The PIRA was the army of a liberation movement?
A very slow and guarded "yes"
That the change (gfa etc) would have come about without a militant republican effort?
I think it would have. Perhaps even earlier. The British state essentially didn't give a shit, and most Brits weren't interested in NI. When the bombings and shootings happened, the republicans went from being people the Brits didn't care about, to being ones they feared and hated.
You can choose to believe in the fantasy of 'political evolution' when it comes to loyalism and unionism, but the truth is that the unionists had to be dragged kicking and screaming by their political masters into talks with the political representatives of the nationalist community. And still it goes on, as is amply demonstrated by the loyalist flag protests in the last week. These people haven't given so much as an inch in 90 years without a fight having been waged for it.
The GFA was a negotiated settlement
between combatants after a prolonged armed conflict between the British state and Irish republican insurgents. It was a response to the conflict, it's absurd to suggest that a political response to the conflict could have been brought about without the conflict actually taking place !?! BTW, I don't actually agree with the negotiated terms of the GFA because imho it reinforces sectarian division and apportions political responsibility in Stormont along tribal lines. It represents a step forward because, first and foremost, it brought a relative calm to communities and allowed political representatives to take the lead, but as a long-term political solution it is flawed.
The strategy of violence was about male pride, rather than an effective way to force political change.
Male Pride? Please elaborate...
They were entitled to wage armed struggle (NB - not whether this armed struggle was always executed in an acceptable manner) ?
Can you separate the methods from the overall justification? Defending catholics homes and families from violence is a legitimate time for the application of force.
Unfortunately, you are partly right here. The (P)IRA were, to a large extent, a
'Catholic Defenderist' organisation that organised resistance to British Army, RUC and loyalist attacks on their community. That it developed into an army of resistance and liberation should be qualified by its sectarian roots, but nonetheless, it was the Catholic/nationalist community that was in revolt against the political status quo. Whilst (P)IRA combatants were of the working class, it is clear that they were not necessarily fighting for the interests of the Irish working class as a whole. Regardless of their high-falutin' political statements at times, the (P)IRA primarily represented its own community and the interests of its own political leaders. However, if an army that you regard as an illegitimate force and which does not represent you or your community is occupying your country, your town, your area, your street; what else is there to do but fight?
Shooting and bombing general "legitimate targets" - not acceptable.
War is hell, isn't it?
