1975
The year is shaped above all by the IRA ceasefire that comes into effect in February, negotiated through back-channel contact between the republican movement and British officials who conveyed — deliberately or otherwise — the impression that withdrawal was being seriously considered. Both An Phoblacht and Republican News reflect the uneasy mood within the movement during these months, covering the work of the incident centres established to monitor the ceasefire while maintaining a watchful scepticism about British intentions.
As the year progresses and it becomes clear that no political movement is forthcoming, that impression hardens into conviction. The ceasefire frays and ultimately collapses, leaving a bitter sense within the movement that it had been drawn into a process designed to buy time and weaken republican capacity rather than advance a genuine settlement. The lessons of 1975 will be debated within the movement for years.
1975 – January
 04 January (1) |  11 January (1) |  25 January (1) |
1975 – February
 08 February |  An Phoblacht (21 February 1975) |  An Phoblacht (14 February 1975) |
 An Phoblacht (07 February 1975) |  Republican News (22 February 1975) |
1975 – March
1975 – April
 04 April (1) |  11 April (1) |  25 April (1) |
 26 April (1) |  30 April (1) |  Republican News (12 April 1975) (1) |
 Republican News (05 April 1975) (1) |
1975 – May
1975 – June
1975 – July
1975 – August
 01 August (1) |  09 August (1) |  22 August (1) |
 23 August (1) |  Republican News (30 August 1975) |  An Phoblacht (08 August 1975) |
 Republican News (16 August 1975) (1) |
1975 – September
 05 September |  06 September (1) |  13 September (1) |
 19 September (1) |  25 September (1) |  Republican News (20 September 1975) (1) |
1975 – October
 04 October (1) |  10 October (1) |  17 October (1) |
 25 October (1) |  31 October (1) |  An Phoblacht (14 November 1975) |
 Republican News (11 October 1975) (1) |
1975 – November
1975 – December
 06 December (1) |  12 December |  20 December (1) |
 An Phoblacht (12 December 1975) |  An Phoblacht (05 December 1975) |
1976
The aftermath of the ceasefire’s failure brings reorganisation and a harder assessment of the conflict’s long-term character. The IRA restructures toward a cell-based system better suited to a prolonged campaign, acknowledging that the war will not be short. The emergence of the Peace People movement in the summer — sparked by the deaths of three children in Belfast — attracts mass public support North and South and generates significant international attention, presenting the republican movement with a propaganda challenge it addresses at length in both papers.
Simultaneously the criminalisation policy introduced by the British government — removing special category status from paramilitary prisoners — begins to take effect, planting the seeds of a prison struggle whose consequences will define the following decade. An Phoblacht and Republican News capture a movement recalibrating for a long war.
1976 – January
 16 January (1) |  17 January |  30 January (1) |
 An Phoblacht (09 January 1976) |  Republican News (31 January 1976) |
1976 – February
 07 February |  13 February |  14 February |
 20 February |  21 February |  27 February (1) |
 28 February |  An Phoblacht (06 February 1976) |
1976 – March
1976 – April
 03 April |  10 April (1) |  16 April |
 30 April (1) |  An Phoblacht (09 April 1976) |  Republican News (17 April 1976) (1) |
1976 – May
1976 – June
1976 – July
1976 – August
 06 August |  07 August |  08 August (1) |
 13 August |  14 August |  20 August |
 21 August |  27 August |  28 August |
 30 August |  Republican News (14 August 1976) (1) |
1976 – September
1976 – October
 05 October (1) |  09 October |  19 October (1) |
 23 October |  30 October |  Republican News (30 October 1976) |
 An Phoblacht (26 October 1976) |
1976 – November
 02 November |  06 November (1) |  20 November |
 23 November (1) |  27 November |  30 November (1) |
 An Phoblacht (23 November 1976) |  Republican News (13 November 1976) (1) |  An Phoblacht (18 November 1976) |
1976 – December
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