How a former IRA quartermaster became the architect of a dissident paramilitary splinter group

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Michael McKevitt was a senior figure in the Provisional IRA who broke away to form the Real IRA. His rejection of the Northern Ireland peace process led to a high-profile criminal conviction, a landmark civil liability ruling for the Omagh bombing, and years of complex legal battles within the Irish courts.

Born in County Louth in 1949, Michael McKevitt rose through the ranks of the Provisional IRA to become its Quartermaster General, overseeing the group's arms caches. His trajectory shifted significantly in the late 1990s when he opposed the movement's participation in the Northern Ireland peace process, which culminated in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. In protest, McKevitt launched the Real IRA, a dissident offshoot that utilized weaponry seized from his former organization. He is believed to have served as the new group's first Chief of Staff.

McKevitt's leadership of the Real IRA ended in his arrest and a 2003 conviction by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court for directing terrorism and membership in an illegal organization. The prosecution relied heavily on David Rupert, an American FBI informant who received substantial payments from the FBI and MI5. Despite McKevitt's repeated appeals—which challenged the reliability of the informant and the fairness of his trial—the courts consistently upheld his convictions. During his incarceration, he faced further legal scrutiny, including a 2009 civil court ruling that found him liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing.

The later years of McKevitt's life were marked by health challenges and continued legal maneuvering. In 2015, he received temporary release for surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. He was formally released from prison on Easter Sunday 2016 after completing his sentence. McKevitt, who was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, the sister of 1981 hunger striker Bobby Sands, died from cancer on 2 January 2021 at the age of 71. His legacy remains defined by his role in the violent splintering of the Irish republican movement following the peace process.

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