Irish nationalist militias step up attacks, recruitment

A member of the Real Irish Republican Army dissident group participates in a 1916 Easter rising commemoration ceremony at Creggan cemetery in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. (Associated Press)

Story Topics

• Religion_Belief
• Northern Ireland
• Irish Republican Army
• Paul Bew
• Roman Catholic Church

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LURGAN, Northern Ireland | Bursts of laughter. Young men playing pingpong. Battles of the bands.

In a Northern Ireland determined to put conflict behind it, the Links teen center bridges the divide between Catholic and Protestant teens in this struggling town, giving them something to do, an alternative to streets that offer a toxic mix of drugs and violence. It’s working, but like the peace process itself, it is under strain amid looming budget cuts.

“We’re just keeping our heads above water,” said Martin Larkham, 52, a youth work manager.

Tough times are hitting promising initiatives like Links — and causing unease about the very fate of Northern Ireland’s peace deal. As the troubled territory slogs through the worst economic downturn in decades, dissident Irish nationalist militias are getting increasingly restless — carrying out a string of violent acts including a recent bombing that injured three children.

Deep-rooted poverty and continued religious segregation of Irish nationalists and British loyalists are combining with steep budget cuts in London that lead many to fear that the hard work building bridges between Catholics and Protestants could suffer.

“[The dissidents] have gotten better,” Queen's University political science professor Paul Bew said about those launching attacks. “There could be bad events just around the corner.”

Protestants and Catholics agreed to a power-sharing government a dozen years ago, when the major Catholic and Protestant parties forged an unlikely coalition to end violence that claimed 3,600 lives over three decades.

But those opposed to the deal have increased operations since 2007. In March 2009, Irish Republican Army (IRA) dissidents shot to death two off-duty British soldiers collecting pizzas and a policeman sitting in his car.

Poverty, unemployment and continued religious segregation are fueling a recruiting drive by groups clinging to the dream of getting the British out of Northern Ireland. The dissidents are recruiting, openly it is said, among poor youths who feel the IRA sold out for a chance in power.

Even as the violence has increased, the financial support for the peace accord is being threatened by Britain’s economic squeeze. Funding from the British government already has been cut by about $606 million for this financial year, and Northern Ireland must find additional savings of $197 million.

Though authorities are reluctant to discuss the threat of increased attacks, funds earmarked to fight al Qaeda terror plots are being diverted to operations meant to quash attacks by dissidents.

During the summer, always a time of unease because marches by Protestant societies celebrating old battles stir up sectarian passions, tensions grew in places such as Lurgan, located in an area once known as the “Murder Triangle” because of the violence that marked the region.

The town southwest of Belfast — built largely on linen making — boasts a broad main street, crossed by lanes dotted with old workers’ houses and cottages. One of them, Castle Lane, is the dividing line: Roman Catholics to one side, Protestants to the other.

Community workers intentionally placed a youth center right on the line, a spot acceptable to both camps. Featuring a computer room with glistening white Apple desktops and a common room with pingpong and pool tables, the center offers an oasis from the drugs, alcohol and boredom that lure young people into trouble.

Rioting broke out in one of Lurgan’s Roman Catholic public housing developments last month. Youths threw Molotov cocktails at a passenger train, but it failed to catch fire. Earlier this month, two 12-year-olds and 2-year-old were hit by flying debris in a bomb apparently timed to go off as emergency crews responded to an earlier alarm.

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