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
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 ...
's
Quartermaster General. Due to the Provisional IRA's involvement in the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
, he formed the
Real IRA
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 ...
in protest. His role in the Real IRA led to him being convicted of directing
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
as the leader of the
paramilitary organisation.
Background
Provisional Irish Republican Army
McKevitt was a native of
County Louth. He joined the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
during the outbreak of
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
. In February 1975, he was
shot in the knees by the
Official IRA during a feud between the two organisations. He was a longtime senior member of the Provisional IRA and served as the organisation's
Quartermaster General, with oversight of their arms caches. He quit the organisation in protest at the movement's ceasefires and its participation through
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
in the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
, which led to the
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 ...
in 1998.
Real Irish Republican Army
McKevitt launched a dissident offshoot of the Provisional IRA called the
Real IRA
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 ...
, using seized Provisional IRA weaponry.
McKevitt was expelled from the Real IRA after a disagreement between a group of Real IRA prisoners in
Portlaoise Prison
Portlaoise Prison ( ga, Príosún Phort Laoise) is a maximum security prison in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. Until 1929 it was called the Maryborough Gaol. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium secur ...
and the outside leadership. The prisoners issued a statement urging the leadership to stand down, claiming a criminal element had taken over. McKevitt and his supporters went on to form a group called the New Republican Forum.
Omagh bombing
In June 2009, McKevitt was one of four men found by a civil court to be liable for the 1998 Omagh bombing in a case taken by relatives of the victims. In April 2014, ''
The Telegraph'' revealed that McKevitt and
Liam Campbell were appealing against the ruling in the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...
, citing their inability to cross-examine testimony of FBI source
David Rupert as a violation of their right to a fair trial.
Arrests, convictions, and appeals
McKevitt was convicted by the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
's non-jury
Special Criminal Court
The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ga, Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases.
Legal basis
Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to ...
on 6 August 2003 of two offences: "membership of an illegal organisation" (the Real IRA) and "directing terrorism" between 29 August 1999 and 23 October 2000. On 7 August 2003 he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
During his trial Mr Justice
Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to:
Academics
* Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic
* Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering
* Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...
said of McKevitt, "The accused played a leading role in the organisation which he directed and induced others to join."
[ Given all possible reductions and remission, it means that the earliest he could have been released was 2016. The prosecution's case was based largely on the testimony of an American ]FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
informant, David Rupert.[ According to information revealed in his trial, among his plans was to attempt the assassination of the then ]British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
.
McKevitt appealed against his convictions to the Court of Criminal Appeal, arguing that Rupert's testimony was unreliable since he had been paid large sums of money for his role as an informant (a total of £750,000 from the FBI and MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
),[ and because of Rupert's long criminal record. In December 2005, the court rejected these arguments and said that Rupert was a credible witness. Both of McKevitt's convictions were upheld. In July 2006, McKevitt was given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The appeal was rejected on 30 July 2008.
In February 2014, The Court of Criminal Appeal heard a petition from McKevitt arguing that he should receive a new appeal based on a Supreme Court decision in 2012 which ruled an unrelated Garda search of a suspect's home illegal. On 20 May 2014, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected McKevitt's bid to have his new appeal heard by the Supreme Court.
In August 2014, McKevitt petitioned for release on the grounds that, per Rule 59 (2) of prison rules, McKevitt has not been given proper consideration by prison authorities for a one third remission of sentence taking into account model inmate behavior, due to his conviction being 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 ...
. On 1 September 2014, McKevitt withdrew his appeal and was granted release to prepare a new challenge based on judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
. On 9 December 2014 his challenge was struck down by Dublin's High Court.
Release
In March 2015, McKevitt was granted temporary release in order to treat a cancerous growth on his kidney. Subsequently, McKevitt underwent surgery to have the affected kidney surgically removed in May of the same year.
On Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
2016, McKevitt was formally released from prison upon the completion of his sentence.
Personal life
McKevitt was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, a sister of 1981 Provisional IRA hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
r and Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP), 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 ...
, who died during his hunger strike. Sands McKevitt was a leading member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and had been described in media reports as the third highest ranking Real IRA officer. She left the 32 County Sovereignty Movement following the imprisonment of her husband.
Michael McKevitt died on 2 January 2021, at the age of 71, following a battle with cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
References
External links
Omagh families' relief at McKevitt verdict
BBC News, 6 August 2003
*Kevin Connoll
Body blow to the Real IRA
BBC News, 6 August 2003
RTÉ News, 9 December 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKevitt, Michael
1949 births
2021 deaths
Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland
Irish republicans
Irish republicans imprisoned by non-jury courts
Irish republicans imprisoned on charges of terrorism
People from County Louth
Provisional Irish Republican Army members
Real Irish Republican Army members