Continuity Irish Republican Army

synonyms: Irish Continuity Army Council (ICAC); Continuity Army Council (CAC) A Republican paramilitary group which came to prominence in 1996 when it claimed responsibility for a number of attacks and attempted attacks in Northern Ireland. It is widely believed that the CIRA is made up of people who were previously members of other republican groups (particularly the IRA) but who became disaffected with the peace process and the IRA ceasefire. The CIRA has supporters in the Republic of Ireland, Belfast, Fermanagh / south Donegal area, and Derry / north Donegal area. There have been claims that the CIRA is, in effect, the military wing of Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) but this has been denied by RSF leaders. The CIRA has not declared a ceasefire and is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. The following are some of the attacks that the CIRA is believed to have been responsible for: Saturday 13 July 1996 - car bomb exploded outside the Kilyhelvin Hotel, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh; injured 17 people Sunday 29 September 1996 - 250 pound car bomb made of home-made explosives was abandoned in Belfast Thursday 21 November 1996 - bomb, which failed to explode, abandoned in Derry Thursday 31 July 1997 - bomb, estimated at between 500 and 1,000 pounds, was left in the grounds of Carrybridge Hotel, near Lisballaw, County Fermanagh Saturday 9 August 1997 - planted a hoax van bomb on Craigavon Bridge in Derry Tuesday 16 September 1997 - bomb, estimated at 400 pounds, exploded in Markethill, County Armagh, and caused extensive damage to buildings Thursday 30 October 1997 - responsible for the attempted bombing of government offices in Derry Thursday 20 November 1997 - left a small bomb behind Belfast City Hall Tuesday 6 January 1998 - large car bomb was defused in the centre of Banbridge, County Down Saturday 24 January 1998 - car bomb exploded outside an entertainment club, the 'River Club' on Factory Road in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh Friday 20 February 1998 - exploded a large car bomb, estimated at 500 pounds, outside the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) station in the centre of Moria, County Down Monday 23 February 1998 - exploded a large car bomb, estimated at 300 pounds, in the centre of Portadown, County Armagh 6 February 2000 - bomb explosion at a hotel in Irvinestown; there were no injuries 1 June 2000 - planted bomb under Hammersmith Bridge, London 19 July 2000 - planted bomb at Acton Underground Station, London 20 September 2000 - fired an anti-tank rocket at the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI5) headquarters at Vauxhall Bridge, London 1 November 2000 - booby-trap bomb in Castlewellan, County Down 20 February 2001 - left a booby-trap bomb at Territorial Army base at White City, London 4 March 2001 - may have been responsible for bomb attack on BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush, London For a full list see the Chronology of Dissident Republican Activity, 1994-2011. Membership: Membership is probably numbered in the dozens. It is believed that it attracted members from the "real" IRA (rIRA) when that organisation declared a ceasefire in 1998. Arsenal: The CIRA is known to be in the possession of some weapons that were taken from IRA dumps. The CIRA probably has access to a few dozen rifles, machine guns, and pistols; a small amount of Semtex (commercial high explosive); and a few dozen detonators.