Outline of the Troubles

Umbrella groups

• Irish Republican Socialist Movement
• Provisional Republican Movement

Umbrella groups

• Ulster Army Council (UAC)
• Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee (ULCCC)
• Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC)

• Protestant Action Force - Used by the UVF to claim sectarian attacks.
• South Armagh Republican Action Force - Used by the PIRA's South Armagh Brigade to claim sectarian attacks in the mid 1970s
• Catholic Reaction Force - Used by the INLA to claim sectarian attacks.
• Armagh People's Republican Army & People's Liberation Army - was used by the INLA to claim some of their earliest attacks, mostly in 1975.
• Ulster Freedom Fighters - Used by the UDA to claim violent attacks.
• Red Hand Brigade - Was used as a cover by the Glenanne gang members who carried out the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in May 1974.[1]

In the table below:

• The period of activity for republican groups is shown in green.
• The period of activity for loyalist groups is shown in orange.
• The period of ceasefire is shown in grey.

• British Army
  • Territorial Army
  • Force Research Unit
• Royal Air Force
• Royal Navy
• Metropolitan Police
• MI5
• GCHQ
• Secret Intelligence Service

• Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
  • RUC Special Branch
• Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) – to 30 April 1970
• Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS)
• Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) – from 1 January 1970 to 30 June 1992
• Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) – from 1 July 1992

• Irish Army
• An Garda Síochána (police)

• Sinn Féin (SF). President: Gerry Adams. Militant nationalist. Associated with the Provisional IRA. Translation from Irish: "We Ourselves".
• The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Leader: Colum Eastwood. Moderate centre-left nationalist.
• The Workers' Party (WP). President: Mick Finnegan. Marxist nationalist. Formerly Official Sinn Féin.

• The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP). Militant socialist nationalist. Political wing of INLA. Have been on ceasefire since 1998.
• Republican Sinn Féin (RSF). President: Des Dalton. Militant nationalist. Associated with the Continuity IRA.
• The 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM). President: Francis Mackey. Militant nationalist. Associated with the Real IRA.
• The Republican Network for Unity (RNU). Militant nationalist. Accused by Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) of being the political wing of Óglaigh na hÉireann (Real IRA splinter group), however this is rejected by both groups.

• Fianna Fáil
• Fine Gael
• Green Party
• Renua Ireland

• The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Leader: Peter Robinson. Radical populist unionist. Originally anti-Agreement.
• The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Leader: Tom Elliott. Moderate conservative unionist.
• The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). Leader: Billy Hutchinson. Moderate centre-left unionist. Political wing of Ulster Volunteer Force.
• The Conservative Party also organises and contests elections in Northern Ireland. Moderate unionist.

• Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). Leader: Jim Allister. Old school loyalist.

• The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. Leader: David Ford. Liberal cross-community. Pro-Agreement
• The Green Party. Environmentalist. Pro-Agreement.
• Ulster Third Way. Supports Northern Ireland independence.

1921-1972

• Governor
• Prime Minister
• Cabinet

1998-

• First Minister and deputy First Minister
• Executive

1921-1972
The Parliament of Northern Ireland:

• House of Commons
• Senate

1972-1998

• The Northern Ireland Assembly (1973–1974)
• The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975–1976)
• The Northern Ireland Assembly (1982–1986)
• The Northern Ireland Forum (1996–1998)

1998-

• The Northern Ireland Assembly

• Taoiseach (prime minister)
• Department of Defence
• Department of Foreign Affairs
• Dáil Éireann (assembly)
• Seanad Éireann (senate)

• Prime Minister
• The Ministry of Defence (MOD)
• The Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
• The House of Commons
• The House of Lords
• The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (House of Commons)
• The Northern Ireland Grand Committee (House of Commons)

• British-Irish Council (BIC)
• British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
• North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC)

• Sunningdale Agreement (1973)
• Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985)
• Downing Street Declaration (1993) and principle of consent
• Establishment of the IICD (1997)
• Belfast Agreement (1998)
• Amendment of Articles 2 and 3 (1999)
• Establishment of the Independent Monitoring Commission (2003)
• IRA ceasefire and decommissioning (2005)
• St Andrews Agreement (2006)

• Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
• Church of Ireland (Anglican)
• Presbyterian Church in Ireland
• Methodist Church in Ireland
• Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster

• The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA)

• The Apprentice Boys of Derry
• The Orange Institution
• The Independent Orange Order
• The Royal Black Institution

• The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH)