Yeah, I always thought IRA was the main acronym for the "Irish Republican Army". Weird that they used IRA in this article to mean something else. Has the main association changed?
Currently, the association is for the "Internet Research Agency", which is the formal company name for a purported Russian based professional trolling firm.
Good point. Similar age group I am guessing, but this is also a US-centric interpretation. The Irish Republican Army was probably more recognisable by their TLA worldwide back in the 70's and 80's.