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Sat 09 Sep 2009Taking the gun out of Irish politics
HISTORY:The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers PartyBy Brian Hanley and Scott Millar Penguin Ireland, 658pp. £20
THE PLAYWRIGHT Brendan Behan, who had a close knowledge of such matters, famously said that the first item on the agenda for any republican group was the split. This amoeba-like tendency was again in evidence at the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1968-69. Under the leadership of Cathal Goulding, the Irish Republican Army had earlier become involved in social agitation, with the gun taking second place to the leaflet and the placard.
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