Bernadette Sands McKevitt (born in November 1958) is an Irish republican, and a founding member of the

32 County Sovereignty Movement The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican group that was founded by Bernadette Sands McKevitt. It does not contest elections but acts as a pressure group, with branches or ''cumainn'' org ...

Early life

She lived in the mainly loyalist Rathcoole area of

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement in North Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course. It surrounds Carnmoney Hill, and was formed from the merging of severa ...

before her family were forced out of their home, when they moved to

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

West

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. She is the younger sister of

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

(IRA) hunger striker

Bobby Sands Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison M ...

Personal life

Her husband was

Michael McKevitt Michael McKevitt ( ga, Mícheál Mac Dhaibhéid) (4 September 1949 – 2 January 2021) was an Irish republican and paramilitary leader. He was the Provisional Irish Republican Army's Quartermaster General. Due to the Provisional IRA's involvem ...

, the Quartermaster General of the Provisional IRA and later a founding member of an anti-

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

splinter group commonly known as the

Real Irish Republican Army The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

. The couple had three children together and lived in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in the Republic of Ireland. Following the Omagh bombing, Sands McKevitt received hostile messages while running her t-shirt printing business in Dundalk, which traumatised her and led to her calling a local priest. The locals forced her and her husband out of the business, though both of them strongly denied having anything to do with the attack in Omagh (in June 2009, McKevitt was one of four men found by a civil court to be liable for the bombing in a case taken by relatives of the victims). In March 2001, McKevitt and her husband were arrested by the Gardaí in Dundalk in a paramilitary investigation, but were not charged. In 2003, McKevitt was sentenced to twenty years in prison in the Republic of Ireland, under the

Offences Against the State Act Offense or offence may refer to: Common meanings * Offense or crime, a violation of penal law * An insult, or negative feeling in response to a perceived insult * An attack, a proactive offensive engagement * Sin, an act that violates a known m ...

, being released early in 2016. He died in January 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

References

1958 births Irish republicans Living people People from Newtownabbey Real Irish Republican Army {{NorthernIreland-bio-stub