Óglaigh na hÉireann (; ONH) is a small dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that took part in the dissident Irish republican campaign. The organisation started carrying out attacks around 2009 having been formed after a split, led by Seamus McGrane, within the Real IRA.

In December 2010, the group's strength was estimated to be about 50 members and it was recruiting and training in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The group has carried out high-profile attacks on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the British Army in Northern Ireland. The organisation seems to be mainly based in the Belfast area, and there are also elements within the Derry, Strabane and south Armagh / north Louth areas. However, with the growth of the larger Real IRA after it merged with other dissident groups in July 2012 to form the New IRA, the organisation's activity has steadily declined. Splits and an intelligence campaign waged against it by the PSNI and MI5 have caused the organisation to lose many members, according to media reports. The organisation is said to be aligned with the Republican Network for Unity, a republican socialist group, although RNU has denied this.

The group called a ceasefire in January 2018, announcing they were suspending all operations against the British state. However, a group of members formed the new group Irish Republican Movement and threatened to continue the fight against British forces. The ONH itself has continued to target former members and drug dealers.

Name Óglaigh na hÉireann is an Irish language idiom for "soldiers of Ireland", "warriors of Ireland", "Irish Volunteers", or "volunteers of Ireland". It is referred to as ONH for short by many, including the Independent Monitoring Commission.

Origins The organisation came into existence after a split among the leadership of the Real IRA. These tensions were evident as far back as late 2003, when Real IRA members in Portlaoise Prison called on the leadership to stand down and call off its campaign. A dispute started as a result, with most Real IRA prisoners at the time siding with the older leadership who founded the organisation.Black Operations: The Secret War Against the Real IRA The organization was formed in 2009, with the split led by Seamus McGrane.

Weaponry It is not well known what weaponry Óglaigh na hÉireann had access to. Most of its attacks used improvised explosive devices rather than more conventional military weapons. These include coffee jar bombs, car bombs, pipe bombs, improvised mortar, under car booby traps and other booby traps. These are weapons that have been used in attacks they have claimed. In August 2013 the group was blamed for planting a Katyusha-style rocket in undergrowth next to a field near Cullyhanna in South Armagh. The weapon was to be triggered using a mobile phone.

Other attacks Óglaigh na hÉireann has carried out have used conventional weapons such as grenades, assault rifles and pistols. In 2010 a man on a bicycle threw a "Russian type" hand grenade at PSNI officers attending a call to a betting shop. The officers were injured and the grenade caused slight damage to a kerb. In 2022 during an Easter parade a 3D printed FGC-9 was spotted.

Campaign In November 2010 an ONH leader stated that "The Provisional IRA took approximately 15 years to wind down. There is no ready-made IRA pack that can be assembled in a short period of time. An [Óglaigh na hÉireann] capable of having a sustained campaign will take time to develop."

2009 1 September: Óglaigh na hÉireann was believed to have been behind the planting of a 600 lb roadside bomb close to the border near Forkill, County Armagh. It was likely meant to blow up a PSNI patrol. However, it was abandoned by those who planted it, and defused by the British Army. 16 October: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for detonating a booby-trap bomb under a PSNI officer's car in Kingsdale Park, east Belfast. The bomb exploded as the officer's girlfriend was driving the car alone, and she suffered minor wounds. The bomb was planted under the passenger side. 21 November: Óglaigh na hÉireann was blamed for a failed car bomb attack on the Northern Ireland Policing Board headquarters in Belfast. A 400 lb car bomb was driven through a security barrier by two men, who then fled. The bomb partially exploded.

2010 8 January: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for an under-car booby-trap bomb attack on a PSNI officer in Randalstown, County Antrim. The bomb exploded shortly after the officer left his home. He was badly hurt in the attack and had to have one of his legs amputated. 12 April: Óglaigh na hÉireann was blamed for a car bomb attack on Palace Barracks in Holywood, County Down. The British Army base houses MI5's Northern Ireland headquarters. A taxi driver had been forced to drive the 120 lb bomb to the base. He abandoned the car shortly before midnight, prompting the PSNI to clear the area. The bomb exploded twenty minutes later, lightly wounding an elderly man. This attack was initially blamed on the Real IRA. 6 May: Óglaigh na hÉireann's Derry Brigade claimed responsibility for disrupting an election count (for the 2010 Westminster election) at Templemore Sports Complex in Derry. The group had hidden a hoax device in the building before the count began. As the count was underway, Óglaigh na hÉireann members forced a taxi driver to drive a pipe bomb to the building. A warning was issued, and the building was evacuated shortly before midnight. The British Army carried out a controlled explosion on the pipe bomb, but the other device was not found for a further four days. 12 July: Óglaigh na hÉireann's Derry Brigade claimed responsibility for a gun attack on a burning PSNI vehicle during a riot. Five shots were fired at the vehicle after it had been hit with petrol bombs in the Bogside area of Derry after several hours of rioting as a result of The Twelfth parades. 3 August: Óglaigh na hÉireann's Derry Brigade claimed responsibility for detonating a 200 lb car bomb outside the Strand Road PSNI station in Derry. Like the attack on 12 April, a taxi driver was forced to drive the bomb in his taxi to the station. The bomb exploded at 03:20, 22 minutes earlier than the warning had said. There were no casualties but several businesses were badly damaged from the blast. The attack was condemned by many politicians. Philip O'Donnell was subsequently sentenced to 13 years with half of it to be served in prison. 21 September: Óglaigh na hÉireann's Derry Brigade claimed responsibility for a gun attack in Derry. The group said that its members had gone to a house to order the occupant to leave the country. When the gunmen found he was not at home, they fired shots through the windows of his car. 5 November: Óglaigh na hÉireann's Belfast Brigade claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on three PSNI officers in Belfast. The officers were investigating a robbery on Shaws Road when a man on a bike threw the grenade. All three were injured and one suffered severe arm wounds. 15 November: In a punishment shooting, a sex offender was shot five times in the abdomen, groin and leg areas.

