From 1969 till the IRA ceasefire was announced in 1996 the Irish Republican community in the north of Ireland were at war with the state in which they lived. The rest of the world experienced this conflict through newspaper articles, TV and radio reports, photographs, films and novels. Sensationalist images in newspapers and magazines rendered a complex situation as simple and painted an entire people as either the victims or perpetrators of the violence.
Pictures play an essential role in warfare. Troops are rallied and recruited, public opinion is shaped in support of war and the enemy is nearly always portrayed as intrinsically evil. The demonization process is not limited to government spin experts and intelligence agency connected journalists. Novelists, film directors, playwrights, musicians and artists also play a significant role .
The British Government declared a war on Irish Republicans in Ireland in the late 1960’s and have introduced many elements of counter-insurgency. Repressive legislation, surveillance, informants, arrests, and censorship were all part of the arsenal used by the British in their attempt to wipe out the republican movement. The British also resorted to assassination and death squads. 
The photographs in the series, The Irish Republicans, are portraits of the people involved in the Irish Republican movement and their supporters in Ireland and the United States. Included in the series are former IRA Volunteers, political prisoners, members of Sinn Féin, cultural activists, musicians, and political activists. Sinn Fein is now the largest political party on the island of Ireland.