The
Real Irish Republican Army or
Real IRA, also referred to as the
New IRA, is an
Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a
united Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the
Provisional IRA, which had declared a
ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the RIRA sees itself as the only rightful successor to the original
Irish Republican Army and styles itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or
Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a
terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.