*Rare footage* of IRA guarding northern border

[peterbkeenan]

Specifically 1:26 is 54.170373,-7.233038

[peterbkeenan]

I believe it is the Clones to Scotshouse/Ballyhaise road

Which is near the border!

[lovepogues]

free state troops are irelands traters

[NotMilkable]

@lovepogues

They didn't have the option

[TheMightOfTheEnglish]

@lovepogues free state troops were the majority ,and victors , its called democracy ,something you wanted , doesnt matter what happens in ireland, peace processes , treaties ,anything ,the,ll always be a small number who disagree and rebel ,its those who are the traitors and enemies of peace

[MrRoastedSnow]

Yes, this is Irish Free State troops in action. Why do we suppose this is a BORDER? activity? Provenance please? This is not the IRA I would argue. Wonderful footage, even then FG and its army wanted to keep the Nordie out.

[dmack047]

i believe that is Monaghan Cathedral in the background. Only Cathedral on a hill that close to the border

[ThatGingerGuy93]

The first man is wearing the uniform of the IRA (trenchcoat, brimmer, Sam Browne) but the others are wearing Free State uniform.

[schizoidboy]

@ThatGingerGuy93 From what I read in the Osprey book on the Irish Army not all the Free State soldiers would have had uniforms and so the trench coat and fedora would have been the closest that could have filled in for a uniform at the time. You do have to keep in mind that many of the Free State were former IRA members or Irish Volunteers.

[schizoidboy]

@schizoidboy Also you notice he is carrying a bayonet on his rifle. Unless he was a member of the Irish Volunteers he wouldn't have had training to use a bayonet if he was in the IRA. Something else to remember after the British left and the civil war started both sides claimed to be the legitimate IRA.

[cozener1]

Thats one easy duty being on the car checkpoint. Should be another car to stop about a week later! Its the Irish Army by the way. The RA would have shot him before he stopped!

[niall2910]

Must have missed that one , what with the illegal diesel , the fake fags and the drugs ( of course once we bump off any other drug dealing scum , but not republican drug dealing scum ) .

[VolKevinBarry]

That's not the IRA. It's the Free State Army.

[gboceltic]

thats the free states

[seanogcarey]

free state army, not the IRA