 The song dates from the early 1970s, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) secretly imported modern weaponry, most notably Armalite rifles, from the United States.The Armalite can refer to a version of the AR-15 (M16) rifle made specifically by the Armalite Corporation or to the Armalite AR-18, a slightly later, gas piston operated, 5.56mm rifle.Both weapons have been used by the IRA in its armed campaign, however, the song originally referred to the Armalite AR-180 semi-automatic rifle that was available to civilians in the United States at the time.