As the Republican Sinn Fein Ardfheis opens today in Drogheda, Co Louth, dissident republicans look increasingly out of step. The vast majority of Northern nationalists are fully behind the peace process.
And, after the Omagh bomb, even the previously limited support for a campaign of violence has further declined. The "Real IRA" is on ceasefire, but senior sources in the other dissident republican paramilitary group, the Continuity IRA, have told The Irish Times it will not follow suit.
They said CIRA has acquired new weapons and planned to target the security forces in the North. One senior source said there was no support within the organisation for a ceasefire.
"It's not an issue. Our membership remains committed to continuing the campaign until the British get out of Ireland lock, stock and barrel." He claimed the establishment of the Stormont Assembly had vindicated CIRA's claim that the peace process was aimed at "copper-fastening Partition".
He admitted there was considerable support for the peace process among nationalists but claimed many would become disillusioned "as they realise it isn't leading to the republic".
CIRA has its roots in the Sinn Fein split on abstentionism in 1986. It was formed by IRA members who supported the breakaway Republican Sinn Fein group of Mr Ruairi O Bradaigh.
Security sources say it is Republican Sinn Fein's armed wing, a claim the party denies. CIRA has been responsible for a series of bombings since 1995, including Killyhevlin, Markethill and Portadown.
The source did not rule out further such attacks but said CIRA's main targets in future would be the security forces. CIRA is the only paramilitary group on the island not to have killed anybody, but the source said it aimed to kill security force members.
"Our interest is in targeting British Crown force personnel, RUC officers but particularly British soldiers. The Provisionals and others are presenting the conflict as sectarian, a case of unionists against nationalists, and we are keen to bring it back to basics."
Another CIRA source denied the organisation would consider retaliating if dissident loyalists continued to kill Catholics. "That would only play into the hands of the British and enable them to portray the conflict as sectarian," he said.
CIRA is understood to have received weapons from the US and Europe in the past year. It has a small supply of AK47 rifles and other powerful firearms and is known to have Semtex. It has advanced its bomb-making technology. It is capable of manufacturing mortars and can detonate bombs by mobile phone.
The senior CIRA source said it had recently acquired M-79 grenade-launchers, which it had used in attacks on the security forces in Derry and Enniskillen.
CIRA claimed to have launched an attack on the British army base in Bishop Street, Derry, during the summer and another on an RUC barracks in Enniskillen six weeks ago. The RUC has denied either attack took place.
The 40mm launcher, known as the Bluper, was widely used by the US army and the SAS in the 1960s. It has an effective range of 350 metres.
Security sources on both sides of the Border regard CIRA as presenting a substantially lesser threat to the peace process than the "Real IRA" did.
In the North, the paramilitary group is strongest along the Border, particularly in Armagh and Fermanagh, but has not been active in Tyrone. It has a presence in Derry but has so far failed to expand its limited base in Belfast.
When asked if CIRA suffered from a lack of personnel, the source said: "If anyone wants to join a big army, let them join the British army." He said it would take only a small number of "effective volunteers" to "paralyse the whole of the Six Counties".
There was a high level of co-operation between CIRA, the "Real IRA" and the INLA earlier this year in sharing information and materials and involvement in the same operations.
The CIRA source refused to comment on the possibility of former members of the "Real IRA" or INLA joining forces with it. The CIRA lacks the resources for a sustained campaign, but retains the capability of carrying out sporadic attacks.