Quiz - Northern Ireland & the IRA

Question 1

Why Protestants in Northern Ireland?

Answer 1

Scottish, English immigration
–> English wanted to relocate Scottish Presbyterians from Scotland (subdue Catholic influence and remove irritating Scottish from nearby land)
–> Presbyterians would eventually immigrate to Canada

Question 2

common American view of IRA

Answer 2

not as a terrorist group; ethnic ties led to sympathy not given to other mal-actors

Question 3

John McIntyre

Answer 3

addition to Bulger’s gang to ship weapons; 31 years old, marine mechanic, drug smuggler
–> “guy with balls enough to cross the Atlantic”
–> arrested when trying to get into his wife’s home; facing time for former drunk-driving charge, he ratted on Valhalla story

Question 4

Patrick Nee

Answer 4

IRA sympathizer; lieutenant of Whitey Bulger
–> moved to Boston from County Galway

Question 5

consociationalism

Answer 5

government decision making must include members of majority and minority parties

Question 6

Martin Galvin

Answer 6

Noraid publicity director
–> gave speech in April 1984 in Northern Ireland, praising IRA for burning a British private alive

Question 7

Ulster

Answer 7

Northern Ireland

Question 8

1921 treaty

Answer 8

created Irish Free State (23 southern counties + 3 counties in Ulster), Northern Ireland (6 counties in Ulster)
–> Northern Ireland to remain part of UK

Question 9

Unionist view

Answer 9

keep Northern Ireland in the UK

Question 10

IRA

Answer 10

Irish Republican Army; nationalist force (unite all of Ireland under independent rule)

Question 11

meaning of Valhalla

Answer 11

Norse mythology; heavenly destination for martyrs of combat

Question 12

Good Friday Agreement

Answer 12

1998; signed by parties in Northern Ireland, UK, and Ireland
–> approved by referendum in Northern Ireland and Ireland
–> established devolved system of government in Northern Ireland; created cross-border institutions

Question 13

casualties of the Troubles

Answer 13

more than 3,000 dead in Northern Ireland; roughly equivalent to 500,000 deaths in United States

Question 14

Battle of the Boyne

Answer 14

1690
William of Orange defeats King James’ forces; conquers Ireland
–> Protestant community celebrates as a holiday today (controversial)

Question 15

Three Os

Answer 15

Winter Hill Gang’s “favorite pub”

Question 16

Joe Cahill

Answer 16

founder of Provisional IRA
–> arrested in 1973 in Ireland for carrying weapons for Libyan terrorists
–> joint treasurer of IRA’s political side (Sinn Fein)
–> high rank on “Army Council”

Question 17

Noraid claims

Answer 17

–> “send money to families of political prisoners”
–> send guns? and not sending all money that was raised?

Question 18

Valhalla load

Answer 18

about $500,000 - $1.12 million in arsenal
–> 163 assault rifles; 71,000 rounds of ammunition; 1 ton of explosives; 12 bulletproof vests
–> items obtained from other sympathetic cities: 25 machine guns from Philadelphia, 12 shotguns from NY

Question 19

September 1984

Answer 19

Valhalla: boat used to transport weapons
–> core gang + new members (including John McIntyre)
–> 6 vans transported weapons to dock in Gloucester
–> weapons transferred to Irish boat, which was intercepted off the Irish coast (British mole in IRA)

Question 20

support for IRA in Boston

Answer 20

IRA murals; “passing the hat” to raise money for families of IRA prisoners
–> “freedom fighters as much as gangsters”

Question 21

1912

Answer 21

UK government prepared to give all of Ireland home rule; Protestants rejected this

Question 22

John McIntyre: murder

Answer 22

John Connolly (FBI handler of Bulger) tipped off Bulger that McIntyre had snitched
–> McIntyre lured to Nee’s brother’s house; dragged to basement, chained to a chair and interrogated
–> asked “do you want one in the head?”; said yes
–> teeth extracted; body found 16 years later, in a 5-foot hole in the ground

Question 23

Michael Flannery

Answer 23

founder of Noraid; arrested 1981 on charges of conspiring to ship arms to IRA (20-mm cannon, 47 machine guns, flamethrower, numerous rifles)
–> claimed CIA had led him to believe he was in an underground operation

Question 24

Why a separated Ireland?

Answer 24

always an Irish nationalist movement, though at some points more powerful than others
–> political, artistic, literary, social…paramilitary

Question 25

Edward Carson

Answer 25

leader of Protestants contrary to home rule
–> successful at delaying movement until 1914, when WWI breaks out; reorganizes his illegal Protestant militias (armed by Germany) to help UK’s army, becoming 36th Ulster Division
–> organized hundreds of thousands to sign a covenant against home rule

Question 26

Noraid

Answer 26

“Northern Aid Committee”; Irish republican charity in US
–> received money from Winter Hill Gang’s bookkeepers
–> convicted in 1981 of violating Foreign Agents Registration Act (not admitting connections to IRA)

Question 27

“The Troubles”

Answer 27

violent unrest, 1960s-1990s
–> 1968: riots in Londonderry
–> 1969: riots in Londonderry, Belfast
–> British troops called to restore order, failed; Protestant and IRA paramilitary groups organized bombings, terrorist acts

Question 28

Rep. Mario Biaggi

Answer 28

Congressional representative for the Bronx region where Noraid was headquartered; founder and chairman of Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs
–> proposed bills to demand British withdrawal as conditions for economic aid to Northern Ireland
–> supposedly educated by Sinn Fein representatives

Question 29

“The Bucket of Blood”

Answer 29

meeting between Joe Cahill and Whitey Bulger
–> Cahill (snuck into US through Canada after being banned for a 1940s murder in Belfast) urged Bulger for help
–> sent 30 rifles, 25 pistols, 10 blocks of C-4 explosives, 2,500 rounds of ammunition under false floor of a Dodge van

Question 30

Irish immigration to US

Answer 30

approx. 25% of entire Irish population either immigrated or died during potato famine
–> Liverpool, England (closest point of contact)
–> Boston, Mass. (cheapest fares); settled in “Southie”, similar to North End for Italians or Beacon Hill for Protestants

Question 31

soft border

Answer 31

ease of movement; unification would occur based on a vote, if ever applicable
–> BREXIT challenged institutions of soft border, economic relationships between Northern Ireland and the Republic

Question 32

raising money for IRA

Answer 32

–> passing the hat
–> Irish immigrants
–> “skimming”
–> protection, shake-down, endorsement fees
–> drug dealing
–> legal and illegal businesses

Question 33

contested space

Answer 33

e.g. Northern Ireland
–> selection of sources
–> interpretation
–> intention
–> accuracy

Question 34

James J. “Whitey” Bulger

Answer 34

leader of “Winter Hill Gang”, murderous gang in Boston’s South End
–> Irish allegiance
–> arrested after years on the run; sentenced to life in 2013, then killed in jail

Question 35

difference between North and South (1800s)

Answer 35

–> north: rise in standard of living, industry, manufacturing
–> south: unequal distribution of land, resources (Protestants owning most, despite Catholic majority)

Question 36

Government of Ireland Act

Answer 36

1920: divided Ireland into separate political entities, each with some self-government
–> accepted by Protestants in Ulster; rejected by Catholics in south

Question 37

Bulger meeting with Crawley

Answer 37

John Crawly: 26 y/o IRA member, had returned to Ireland after fighting in US Marines
–> met in 1983 to hatch the Valhalla plan