Similarly in recent decades , attention has been drawn to the IRA 's shooting of civilian informers in the south . Several historians , notably Peter Hart have alleged that those killed in this manner were often simply considered " enemies " rather than being proven informers . Especially vulnerable , it is argued , were Protestants , ex-soldiers and tramps . " It was not merely ( or even mainly ) a matter of espionage , spies and spy hunters , it was a civil war between and within communities " . Particularly controversial in this regard has been the Dunmanway killings of April 1922 , when ten Protestants were killed and three " disappeared " over two nights . Hart 's contentions have been challenged by a number of historians , notably Niall Meehan and Meda Ryan
Dunmanway killings
Dunmanway killings
Irish War of Independence