ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Timeline of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions

Okay kiddo, let me try to explain the timeline of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) actions in a simple way.

A long time ago, Ireland used to be a part of the United Kingdom, but some people in Ireland didn't like that. They wanted Ireland to be its own country, and they thought that violence was the way to achieve that.

So, in the late 1960s, a group of Irish people formed a new organization called the Provisional Irish Republican Army, or PIRA for short. This group wanted to use violence to push the British out of Northern Ireland and make it part of a united Ireland.

Over the years, the PIRA did many things that were considered violent or illegal. They bombed buildings, hijacked trucks, and attacked British soldiers and police officers. They also killed many innocent people, including civilians.

This violence went on for a long time, and it caused a lot of fear and anger in Northern Ireland and beyond. Many people on both sides of the conflict were hurt or killed.

Eventually, though, the PIRA started to realize that their violent actions weren't getting them anywhere. They began to talk to different groups and leaders, and they eventually agreed to a peace process.

This meant that the PIRA stopped their violent actions and agreed to use peaceful means to achieve their goals. Today, they are considered to be a political organization rather than a terrorist group.

So there you go, kiddo, that's the timeline of the PIRA's actions in a nutshell. It wasn't a good thing, and a lot of people got hurt, but eventually, everyone decided to work together and solve things peacefully.