FURTHER REAL IRA REVELATIONS AS OMAGH BOMB CASE CONTINUES
Further Real IRA revelations as Omagh bomb case continues
The civil action instigated by a number of Omagh families against those they believe were responsible for the 1998 bomb atrocity, this week saw claims made that up to 400 Real IRA members were, at that time, engaged in activities designed to thwart efforts at securing peace in Northern Ireland.
Government intelligence revealed at the High Court during the civil action against five men, who the families say were responsible for the deaths of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, also claimed key Real IRA men held dual membership within its political wing, the 32 county Sovereignty Movement.
The dossier claims that weapons were brought in from the former Republic of Yugoslavia, with sporadic acquaintances rather than procurement processes, exploited by the dissident republicans.
One link was allegedly established while a sympathiser was working with an aid agency in the war-torn Balkan region.
The intelligence files, sent to US authorities analysing the Real IRA, detailed its formation following a split with the established Provisional movement in 1997, recruitment - and areas of strength along the border to north Louth and south Armagh.
On day 10 of the hearing in Belfast, Brett Lockhart, QC for the Omagh bomb victims' families seeking multi-million pound damages, read out the assessment from David Watkins, a senior director for police and security within the Northern Ireland Office.
His analysis, compiled around three years after the August 1998 explosion which devastated Omagh, also set out how fundraising came through wealthy benefactors and crime.
Up to $150,000 (�121,000) a year was believed to be coming into the organisation from US supporters - significantly less than its gains through smuggling, the court heard.
The document estimated that the Real IRA consisted of 150 members directly involved in or supporting terrorist attacks, with another 250 members prepared to assist through other methods, including finance and criminal activity.
Experienced Provisional IRA men defected to the dissident grouping after it formed in late 1997, and then set out to thwart the following year's Good Friday Agreement.
The dossier, disclosed to the court, made clear the Real IRA's 'raison d'etre' was to continue the armed struggle in Ireland and to supplant the PIRA as the main republican organisation.
A campaign of violence resumed following a cease-fire called in the aftermath of Omagh, was described as presenting 'a real threat to the fragile peace developed over many years'.
And turning to the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which always denied links to the Real IRA, the intelligence assessment said: "A number of key individuals within the group appear to hold dual membership".
The ties included senior 32 County members attending the funeral of Real IRA man J. J. O'Connor, in October 2000, the court heard.
Dermot Fee, QC for Seamus Daly and Colm Murphy - who are being sued along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna, contested the admissibility of the extracts.
He claimed the identities of the sources, and experts used in Mr. Watkins papers, should be known to the hearing.
"It's not appropriate, in a case which has been described on numerous occasions as one of the most important cases coming before the courts, to simply read out unattributed material," Mr. Fee said.
But the judge, Mr. Justice Declan Morgan, declared it could be admitted under legislation.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
The civil action instigated by a number of Omagh families against those they believe were responsible for the 1998 bomb atrocity, this week saw claims made that up to 400 Real IRA members were, at that time, engaged in activities designed to thwart efforts at securing peace in Northern Ireland.
Government intelligence revealed at the High Court during the civil action against five men, who the families say were responsible for the deaths of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, also claimed key Real IRA men held dual membership within its political wing, the 32 county Sovereignty Movement.
The dossier claims that weapons were brought in from the former Republic of Yugoslavia, with sporadic acquaintances rather than procurement processes, exploited by the dissident republicans.
One link was allegedly established while a sympathiser was working with an aid agency in the war-torn Balkan region.
The intelligence files, sent to US authorities analysing the Real IRA, detailed its formation following a split with the established Provisional movement in 1997, recruitment - and areas of strength along the border to north Louth and south Armagh.
On day 10 of the hearing in Belfast, Brett Lockhart, QC for the Omagh bomb victims' families seeking multi-million pound damages, read out the assessment from David Watkins, a senior director for police and security within the Northern Ireland Office.
His analysis, compiled around three years after the August 1998 explosion which devastated Omagh, also set out how fundraising came through wealthy benefactors and crime.
Up to $150,000 (�121,000) a year was believed to be coming into the organisation from US supporters - significantly less than its gains through smuggling, the court heard.
The document estimated that the Real IRA consisted of 150 members directly involved in or supporting terrorist attacks, with another 250 members prepared to assist through other methods, including finance and criminal activity.
Experienced Provisional IRA men defected to the dissident grouping after it formed in late 1997, and then set out to thwart the following year's Good Friday Agreement.
The dossier, disclosed to the court, made clear the Real IRA's 'raison d'etre' was to continue the armed struggle in Ireland and to supplant the PIRA as the main republican organisation.
A campaign of violence resumed following a cease-fire called in the aftermath of Omagh, was described as presenting 'a real threat to the fragile peace developed over many years'.
And turning to the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which always denied links to the Real IRA, the intelligence assessment said: "A number of key individuals within the group appear to hold dual membership".
The ties included senior 32 County members attending the funeral of Real IRA man J. J. O'Connor, in October 2000, the court heard.
Dermot Fee, QC for Seamus Daly and Colm Murphy - who are being sued along with Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Seamus McKenna, contested the admissibility of the extracts.
He claimed the identities of the sources, and experts used in Mr. Watkins papers, should be known to the hearing.
"It's not appropriate, in a case which has been described on numerous occasions as one of the most important cases coming before the courts, to simply read out unattributed material," Mr. Fee said.
But the judge, Mr. Justice Declan Morgan, declared it could be admitted under legislation.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1943
Published Date: 24-Apr-08
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