

The South Armagh Brigade of 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...

(IRA) operated during the Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

in south County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough

Jonesborough, County Armagh

Jonesborough, known before the Plantation of Ulster as Bollanclare , is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, one kilometre from the border with County Louth in the Republic of Ireland in the Ring of Gullion. It is about 8 kilometres south of Newry. In the 2001 Census it had a...

and another around 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...

. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members, roughly half of them living south of the border. It has allegedly been commanded since the 1970s by Thomas 'Slab' Murphy

Thomas 'Slab' Murphy

Thomas "Slab" Murphy is believed to be the former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His farm straddles County Armagh and County Louth, the border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The nickname 'Slab' was inherited from Murphy's father, who was a large...

who is also alleged to be a member of the IRA's Army Council

IRA Army Council

The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...

. Compared to other brigades, the South Armagh IRA was seen as an 'independent republic' within the republican movement.

As well as paramilitary activity, the South Armagh Brigade has also been widely accused of smuggling

Smuggling

Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

across the Irish border. Between 1970 and 1997 the brigade was responsible for the deaths of 165 members of British security forces (123 British soldiers and 42 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) officers). A further 75 civilians were killed in the area during the conflict, as well as ten South Armagh Brigade members. The RUC recorded 1,255 bombs and 1,158 shootings around a radius of ten miles from the geographic center of South Armagh in the same period.

1970s

South Armagh has a long Irish republican tradition. Many men in the area served in the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army

Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army

The Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army operated in an area covering parts of counties Louth, Armagh, Monaghan, and Down. Frank Aiken was commander and Padraig Quinn was the quartermaster general. John McCoy was Adjutant General for the division; after he was shot and captured by...

during the Irish War of Independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

(1919–21) and on the republican side in the Irish Civil War

Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....

(1922–23). Men from the area also took part in IRA campaigns in the 1940 and 1950s.

At the beginning of the Northern Ireland Troubles in August 1969, rioters, led by IRA men, attacked the RUC barracks in 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 retaliation for the attacks on Catholic and nationalist areas 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...

in the Northern Ireland riots of August 1969. After the split in the IRA in that year, the South Armagh unit sided with the Provisional IRA rather than the Official IRA

Official IRA

The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

. The following August, two RUC constables were killed by a bomb in 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...

. A week later, a British soldier was killed in a firefight along the border.

However, the IRA campaign in the area did not begin in earnest until 1971. In August of that year, two South Armagh men were shot and one killed by the British Army in Belfast, having been mistaken for gunmen. This caused outrage in the South Armagh area, provided the IRA with many new recruits and created a climate where local people were prepared to tolerate the killing of security force members.

During the early 1970s, the brigade was mostly engaged in ambushes of British Army patrols. In one such ambush in August 1972, a Ferret

Ferret armoured car

The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret Scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company, Daimler...

armoured car was destroyed by a 600 lb landmine, killing one soldier. There were also frequent gun attacks on foot patrols. Travelling overland in South Armagh eventually became so dangerous that the British Army began using helicopters to transport troops and supply its bases - a practice that had to be continued until the late 1990s. According to author Toby Harnden

Toby Harnden

Toby Harnden is an Anglo-American journalist and author. He has been US editor of The Daily Telegraph since 2006.-Background:...

, the decision was taken shortly after a Saracen

Alvis Saracen

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British army. It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland.-History:...

armoured vehicle was destroyed by a culvert bomb near Crossmaglen, on 9 October 1975. Subsequently, the Army gave up the use of roads to the IRA in South Armagh.
A noted IRA commander at that time was the commanding officer of the first battalion, Captain Michael McVerry

Michael McVerry

Michael McVerry , was a Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer and Officer Commanding of the First Battalion of the Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade. He was killed in Keady in 1973....

. He was eventually killed during an attack on the RUC barracks in Keady

Keady

Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....

in November 1973. Around this time IRA engineers in South Armagh pioneered the use of home-made mortars which were relatively inaccurate but highly destructive.

In 1975 and 1976, as sectarian violence increased 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 South Armagh Republican Action Force

South Armagh Republican Action Force

The South Armagh Republican Action Force was an alleged Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from 1975 to 1977 during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Its area of activity was mainly the southern part of County Armagh. According to writers such as Ed Moloney and Richard English, it...

