Any Americans who are proud of their Irish ancestry and harbour a romantic notion of the IRA's 'war' would do well to consider what was actually the reality of the situation:
The IRA declared war on the security forces in Northern Ireland (the police and army) and set about attacking their targets via brave acts such as planting booby trap bombs under their cars in the dead of night or sneaking up behind off duty personnel and murdering them in front of their families. Meanwhile, every time the IRA's sworn enemies actually had the audacity to shoot back at them, they cried like a bunch of little girls (and continue to do do until this day via Sinn Fein/IRA). There's a popular phrase here in Northern Ireland used to describe Sinn Fein/IRA "offended by everything, ashamed of nothing" which perfectly sums up these cowardly bastards and their terror campaign.
