History question - Did we call the Irish Republican Army "Roman Catholic Terrorists"?

[H2O Man]

91. This is a curious OP/thread.

It highlights the importance of the true meaning of words, something not so appreciated in western culture as in Ireland. The resistance to English rule, at the time of the IRA & "the Troubles" -- was an 800-year old, living organism. Part of it included violence, though by no means all of it. That violence was part of the effort to protect the Old Sod for the families who rightfully lived upon it; hence, it cannot properly be termed "terrorism," any more than it might accurately be said the Irish were "invading" England for colonial purposes.

Recognizing this fact does not mean that one endorses violence. Yet, at an extended family reunion, when I talked with a cousin who frequently traveled to deliver packages to Bobby Sands back in the day, I didn't turn my nose up, and call him "the enemy." I knew who the real enemy was. (And it wasn't even those dumb kids in British uniforms, it was those who sent them.) Nor did it mean I endorsed his actions. But I understood them.

There's a few posts here about the non-combatants killed in IRA actions. I can't see them in terms of a number: each one was a living human being, with hopes and dreams, who had his/her life cut short by terrible violence. Their numbers are best added to those killed by the occupying forces, and the sum-total viewed as blood on the hands of the British.

I'm still in frequent contact with my family in Ireland. Many of them are engaged in a conflict over water rights. They know that their favorite American cousin is an advocate of Gandhi's tactics. I think it's a positive sign that the majority of the leaders of the movement are women, adding a dynamic that makes non-violent conflict resolution much more likely.

On a final note: a few years back, when the Cheney-Rumsfeld torture program was becoming known to the American public, I posted an essay in which I documented how that program had direct ties to that of the British against the Irish. Far too many innocent people in Ireland were subjected to those very same tortures -- which is not to suggest that I am okay with it in any instance.("When Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling," by H2O Man).

Again, I thank you for your powerful defense of the Irish.