An accessible account of the IRA from its beginnings. It covers the origins and history of the organisation, its aims, the political and military thinking which has driven its activities, and the major personalities who have shaped the direction of the movement down through the years. The relationship with the Irish and British governments is examined, as well as the effects of the major bombing campaigns and the 1981 hunger strikes. It also explains the radical shift in thinking which led to the IRA seeking a political way towards the goal of Irish unity rather than pursuing the entrenched Brits Out policy at the point of a gun. This is intended as an easy-to-read overview of the IRA and the Northern situation, accessible to both the tourist and the interested general reader.