, allegedly a cover-name for the South Armagh Brigade, carried out two attacks against Protestants. In September 1975 they attacked an Orange lodge

Orange Institution

The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...

in Newtownhamilton

Newtownhamilton

Newtownhamilton is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Tullyvallan and the barony of Upper Fews. It is part of the Newry and Mourne District Council area...

killing five members of the lodge. Then, in January 1976, after a series of loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attacks on Catholic civilians in the border areas (including the Reavey and O'Dowd killings

Reavey and O'Dowd killings

The Reavey and O'Dowd killings took place on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Volunteers from the Ulster Volunteer Force , a loyalist paramilitary group, shot dead five Catholic civilians – two from the Reavey family and three from the O'Dowd family – in two co-ordinated attacks....

the previous day), the group shot and killed ten Protestant workmen at the "Kingsmill massacre

Kingsmill massacre

The Kingsmill massacre took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Kingsmill in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Ten Protestant men were taken from a minibus and shot dead by a group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force...

" near Bessbrook

Bessbrook

Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...

. The workers' bus was stopped and the one Catholic worker taken aside before the others were killed. In response, the British Government stated that it was dispatching the Special Air Service

Special Air Service

Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...

(SAS) to South Armagh, though the SAS had been present in the area for many years. While loyalist attacks on Catholics declined afterwards and many Protestants became more reluctant to help the UVF, the massacre caused considerable controversy in the republican movement.

By the end of the 1970s, the IRA in most of Northern Ireland had been restructured into a cell system. South Armagh, however, where the close -rural community and family connections of IRA men diminished the risk of infiltration, retained its larger "battalion" structure. On 17 February 1978 the commander of the Royal Green Jackets

Royal Green Jackets

The Royal Green Jackets was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division .-History:...

, Lieutenant Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd, was killed and two other soldiers injured when the Gazelle

Aérospatiale Gazelle

The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...

helicopter he was travelling in was attacked by an IRA unit near Jonesborough. At that moment, a gun battle was taking place on the ground between British soldiers and members of the South Armagh Brigade. The helicopter crashed while taking evasive manoeuvers during the engagement, after being fired at from the east side of Edenappa road. Corden-Lloyd subordinates had been accused of brutality against Catholic civilians in Belfast in 1971. In August 1979, a South Armagh unit killed 18 soldiers in the Warrenpoint ambush

Warrenpoint ambush

The Warrenpoint ambush or the Warrenpoint massacre was a guerrilla assault by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 27 August 1979. The IRA attacked a British Army convoy with two large bombs at Narrow Water Castle , Northern Ireland...

. This was the biggest single loss of life inflicted on the British Army in its deployment in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner

Operation Banner

Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from August 1969 to July 2007. It was initially deployed at the request of the Unionist government of Northern Ireland to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary . After the 1998 Belfast Agreement,...

).

A number of South Armagh IRA members were imprisoned by the end of the 1970s and took part in the blanket protest

Blanket protest

The blanket protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland. The republican prisoners' status as political prisoners, known as Special Category Status, had...

and dirty protest

Dirty protest

The dirty protest was part of a five year protest during the Troubles by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison and Armagh Women's Prison in Northern Ireland.-Background:Convicted paramilitary prisoners were treated as ordinary...

in pursuit of political status for IRA prisoners. Raymond McCreesh

Raymond McCreesh

Raymond Peter "Ray" McCreesh was an Irish republican hunger striker and a volunteer in the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Background:...

, a South Armagh man, was among the ten republican hunger strikers who died for this goal in the 1981 hunger strike

1981 Irish hunger strike

The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...

. The South Armagh Brigade retaliated for the deaths of the hunger strikers by killing five British soldiers with a mine that destroyed their armoured vehicle near Bessbrook

Bessbrook

Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...

1980s and 1990s

During the mid-1980s, the brigade focused its attacks on the RUC, killing 20 of its members between 1984 and 1986. Nine of these were killed in a mortar attack

1985 Newry mortar attack

The 1985 Newry mortar attack was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on a Royal Ulster Constabulary station in Corry Square, Newry, Northern Ireland. The attack killed nine RUC officers.-Background:...

on the RUC police station in Newry

Newry

Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

in February 1985. In March 1989, two senior RUC officers were killed in an ambush near Jonesborough. Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan

1989 Jonesborough Ambush

The Jonesborough ambush took place on 20 March 1989 near the Irish border outside the village of Jonesborough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Two senior Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Robert Buchanan, were shot dead in an ambush by the...

were returning from a meeting with the Garda Síochána

Garda Síochána

, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, where they had been discussing a range of issues including ways of combating IRA attacks on the cross-border rail link when they were ambushed. This incident is being investigated by the Smithwick Tribunal

Smithwick Tribunal

The Smithwick Tribunal is a judicial inquiry being held in Blackhall Place, Dublin, Ireland, into the events surrounding the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Robert Buchanan of the Royal Ulster Constabulary...

which is looking into alleged collusion

Collusion

Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...

between the IRA and the Gardaí. As the divisional commander for South Armagh, Breen was the most senior policeman to have been killed during the Troubles.

