PIRA stands for Provisional Irish Republican Army, which was a militant, nationalist organization that aimed to end British rule in Northern Ireland by violent means. It was formed in 1969 as the clandestine armed wing of Sinn Fein, a legal political movement dedicated to removing British rule from Northern Ireland. PIRA conducted sniper attacks, assassinations, and several small bombings in the province, and appeared to have little public support at first. However, in January 1972, British troops opened fire on a Catholic rally in Londonderry, killing fourteen unarmed people. PIRA recruitment soared, and the official wing of the organization fell away into obscurity.

PIRA was the most prolific non-state militant grouping during the Northern Ireland Conflict (1970-1998) in terms of both terrorist events and fatalities caused. Through a protracted campaign of violence, PIRA’s overall objective was to force the removal of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, thereby paving the way for the reestablishment of a thirty-two county Republic of Ireland. PIRA was active for twenty-nine years and had a long time to get very good at killing people.