The Consequences of the Use of Internment Without Trial in Northern Ireland in the Early 1970s for the Provisional Irish Republican Army

Abstract

This article examines the consequences of the use of internment without trial in Northern Ireland in the early1970s. The main focus of the article will be how the introduction of the measure effected the foremost republican paramilitary group, the Provisional Irish Republcan Army, during the conflict known as the Troubles. The effects of the measure on unionists and the British will also be considered. How internment helped to internationalise the conflict and the way it influenced other events will be highlighted. The primary argument of the article is that the internment period helped create a core republican community which provided enough support for PIRA for it to carry out its military campaign for almost thirty years.