1977
The reorganisation of the IRA into a cell-based structure continues, reflecting a strategic acceptance that the conflict will be measured in years rather than months and that security must be tightened accordingly. The political wing remains relatively underdeveloped, with Sinn Féin functioning largely as a support organisation rather than an electoral or agitational force in its own right — a balance that is beginning to be questioned within the movement.
Both An Phoblacht and Republican News reflect a period of consolidation rather than dramatic development, their pages documenting the grinding rhythms of a conflict that has settled into patterns of IRA activity, British counter-insurgency, and loyalist violence that show no sign of resolution. The papers also continue their coverage of the prison issue, as the refusal of republican prisoners to wear prison uniforms or do prison work deepens into a sustained confrontation with the British government over the question of political status.
1977 – January
 15 January (1) |  22 January (1) |  29 January (1) |
 An Phoblacht (25 January 1977) |  An Phoblacht (18 January 1977) |  An Phoblacht (11 January 1977) |
1977 – February
 05 February (1) |  19 February (1) |  26 February (1) |
 Republican News (12 February 1977) (1) |  An Phoblacht (01 February 1977) |  An Phoblacht (08 February 1977) |
 An Phoblacht (22 February 1977) |
1977 – March
 05 March (1) |  08 March (1) |  19 March (1) |
 22 March |  29 March |  An Phoblacht (15 March 1977) |
 Republican News (26 March 1977) (1) |  An Phoblacht (01 March 1977) |
1977 – April
 09 April (1) |  12 April (1) |  16 April (1) |
 19 April (1) |  26 April (1) |  Republican News (30 April 1977) (1) |
 Republican News (23 April 1977) (1) |  An Phoblacht (10 April 1977) |
1977 – May
1977 – June
 04 June (1) |  11 June (1) |  22 June |
 25 June (1) |  An Phoblacht (29 June 1977) |  An Phoblacht (01 June 1977) |
 An Phoblacht (08 June 1977) |  An Phoblacht (15 June 1977) |
1977 – July
 30 July (1) |  An Phoblacht (13 July 1977) |  Republican News (09 July 1977) (1) |
 Republican News (02 July 1977) (1) |  An Phoblacht (06 July 1977) |  An Phoblacht (27 July 1977) |
 An Phoblacht (20 July 1977) |
1977 – August
1977 – September
1977 – October
1977 – November
 02 November (1) |  05 November (1) |  12 November (1) |
 16 November (1) |  23 November (1) |  30 November (1) |
 Republican News (26 November 1977) (1) |
1977 – December
1978
The blanket protest in the Maze prison intensifies as prisoners refusing to wash or leave their cells escalate their resistance, with the no-wash protest marking a significant and deeply uncomfortable new phase in the confrontation. An Phoblacht and Republican News devote increasing space to the prison struggle, recognising its potential to mobilise opinion both domestically and internationally around the question of British policy in Ireland.
Outside the prison the conflict continues with significant IRA operations, most notably the attack on the La Mon House hotel in February which kills twelve civilians and generates widespread condemnation — a reminder that the campaign carries costs for the republican movement as well as its opponents. By year’s end the prison struggle and the armed campaign are the twin axes around which republican politics turns, and both papers are reflecting a movement that is beginning, slowly, to think more seriously about the political terrain alongside the military one.
1978 – January
 07 January (1) |  11 January |  14 January (1) |
 18 January |  21 January (1) |  25 January |
 25 January (1) |  28 January |  Republican News (28 January 1978) |
1978 – February
 01 February |  11 February (1) |  15 February (1) |
 22 February (1) |  25 February (1) |  An Phoblacht (08 February 1978) |
 An Phoblacht (22 February 1978) |  Republican News (18 February 1978) (1) |
1978 – March
 01 March |  04 March (1) |  09 March |
 11 March (1) |  Republican News (25 March 1978) |  An Phoblacht (01 March 1978) |
 An Phoblacht (22 March 1978) |
1978 – April
 12 April |  22 April |  05 April |
 20 April |  Republican News (22 April 1978) |  Republican News (01 April 1978) |
 An Phoblacht (05 April 1978) |  An Phoblacht (05 April 1978) |
1978 – May
1978 – June
 17 June (1) |  Republican News (17 June 1978) |  Republican News (24 June 1978) |
 Republican News (03 June 1978) |  Republican News (10 June 1978) |
1978 – July
 15 July |  01 July |  08 July |
 Republican News (08 July 1978) |  Republican News (22 July 1978) |  Republican News (29 July 1978) |
 Republican News (01 July 1978) |  An Phoblacht (01 July 1978) |
1978 – August
 06 August |  19 August (1) |  26 August (1) |
 Republican News (12 August 1978) |  Republican News (19 August 1978) |  Republican News (26 August 1978) |
 Republican News (05 August 1978) |  An Phoblacht (05 August 1978) |
1978 – September
 02 September (1) |  16 September |  23 September (1) |
 30 September (1) |  Republican News (16 September 1978) |  Republican News (02 September 1978) |
 Republican News (09 September 1978) (1) |
1978 – October
 07 October (1) |  14 October (1) |  21 October (1) |
 21 October (1) |  28 October (1) |  28 October (1) |
1978 – November
 04 November |  11 November (1) |  18 November (1) |
 18 November (1) |  25 November |  25 November (1) |
 Republican News (11 November 1978) |  Republican News (04 November 1978) |
1978 – December
 02 December (1) |  02 December |  09 December |
 09 December (1) |  16 December (1) |  16 December (1) |
 23 December (1) |  23 December (1) |
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