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There have been lots of rumours and some suspicion, and perhaps even more ideologically motivated propaganda, in relation to connections between the Basque militant organisation ETA (Euskadi ‘ta Askatasuna, Basque Country and Freedom) and the predominantly Northern Irish Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army). And yet, apart from a few semi-official meetings and ritualised expressions of solidarity, usually at Sinn Féin or Batasuna party events, not much is properly known about the relations between the two radical military formations and their political sister organisations. The same could be said about the wider social, political, and cultural contexts, including some of the more specific historical constellations and challenges which provided the rationale for the existence of such radicalised movements (however overdrawn and questionable the justifications of their own existence sometimes appeared). The knowledge gap is even more surprising given that the two militant, self-declared vanguards and their actions are associated with two of the longest lasting conflicts in Western Europe: one grounded in the quest for Basque independence from Spain (and France; plus aiming at a union or some form of federation between the Basque Country and Navarre); the other one related to Northern Ireland and whether it should remain associated with the UK or become part of the Republic of Ireland.
Andreas Hess (Tue,) studied this question.