A hard-line republican group, the Continuity IRA is violently opposed to any deal not based on a united Ireland.
The organisation was set up as a paramilitary wing of the splinter political party Republican Sinn Fein, which split from Sinn Fein in 1986. "Continuity" refers to the group's belief that it is carrying on the original IRA mission to force Britain out of Ireland. The party denies having a military wing.
The Continuity IRA was responsible for the 1996 bombing of the Killyhelvin Hotel in Enniskillen. Security forces have also linked it to attacks such as the 1998 Moira and Portadown bombs.
Ex-IRA members see the group as amateurish. It appears to be overshadowed by the Real IRA as a home for IRA dissidents.