<human>: Could you distill the essence of the text into 1-3 sentences?

In Ireland the IRA have generally got a bad name. 

Though when it was originally founded in the 1920s in order to fight for an independent Ireland by the 1970s it was little more than a terrorist organization with a greater emphasis put upon hurting protestant communities than actual fighting for a united Ireland.
The group was split between the official and the provisional IRA, and while the groups claimed to want political legitimacy, they were more often used as an excuse for thuggery and murder, with terrorist  bombings taking part in the Northern Ireland with tactics that are entirely reminiscent of those seen in the modern day middle east.

No go areas were established in cities, and Catholic and Protestant areas were divided. All this was happening as recently as Omagh in 1998. Atrocity were committed by the Unionists and the British Army as well, but nobody was really fighting for a clear moral goal.

My question is what does the rest of the world Know of the IRA and the troubles in Northern Ireland. I often see posts on websites in which people point out the IRA as an example of legitimate paramilitary force. I have had conversations, particularly with Irish Americans who say they support the IRA because they want an Irish republic. What do other countries know of the IRA's activities, or do you have any knowledge.
<bot>: The IRA are considered a terrorist organization in Ireland, I have talked to some foreign people who perceive them positively, What exactly is the general consensus