The National Association of Old IRA was a non-political organisation founded in 1923 to end the schism within Irish republicanism and bring about peace among former comrades. It also looked after the welfare of veterans and commemorated events important to its members. The name Old IRA was chosen to distinguish the Association from the anti-Treaty IRA, which by the 1930s had become an illegal organisation.
The Association’s mode of organisation was identical to that adopted by the IRA during the War of Independence. For example, county Limerick had been organised in West, Mid and East Battalions, and the Old IRA in Limerick likewise had West, Mid and East branches. The Association took the form of a social club organising social gatherings and sporting events. It also aided its members in the application for military pensions for the active participants in the conflicts of 1916-1921. It proved immensely popular and attracted prominent members, among them Simon Donnelly, Frank Thornton, Donal O’Hannigan and Liam Deasy. The Association avoided becoming embroiled in politics, although it did at one stage consider founding a political party. It enjoyed its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, when it took a leading role in campaigns to end partition.
The National Association of Old IRA survived until the 1980s, when its mantle was assumed by the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen (ONE).