In 1986, the British Army erected ten hilltop observation post

Observation post

An observation post, temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers , or to direct artillery fire...

s in South Armagh. These bases acted as information gathering centres and also allowed the British Army to patrol South Armagh with their personnel. Between 1971 and the erection of the hilltop sites in the mid-1980s (the first in 1986), 84 members of the security forces were killed in the Crossmaglen and Forkhill

Forkhill

Forkhill or Forkill is a small village in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Ring of Gullion, near Slieve Fuad. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 366.- Name :...

areas by the IRA. After this 24 security force personnel, and Lord Justice Gibson

Maurice Gibson

Sir Maurice Gibson PC was a Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland, he was killed, along with his wife Cecily, Lady Gibson, during an attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army ....

and his wife were killed in the same areas.

South Armagh became the most heavily militarized area in Northern Ireland. In an area with a population of 23,000, the Army stationed around 3,000 troops in support of the RUC to contain an unknown number of paramilitaries.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the IRA elsewhere in Northern Ireland found that nine out of ten planned operations failed to materialize. However, the South Armagh Brigade continued to carry out varied and high-profile attacks in the same period. By 1991, the RUC acknowledged that no mobile patrols had operated in South Armagh without Army support since 1975.

On 30 December 1990, Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

member and IRA volunteer, Fergal Caraher

Fergal Caraher

Fergal Caraher was a Provisional IRA volunteer and Sinn Féin member who was killed by British military forces during an ambush in Cullyhanna, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.-Background:...

, was killed by Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

near a checkpoint in Cullyhanna

Cullyhanna

Cullyhanna is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies on the main road between Newtownhamilton and Crossmaglen. It had a population of 306 in the 2001 Census...

. His brother Michael Caraher, who was severely wounded in the shooting, later became the commander of one of the South Armagh sniper squads

South Armagh Sniper (1990-1997)

The South Armagh Sniper is the generic name given to the members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's South Armagh Brigade who conducted a sniping campaign against British security forces from 1990 to 1997....

.

These squads were responsible for killing seven soldiers and two RUC members until the Caraher team was finally caught by the Special Air Service

Special Air Service

in April 1997. The South Armagh Brigade also built the bombs that were used to wreck economic targets in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

during the nineties, specially hitting the financial district. The truck bombs were sent to England by ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

. On 22 April 1993, the South Armagh IRA unit took control of the village of Cullaville

Cullaville

Cullaville or Culloville is a small village and townland near Crossmaglen in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the southernmost settlement in the county and one of the southernmost in Northern Ireland, straddling the Irish border. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 400 people...

near the border with the Republic, for two hours, making good use of dead ground

Enfilade and defilade

Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to...

. The fact that the IRA executed the action despite the presence of a British Army watchtower nearby, caused outrage among British security forces and unionist

Unionism in Ireland

Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...

public opinion.

The South Armagh Brigade was by far the most effective IRA brigade in shooting down British helicopters during the conflict. They carried out 23 attacks on British Army helicopters during the Troubles, bringing four down on separate occasions: the Gazelle

Aérospatiale Gazelle

shot down in February 1978 near Jonesborough, a Lynx

Westland Lynx

The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...

in June 1988, while in 1994 another Lynx and an RAF Puma were shot down in March and July respectively. The shooting down of the Lynx in 1994 during a mortar attack on Crossmaglen barracks

Crossmaglen mortar attack (1994)

The 1994 Crossmaglen mortar attack was an improvised mortar attack carried out by a Provisional Irish Republican Army unit on 20 March 1994 against the British Army base at Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland...

is regarded by Toby Harnden as the most successful IRA operation against a helicopter in the course of the Troubles. A sustained machine gun attack against a helicopter was filmed by a Dublin television crew in March 1991 outside Crossmaglen Health Center. There was no reaction from British security although the RUC/Army base was just 50 yards away. The only successful IRA attack against an Army helicopter outside South Armagh was carried out by the East Tyrone Brigade near Clogher

Clogher

Clogher is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, south of Omagh. The United Kingdom Census of 2001 recorded a population of 309.-History:...

