MYSTERY FIGURE CAN UNMASK REAL IRA
Mystery figure can unmask Real IRA
Dissident republicans have been shaken by reports that one of their chief fundraisers in the USA was an FBI double agent. As David Rupert prepares to give evidence against the suspected boss of the Real IRA, SMYTH HARPER profiles the man who is believed to have infiltrated the organisation responsible for bombing Omagh
HIS imposing physical presence alone meant he stood out like a sore thumb. His height and girth meant that David Rupert could, without irony, be described as "The Bear". And now the Bear could be one of the key figures responsible for crippling the Real IRA, the organisation which murdered 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bomb.
The FBI agent, who also worked for MI5 and the Garda Siochana, is reportedly prepared to give evidence against suspected Real IRA boss Michael McKevitt. Last weekend the Sunday Times carried a story about Rupert's role in the arrest and the charging of McKevitt with directing a terrorist organisation. It is the first time a republican has been charged with such an offence.
The paper gave details about Rupert's involvement with dissident republicanism stretching back to 1997.
Some of these details have now been confirmed by documents seen by the Belfast Telegraph.
A former trucker, Rupert was purported to be the head of his own haulage firm. Around 40-years-old, even at school he was known for having a rebellious streak. His high school year-book photograph titled him "The Rebel Kind".
With false addresses across the United States, he was an enigmatic figure who kept out of the media spotlight of the activities of the Real IRA's political wing, the 32-Coun-ty-Sovereignty Committee. Some rebel republicans were told Rupert was not the Bear's real name - that he had stolen it from a soldier who died in Vietnam. It is not clear where he comes from, but he may have been born in Spain and has native American blood.
He spent some time living in Ireland before returning to the States.
He ran a bar for 11 months in Leitrim in 1996. In 1998 it was burned down and has since been demolished to make way for a housing development. He was also a doorman at a republican bar in Bundoran.
Whether he was a genuine supporter turned informer and supergrass, or whether he was a double agent from the start may never be known.
But it is believed he donated at least �10,000 to the Real IRA cause. Last month the Sunday Times ran another article about the Bear which said he was a suspected Real IRA bankroller. Just days after that article appeared, McKevitt was arrested and later charged and the Bear was reported to be an agent. But the article's author Liam Clarke, a respected journalist who is believed to have excellent high-level security contacts, told the Belfast Telegraph the original story primarily came from republican sources.
He added that by the time his article appeared, the Bear was probably already in protective custody.
"I had my suspicions that he was an agent because his background was so unusual and it seemed as if he had come from nowhere to the leadership of the Real IRA in a very quick period of time," Mr Clarke said. "But, without any proof, I wasn't going to write a story which would endanger someone's life in case it wasn't true." The Sunday Times reported that McKevitt's partner Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, who heads the committee and is a sister of hunger striker Bobby Sands, was impressed by the Bear's credentials. He was accepted into the heart of the shady world of dissident republicanism. The 32-County-Sovereignty Committee's website was even registered in his name.
But the committee is now trying to distance itself from the Bear. The movement's spokesman Joe Dillon told the Belfast Telegraph that he had nothing to do with their organisation. "Our position is that we know nothing about the man," he said.
"We have nothing to fear from anyone. I know nothing about anyone giving evidence against anyone else. Our organisation has been put on trial by the newspapers but a trial should be in a just court. "We have no further comment to make."
Michael Gallagher, whose son Adrian was killed in the explosion, said the Bear's evidence could be "the most important thing to happen since the bomb". But he added he had mixed feelings about Rupert.
"It is good news but from a victim's point of view there is always the difficulty of dealing with the fact that this person was involved with the organisation," Mr Gallagher said.
"But I do feel that he has had a change of heart and I hope he will have the courage to go through with it to ensure that justice is done."
Whether dissident republicanism should fear the Bear's roar will be seen in the coming months, as the stage is set for one of the most interesting trials Ireland has ever seen.
