Óglaigh na hÉireann

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For the paramilitary organization formed in 2006, see Óglaigh na hÉireann (CIRA splinter group).

Óglaigh na hÉireann (old orthography Óglaiġ na h-Éireann, IPA: [ˈoːgɫ̪iː n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ], pronunciation (help·info)) is the Irish language title used by various armed groups in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, including the Irish Defence Forces and several organisations calling themselves the "Irish Republican Army" (IRA). It originated as the Irish language rendering of "The Irish Volunteers", although a more literal translation would be "The Soldiers of Ireland," and it is the official title of the Irish Defence Forces in Irish.

[edit] History

Irish Defence Forces cap badge"Óglaigh na hÉireann" and "Fianna Fáil" (FF) are alternative translations of "Irish Volunteers"
Irish Defence Forces cap badge
"Óglaigh na hÉireann" and "Fianna Fáil" (FF) are alternative translations of "Irish Volunteers"

The title was first used by the Irish Volunteers (1913–1919), an Irish nationalist paramilitary group, and subsequently by 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 Irish-language title of the Irish Defence Forces,[1] which are recognised by the Irish Government as the only legitimate armed forces of the southern state on the island of Ireland.[2]

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. In February 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission reported that a new dissident republican group styling itself simply Óglaigh na hÉireann had been formed after a split from the Continuity IRA. All these groups 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.

Some members of the Irish Government, including Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, have objected to this use of the title by groups other than the Defence Forces.[3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Arm - Óglaigh na hÉireann — use on the official website of the Irish Defence Forces, retrieved 29 November 2006.
  2. ^ From 1922 to 1937, this state was the Irish Free State, and since 1937 was Ireland or Éire. The Irish Government passed an act in 1948 under which the name Republic of Ireland can also be used in English-language legal documents as a description of the state.
  3. ^ Ireland Department of Defence (22 February 2005). "Speech by the Minister for Defence, 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.