Page "Irish Republican Army" Paragraph 54

Assessments of the effectiveness of the IRA's campaign vary.

They were never in a position to engage in conventional warfare.

IRA Chief-of-Staff Richard Mulcahy bemoaned the fact that they had not been able to drive the British " out of anything bigger than a fairly good size police barracks ".

On the other hand, the guerrilla warfare of 1919 – 21 had made Ireland ungovernable except by military means.

The political, military and financial costs of remaining in Ireland were higher than the British government was prepared to pay and this in a sense forced them into negotiations with the Irish political leaders.

According to historian Michael Hopkinson, the guerrilla warfare " was often courageous and effective ".

Historian David Fitzpatrick observes, " The guerrilla fighters ... were vastly outnumbered by the forces of the Crown ...

The success of the Irish Volunteers in surviving so long is therefore noteworthy.