Óglaigh na hÉireann
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Óglaigh na hÉireann (IPA: [ˈoːgɫ̪iː n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ], old orthography Óglaiġ na h-Éireann, pronunciation ) is an Irish language term traditionally translated as "Volunteers of Ireland" or "Warriors of Ireland". It has been used as a name by various armed groups in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
Historically, the term was used by the Irish Volunteers (1913–1919), an Irish nationalist paramilitary group, and the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), the successor to the Irish Volunteers and the army of the secessionist Irish Republic. Since 1922, it has been the official title of the Irish Defence Forces,[1] which are recognised by the Irish Government as the only legitimate armed forces of the southern state in Ireland.[2] This use of the name reflects both the sense of the modern Irish state as inheritor of the pre-independence nationalist movement, and, as "Volunteers", Ireland's historic opposition to conscription.
The name has also been used by several other groups that have claimed the name "Irish Republican Army" since 1922, and that have refused to recognise the legitimacy of Northern Ireland and (in some cases) the Republic of Ireland; these include the Provisional IRA, the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA. All claim sole descent from the original Irish Volunteers and Irish Republican Army, and thus also claim the sole right to use the name Óglaigh na hÉireann. The Irish Defence Forces regard the use of the title by groups other than themself as an insult[3], and furthermore it is illegal to be a member of a group falsely styling itself Óglaigh na hÉireann.[4]
In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission reported that a new dissident republican group styling itself Óglaigh na hÉireann had been formed after a split from the Continuity IRA.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Arm - Óglaigh na hÉireann — use on the official website of the Irish Defence Forces, retrieved 29 November 2006.
- ^ From 1922 to 1937, this southern state was the Irish Free State. Since 1937, this southern state was Éire, which translates into English as Ireland. The Irish Government passed an act in 1948 under which the name Republic of Ireland can also be used in English-language legal documents to refer to the southern state.
- ^ Ireland Department of Defence (22 February 2005). Speech by the Minister for Defence, Mr. Willie O'Dea at the Opening of the New Military Museum and the Refurbished Privates’ Mess, Collins Barracks, Cork. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-10-15.
- ^ "It is hereby declared that the organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army (also the I.R.A. and Oglaigh na hÉireann) is an unlawful organisation" — Statutory Rules and Orders, 1939, No. 162. Unlawful Organisation (Suppression) Order, 1939
