Óglaigh na hÉireann

(Óglaigh na hÉireann is an Irish term for 'Volunteers of Ireland', or 'Irish Volunteers'.) synonyms: Irish Republican Army (IRA); Dissident Republicans The term Óglaigh na hÉireann - while the Irish term for the (official/legal) Irish Army - has been used down through the years by many republican paramilitary groupings including the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). With regard to dissidents, a group called Óglaigh na hÉireann is believed to have formed in late 2005 or early 2006 following a split from the Continuity IRA. First mentioned in the eighth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) (1 February 2006); also in later reports. The group was believed to be responsible for a number of pipe-bomb attacks in 2006 and also a series of hoax devices and some robberies. The eighteenth report of the IMC (1 May 2008) claimed that ONH was responsible for the killing of Andrew Burns on 12 February 2008. However, it is thought that this particular grouping went out of existence, and - along with others - the IMC by 2009 was to use the term ONH specifically to describe a new dissident faction which had emerged out of the ‘real’ Irish Republican Army (rIRA).