Proˌvisional IRˈA, the BrE AmE
another name for the IRA (Irish Republican Army), an illegal military organization that wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK. In 1969, a group that favoured the use of violence, bombing etc separated from the main IRA, and officially this group was called the ‘Provisional IRA’. But in fact when people talk about the ‘IRA’, they usually mean this group.