Weelittledrummer - exactly.

Teribus re" Very early in the campaign when the british army was protecting those nationalist areas"

The fact is that they were initially greeted with open arms but a short tiem later when they started to show their true colours that was when the IRA had to really be formed. You speak as if thousands of IRA members have been sitting in the wings for years waiting for an excuse. Well I come from a nationalist area and we only heard of the IRA in songs and stories. The fact is the IRA was reformed to protect nationalis areas when the so called defender in the british army failed to do so.
I was born in North Belfast and lived in the same street for 26 years and would not have known where to go to even join the IRA.
For many years the IRA consisted of a few old men who met in pubs and sang rebel songs. I reiterate that if the army had done it's job the IRA would have been unnecessary. They didn't and the catholic/nationalist areas had to be protected. The police wouldn't do it, the army wouldn't do it, the B-Specials were disnbanded and the members just became part of the loyalists gun squads, so tell me who was going to protect thosd areas if not for the IRA. In 1969 we had only one pistol in the whole district and that belonged to an old man who apparently had been in Chigago during prohibition. We had nothing but stones and petrol bombs while the loyalists and the loyalist RUC were armed to the teeth and we got no help from the so called army defenders, no help at all.

So sorry - but the IRA was necessary, without the IRA the death toll would have been much much higher.