Ireland/Northern Ireland Timeline

[waiting4something]

I don't see why the British Army would even care about Northern Ireland. I mean with Warsaw Pact and all wouldn't they be the least of their probelms?
I mean I could see leaving a very small force there for homeland defense against a possible foreign enemy, but with WW3 why not let law enforcement handle the civilains, and let the troops fight the reds. Why not just leave Northern Ireland to it's own devices? I mean the IRA would be cutting it's own balls off by attacking British troops. They know if the British lost, the Soviets aren't gonna be nice to them, or leave them alone in Northern Ireland. I just think the U.K. would have more important things to do then give up able bodied troops to play policeman. I like the story though. I'm not from the U.K., so it's not that in my face. I don't even understand what the whole thing is about and what group stands for what and who is fighting who. My education on the IRA is from Hollywood.