La Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army, Esercito Repubblicano Irlandese), in gaelico Oglaigh na hÉireann (che letteralmente significa Volontari d'Irlanda), è stata un'organizzazione paramilitare terroristica che si batteva per la fine della presenza britannica in Irlanda del Nord e la riunificazione con la Repubblica d'Irlanda (Éire).
- ^ a b (EN) C. J. M. Drake, The Provisional IRA: A Case Study (abstract), in Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 3, n. 2, 1991, p. 43, DOI:10.1080/09546559108427103.
«The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a militant, nationalist organisation which aims at ending British rule in Northern Ireland by violent means and at establishing a united Irish republic»
- ^ (EN) Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA, New York, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 369, ISBN 0-19-516605-1.
«The IRA's adherence to socialistic aims has varied in intensity according to time and place, but it has remained evident in their argument and has reflected a working-class dimension to their support, constituency and recruit-base»
- ^ (EN) Richard English, Ireland and the Provisional IRA, in Does Terrorism Work?, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 109, ISBN 978-0-19-960785-3.
«Socialism represented a commitment for many Provisionals, and should be seen as a significant secondary goal of the organization»