Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Dissident Irish Republican Army

Dissident Irish Republican Army

9.9
An armed group that split from the Provisional IRA in 1997 and uses violence against the Northern Ireland peace process
  • proper noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : Ejército Republicano Irlandés Disidente
  • The Dissident Irish Republican Army continues to oppose the peace process through violent actions.

Examples

  • The Dissident Irish Republican Army has been linked to several violent incidents.

  • Many believe that the Dissident Irish Republican Army threatens the peace process.

  • Authorities are concerned about recent threats claimed by the Dissident Irish Republican Army.

  • Talks between the British government and the Dissident Irish Republican Army have failed to yield progress.

  • Authorities are concerned about recent threats claimed by the Dissident Irish Republican Army.

  • Talks between the British government and the Dissident Irish Republican Army have failed to yield progress.

  • The Dissident Irish Republican Army has been linked to several violent incidents.

Synonyms

Real Irish Republican Army
vsDissident Irish Republican Army
  • Offensive
8.6

A small armed Irish group that uses bombs and guns to oppose peace talks

is the formal full label rather than a shortened or abbreviated name
Real IRA
vsDissident Irish Republican Army
  • Offensive
9.9

A violent Irish group that formed in 1997 and used bombs and attacks

is the formal full label rather than a short informal name
RIRA
vsDissident Irish Republican Army
9.9

An armed Irish group that opposes peace agreements and uses violence

is the full formal label rather than an acronym

Surface Forms

Dissident Irish Republican Army main

Morphology

dissident + Irish + republican + army

The phrase is largely compositionally interpretable: a B1 learner who knows the words can infer it refers to a faction of the Irish Republican Army that is oppositional or broke away (dissident). However, the specific political/historical nuances — that it is a radical paramilitary breakaway group linked to violent acts and a particular split in 1997 — are not predictable from the constituents and require background knowledge, so the expression is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Dissident Irish Republican Army comes from the idea of a small group that 'broke away' from the larger Irish Republican Army because they rejected the peace process and wanted to keep fighting. That's why the name now refers to a small armed group that 'opposes' the peace process through violent actions.