Continuity Irish Republican Army

The Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) split from the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) when the PIRA dropped its longstanding opposition to the participation of its political wing, Sinn Fein, in the Parliament of Northern Ireland. CIRA continued to view the Northern Ireland Parliament as illegitimate since it did not represent the whole of Ireland. The CIRA claimed to be the true republican group and sought to create a unified Ireland independent of Britain. The CIRA did not stage its first attacks until after the PIRA declared a ceasefire in 1994. Thereafter it targeted Protestant civilians and Northern Ireland police. To date, the group has only killed one police officer. After the creation of the New IRA in 2012, CIRA remained the only main independent republican militant in Northern Ireland. The group remains weak and has not attracted more than a few dozen members.