Dissident republicans have been shaken by reports that one of their chief fundraisers in the USA was an FBI double agent. As David Rupert prepares to give evidence against the suspected boss of the Real IRA, SMYTH HARPER profiles the man who is believed to have infiltrated the organisation responsible for bombing Omagh
HIS imposing physical presence alone meant he stood out like a sore thumb. His height and girth meant that David Rupert could, without irony, be described as "The Bear". And now the Bear could be one of the key figures responsible for crippling the Real IRA, the organisation which murdered 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bomb.
The FBI agent, who also worked for MI5 and the Garda Siochana, is reportedly prepared to give evidence against suspected Real IRA boss Michael McKevitt. Last weekend the Sunday Times carried a story about Rupert's role in the arrest and the charging of McKevitt with directing a terrorist organisation. It is the first time a republican has been charged with such an offence.
The paper gave details about Rupert's involvement with dissident republicanism stretching back to 1997.
Some of these details have now been confirmed by documents seen by the Belfast Telegraph.
A former trucker, Rupert was purported to be the head of his own haulage firm. Around 40-years-old, even at school he was known for having a rebellious streak. His high school year-book photograph titled him "The Rebel Kind".
With false addresses across the United States, he was an enigmatic figure who kept out of the media spotlight of the activities of the Real IRA's political wing, the 32-Coun-ty-Sovereignty Committee. Some rebel republicans were told Rupert was not the Bear's real name - that he had stolen it from a soldier who died in Vietnam. It is not clear where he comes from, but he may have been born in Spain and has native American blood.
He spent some time living in Ireland before returning to the States.
He ran a bar for 11 months in Leitrim in 1996. In 1998 it was burned down and has since been demolished to make way for a housing development. He was also a doorman at a republican bar in Bundoran.
Whether he was a genuine supporter turned informer and supergrass, or whether he was a double agent from the start may never be known.
But it is believed he donated at least �10,000 to the Real IRA cause. Last month the Sunday Times ran another article about the Bear which said he was a suspected Real IRA bankroller. Just days after that article appeared, McKevitt was arrested and later charged and the Bear was reported to be an agent. But the article's author Liam Clarke, a respected journalist who is believed to have excellent high-level security contacts, told the Belfast Telegraph the original story primarily came from republican sources.
He added that by the time his article appeared, the Bear was probably already in protective custody.
"I had my suspicions that he was an agent because his background was so unusual and it seemed as if he had come from nowhere to the leadership of the Real IRA in a very quick period of time," Mr Clarke said. "But, without any proof, I wasn't going to write a story which would endanger someone's life in case it wasn't true." The Sunday Times reported that McKevitt's partner Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, who heads the committee and is a sister of hunger striker Bobby Sands, was impressed by the Bear's credentials. He was accepted into the heart of the shady world of dissident republicanism. The 32-County-Sovereignty Committee's website was even registered in his name.
But the committee is now trying to distance itself from the Bear. The movement's spokesman Joe Dillon told the Belfast Telegraph that he had nothing to do with their organisation. "Our position is that we know nothing about the man," he said.
"We have nothing to fear from anyone. I know nothing about anyone giving evidence against anyone else. Our organisation has been put on trial by the newspapers but a trial should be in a just court. "We have no further comment to make."
Michael Gallagher, whose son Adrian was killed in the explosion, said the Bear's evidence could be "the most important thing to happen since the bomb". But he added he had mixed feelings about Rupert.
"It is good news but from a victim's point of view there is always the difficulty of dealing with the fact that this person was involved with the organisation," Mr Gallagher said.
"But I do feel that he has had a change of heart and I hope he will have the courage to go through with it to ensure that justice is done."
Whether dissident republicanism should fear the Bear's roar will be seen in the coming months, as the stage is set for one of the most interesting trials Ireland has ever seen.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0774
Published Date: 14-Apr-01
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