Noraid and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1970-94

Robert Collins

• Publisher: Four Courts Press
• Year: 2022
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801510707
• Subtopic: Irish History
• Index: History

Since the end of the eighteenth century, the United States has offered sanctuary and support to Irish men and women engaged in the struggle for Irish independence from Britain. When violence broke out in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, the newly formed Provisional IRA again turned to the Irish American community for assistance. Founded in 1970, Irish Northern Aid (NORAID) became the chief moral and financial supporters of the Republican movement, raising millions of dollars. This book represents a unique examination of an organisation that was never too far from the headlines in Ireland, the UK, and the US. Featuring interviews with a number of key individuals, including former national publicity director Martin Galvin, the book combines these accounts with archival research, contemporary newspaper reports, and considerable secondary research to produce a compelling narrative that should be critical reading for anyone interested in Irish American history and the Northern Ireland Troubles.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Table of contents
• List of abbreviations
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Irish America: from Wolfe Tone to Michael Flannery
• 2. ‘The first big publicity break’: genesis and growthof INA, 1969–72
• 3. Irish Northern Aid and the ‘long war’ strategy, 1973–9
• 4. Irish Northern Aid and the 1980–1 Hunger Strikes
• 5. ‘Trials and tribulations’: the Irish American Defense Fund and the ‘Brooklyn Five’
• 6. Irish Northern Aid and Seán Downes: an unlikely connection
• 7. The MacBride Principles: a new departure for Irish America
• 8. The politicization of the Republican movement: INA and the Irish American agenda, 1986–94
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index