ethnic group, represents a warring escalation and suggest their influence is expanding. nine people in northern ireland are now facing charges in connection with the death of the journalist lyra mckee, who was shot by the republican paramilitary group the new ira in londonderry during rioting in 2019. those charged have been linked to a hardline political party called saoradh. police say it is the political voice of the new ira, which was formed in 2012. they ve warned of its attempts to recruit and radicalise young people. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy has this report. this is the public face of what remains of militant dissident republicanism in northern ireland. a march organised by the political party, saoradh, who reject the peace agreement which brought an end to decades of violence and see themselves as the true continuation of a radical struggle to bring about a united ireland. police investigating the death of lyra mckee have recently arrested a number of their members.
whilst it s not true to say that everybody who is associated with saoradh is associated with the new ira, there is a crossover in terms of some of that membership. this paramilitary style kind of display, you may think looks more like a throwback to northern ireland s past, but for many supporters of saoradh, in their eyes, the conflict continues. they also hope to inspire the next generation to continue the fight. at least a dozen people linked to saoradh are now facing charges for rioting, bomb making, and murder. security sources have previously told the bbc the man seen here in the green jacket, tomas ash mallon, is in the new ira s leadership. lyra mckee was shot when a new ira gunman fired towards police during rioting in derry. the dissident group believes the use of violence is justified to resist what it sees as british rule in northern ireland. and continues to try and carry out
gun and bomb attacks. some of those charged in connection with the death of lyra mckee have been linked with saoradh s youth wing, known as eistigi. how do you think these groups attract young people? in terms of how they continue to attract people to this cause, i think what they do is they give young men in particular a place to belong. and i think that sense of belonging is attractive to young men that have few other opportunities in life, almost to prove themselves. over the past year, the group has held protests in support of new ira prisoners in jail and stepped up its efforts to attract young people through recruitment videos on social media aiming to appeal to a generation born long after northern ireland s darkest days of violence. many of those who joined the old provisional ira during its armed campaign turned away from violence with the good
friday agreement in the 1990s. some of these guys that are in the new ira would ve been in the provisional ira with you 30 40 years ago. what motivates them to continue? there is no semblance of strategic thinking there, but there is a belief in the tradition that any irish person has a right to take up arms against the british while the british are here. it s a very marginal ideological niche, but it exists. how do you feel when you see young people today attracted to that cause that you once supported? i think it s very sad. they are guided by antiquated ideology, which has no relevance in today s world. the people going to jail today will be in for a very long time. saoradh has always denied any involvement with violence. in a statement, the group told us it believes the recent arrests