Michael McKevitt

Michael McKevitt (4 September 1949 – 2 January 2021) was an Irish republican who was the founder of the Real IRA, a radical splinter of the terror group the Irish Republican Army, and the leader of the same group from August 1999 until October 2000. Before this, he was the Quartermaster General of the Provisional IRA, meaning he presided over all weapons possessed by the group.

Criminal conviction

In 2003, McKevitt was put on trial by the Republic of Ireland's Special Criminal Court for being a member of the IRA. He was also accused of directing the 1998 Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people. The evidence in his trial was provided by an informant named David Rupert, who McKevitt tried to claim was an unreliable witness. He failed and was convicted on August 6 2003 on both charges. The next day he was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Among his plans were to kill UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.