The IRA enjoyed some popular support in the Republic of Ireland in the early 1970s . However , the movement 's appeal was hurt badly by bombings such as the killing of civilians attending a Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph in Enniskillen in 1987 ( Remembrance Day bombing ) , and the death of two children when a bomb exploded in Warrington , which led to tens of thousands of people demonstrating on O'Connell Street in Dublin to call for an end to the IRA 's campaign . In the 1987 Irish general election , they won only 1.7 % of the votes cast . They did not make significant electoral gains in the Republic until after the IRA ceasefires and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 . By the 2011 Irish general election Sinn Féin 's proportion of the popular vote had reached 9.9 percent
Remembrance Day bombing
Remembrance Day bombing
Provisional Irish Republican Army