2011 7 February: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for an arson attack on a taxi depot on Oldpark Road, Belfast. It claimed that the owners were using the depot as a cover for drug dealing."ONH claim arson attack on depot" , North Belfast News, 21 February 2011. 27 March: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for planting a car bomb in Derry. The bomb was left in a car-park on Bishop Street, beside the court-house. The group issued a telephoned warning and the bomb was made safe by the security forces."Dissidents behind city bombs" , UTV News, 29 March 2011. 28 March: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for throwing a "coffee-jar bomb" at the PSNI on Grosvenor Road, Belfast. The device deflected into waste ground. The group then issued a telephoned warning and it was made safe by the security forces.

2012 5 January: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for planting a booby-trap bomb in a soldier's car at Blackdam Court, Belfast. It said that the device was hidden under the driver's seat and was connected to the seat buckle. However, the device was spotted and later made safe by the security forces. 28 April: Óglaigh na hÉireann were blamed for planting a bomb underneath a car in a loyalist area of Belfast. The PSNI said the car had belonged to an officer but had recently changed hands. 4 June: A volley of more than a dozen shots was fired from an automatic rifle at the funeral of republican Brian Mac Fadden in the Bogside, Derry. 6 June: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on a PSNI vehicle at Whin Park, Belfast. A number of vehicles were damaged but nobody was injured."Dissident group claims PSNI bomb attack" , UTV News, 7 June 2012. 11 June: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on the PSNI at Barnfield Road, Dunmurry. Local residents reported hearing a loud bang in the area and the police issued an appeal for information. Nobody was injured. 13 July: A gunman opened fire on the PSNI during a riot in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast. The attack was captured on video. Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility."ONH claims rocket attack" , Irish Republican News, 3 August 2012; retrieved 5 August 2012. 27 July: Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for attacking a PSNI vehicle on Glen Road, Belfast. A single shot was fired at the vehicle and the group claimed it had fired a horizontal mortar, triggered by a mobile phone."Police shots 'dissident murder bid'" . UTV News. 31 July 2012. However, the PSNI denied that a mortar had been fired. 25 October: A pipe bomb was thrown at PSNI officers responding to a call in Poleglass, west Belfast. However, it failed to detonate. Óglaigh na hÉireann was blamed. 30 December: Óglaigh na hÉireann was believed to be behind an attempted car bombing in east Belfast. A PSNI officer was preparing to go out for lunch with his family when he checked under his car and discovered the device. The discovery prompted a security alert and the area was cordoned off for a number of hours.

2013

29 January: Óglaigh na hÉireann issued a bomb warning to a North Belfast community centre, forcing it to be evacuated. A pipe bomb was found in the building's back yard and taken away by the British Army. 30 January: Óglaigh na hÉireann was believed to be behind a failed pipe bomb attack on a PSNI car in the Oldpark area of north Belfast. A number of homes were evaluated in the security alert that followed. 9 March: A bomb exploded near PSNI officers on the Duncrue towpath in north Belfast. There were no injuries.North Belfast bomb blast 'was attempted murder' , bbc.co.uk, 11 March 2013. Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility.Oglaigh na hEireann escalate campaign , Republican News, 15 March 2013. 15 March: A mortar attack on a New Barnsley PSNI station in Belfast was foiled after a PSNI officer spotted the launcher. Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility."Terror group claims car bomb was meant for Northern Ireland G8 summit" , The Guardian, 25 March 2013; retrieved 25 March 2013. 23 March: The British Army defused a car bomb abandoned on the Derrylin Road near Enniskillen. Óglaigh na hÉireann said it had planned to detonate it at the Lough Erne Resort—the hotel hosting the 39th G8 summit—but had to abort the attack. 1 April: A member of Óglaigh na hÉireann fired a volley of shots into the air at a republican commemoration in Ardoyne, north Belfast. 15 May: A Belfast man claimed that Óglaigh na hÉireann had ordered him to smuggle a bomb into Stormont. He believed he was targeted because of his role with a support group, Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse, which holds meetings in the building.