, County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

, on 11 February 1990.

Ceasefires and the peace process

The IRA ceasefire of 1994 was a blow to the South Armagh Brigade, in that it allowed the security forces to operate openly in the area without fear of attack and to build intelligence on IRA members. When the IRA resumed its campaign in 1996-97, the South Armagh IRA unit was still very active, but it also lost a number of its most skilled members, such as Mícheál Caraher, who were arrested and imprisoned just weeks before the second ceasefire.

In 1997, several members of the South Armagh Brigade, based in Jonesborough and Drumintee

Drumintee

Dromintee or Drumintee is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 364 people. It lies within the Newry and Mourne District Council area.- People :...

, following Michael McKevitt

Michael McKevitt

Michael McKevitt is an Irish republican who was convicted of directing terrorism as the leader of the paramilitary organisation, the Real IRA.-Background:...

, left the Provisional IRA because of its acceptance of the Mitchell Principles

Mitchell Principles

The Mitchell Principles were six ground rules agreed by the Irish and British governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland regarding participation in talks on the future of the region. They were named for United States Senator George Mitchell, who was heavily involved in the Northern...

of non-violence at a General Army Convention in October of that year and formed a dissident grouping, the Real IRA, which rejected the peace process. Their discontent was deepened by Sinn Féin's signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Most of the South Armagh IRA stayed within the Provisional movement, but there were reports of them aiding the dissidents throughout 1998. The Omagh bombing

Omagh bombing

The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...

of August 1998, a botched RIRA operation which killed 29 civilians, was prepared by dissident republicans in South Armagh. Thomas Murphy and the leadership of the IRA in the area have since re-asserted their control, expelling dissidents from the district under threat of death. Michael McKevitt and his wife Bernadette

Bernadette Sands McKevitt

Bernadette Sands McKevitt is an Irish republican, and a former leading member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. She lived in the mainly loyalist Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey before her family were forced out of their home to live in the mainly republican West Belfast...

were evicted from their home near Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

. IRA members in South Armagh ceased cooperating with the RIRA after the Omagh bombing.

After the Provisional IRA announced its intention to disarm and accept peaceful methods in July 2005, the British government announced a full demilitarisation plan which includes the closing of all British Army bases in South Armagh by 2007. The normalisation process, negotiated under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement in exchange for the complete decommissioning of IRA weaponry, and executed by the government according to the improving security, was one of the main goals of the republican political strategy in the region.

Since the army wind-down in 2007, security in the area is the sole responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....

.

Senior IRA figures in South Armagh, notably Thomas Murphy, are alleged to have been involved in large-scale smuggling

Smuggling

across the Irish border and money-laundering. Other alleged illegal activities involve fraud

Fraud

In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...

through embezzlement

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

of agricultural subsidies and false claims of property loss. In 2006, the British and Irish authorities mounted joint operations to clamp down on smuggling in the area and to seize Thomas Murphy's assets.

South Armagh Memorial Garden

A memorial garden was unveiled on 3 October 2010 in the village of Mullaghbawn

Mullaghbawn

Mullaghbawn or Mullaghbane is a small village and townland near Slieve Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 402...

, near Slieve Gullion

Slieve Gullion

Slieve Gullion is a mountain in the south of County Armagh in Northern Ireland. The mountain forms the core of the Ring of Gullion and stands as the highest point in the county with an elevation of 573 metres...

mountain, with the names of 24 members of the South Armagh Brigade who died from different causes over the years inscripted upon a marble monument, along a bronze statue of Irish mythological

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

hero Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...

. Martin McGuiness, then deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, gave the main oration, while Conor Murphy

Conor Murphy

Conor Terence Murphy is an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician.According to An Phoblacht, Murphy first became involved with the Irish Republican Army during the 1981 hunger strikes...

, then Minister for Regional Development

Department for Regional Development

The Department for Regional Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...

, introduced the families of the dead IRA members. The unveiling involved a large republican parade which failed to comply with the procedures of the Parades Commission

Parades Commission

The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on or banning outright any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern...

. A Police Service of Northern Ireland

Police Service of Northern Ireland

spokesman confirmed that an investigation was underway, but also stated that both Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Ministers and everyone attending the parade were unaware that “the proper paperwork hadn’t been submitted”.

1970s

1980s and 1990s

Ceasefires and the peace process

South Armagh Memorial Garden

See also