Essay --

The British occupation of Ireland was a major part of Ireland’s history. The British were brutal in their treatment of the Irish people, the Irish language, and the Irish culture. The Irish formed the Irish Republican Army or IRA in order to fight back. Through the independence movements and efforts of the IRA as Britain continued to brutalize the Irish country and its people, sentiments about what needed to be done or how to handle the British changed and Sinn Fà ©in broke away from the IRA. The connections between these two groups, their similarities and differences, are important parts of the legitimacy of the Irish movement for independence and the future of Ireland. The changes that have been made in these nationalist movements, particularly in the prominence IRA and Sinn Fà ©in, as time went on that has enabled a form of these movements to persist even until today. There were different types of people who were part of this nationalist revolutionary group that wanted to give Ireland back to the Irish. MacDonagh separates them into three categories, â€Å"first, those concerned with the ‘Irishing’ of Ireland; secondly, those which attempted to comprehend and build upon emergent rather than traditional factors in Irish life; and finally, those which tried to subordinate the local issues to larger, more universal themes.† . This is not always black and white and many of the Irish nationalist groups combined some of these goals. In regards to what MacDonagh says about the different categories or goals, the IRA seems to me to be a mix between wanting a more Irish Ireland and wanting to expand upon some of the new factors that made up Irish life. Sinn Fà ©in, on the other hand seems to be more of a mix between wanting to expand upon the new ... ... members, Sinn Fà ©in has persisted. Their belief in civil disobedience or more peaceful actions has brought them through the centuries and into the modern age. This peace is still a major part of their policies in the modern age as one of the largest political parties in Ireland. Through peace Sinn Fà ©in wishes to unify Ireland once more, and help their economy by uniting the Irish people in this common economic cause. They also are large proponents of peaceful international relations with the rest of the world. I feel that keeping their focus on peaceful change will help them to establish even larger influence all over Ireland and help them in their goals. Just as their belief in peace brought them into the modern age, it can also ensure the party and its supporters persist and bring them successfully into the future eras, whatever they may hold in store for Ireland.