Dissident Irish republican terror group declares ceasefire

A dissident Irish republican terror group that severely maimed a Catholic police officer in Northern Ireland and has been responsible for shooting dozens of young men in so-called “punishment attacks” has declared a ceasefire.

The mainly Belfast-based Óglaigh na hÉireann organisation said “the environment is not right for armed conflict”.

Two other hardline republican factions, the New IRA and the Continuity IRA, continue to back the use of “armed struggle” in their opposition to the peace process in Ireland.

In a statement on Tuesday to the Irish News with a recognised paramilitary codeword normally used to admit responsibility for shootings and bombings, ONH said: “The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann are announcing that with immediate effect we will suspend all armed actions against the British state.

“The leadership of ONH remain unbowed and unbroken. We will continue to protect our membership and base as we move forward in a spirit of united determination to achieve our political aims.”

Republican and security sources insisted there had been no negotiations between British government representatives and the group’s political allies, the Republican Network for Unity.

The group was formed by disgruntled ex-members of the Provisional IRA who disagreed with Sinn Féin’s peace strategy. ONH’s highest-profile attack was in 2010 when it admitted responsibility for a booby-trap car bomb attack on a Catholic police recruit, Peadar Heffron, in County Antrim.

The blast under Heffron’s car resulted in the former Gaelic footballer losing both his legs. ONH targeted Heffron as part of a strategy to deter Catholics from joining the then newly reformed Police Service of Northern Ireland.

In the same year ONH carried out a car bomb attack on the regional headquarters of MI5 at Hollywood, County Down, on the eastern outskirts of Belfast. No one was injured in the 200lb explosion.

In the following eight years the republican paramilitary organisation carried out a number of non-fatal attacks on members of the security forces, while at the same time the group’s activities were disrupted by a series of high-profile arrests.

ONH has also been behind a number of so called “punishment shootings” against men they accused of selling drugs, stealing cars and house-breaking in working class republican areas of north and west Belfast. Those shot or beaten in such attacks form the overwhelming majority of ONH’s victims.

Within ONH and the Republican Network for Unity there has been an ongoing debate about the efficacy of armed struggle, with some voices arguing that the best way to oppose Sinn Féin’s near total hegemony within the nationalist population in Northern Ireland is through politics.

The overwhelming majority of nationalists support Sinn Féin’s peace strategy and vote in increasing numbers for that party despite constant accusations from ONH and other republican dissidents that the movement Gerry Adams and the late Martin McGuinness helped to shape had “sold out” on traditional republican principles.

The biggest and most lethal of the anti-Good Friday agreement republican factions – the New IRA – remains wedded to its armed campaign.

The Continuity IRA is also still in existence. The group opposes Sinn Féin’s participation in not only the Northern Ireland assembly but also in the Irish parliament, the Dáil.