’Real IRA cracked open by MI5 spy’
The Real IRA has been cracked wide open by an MI5 spy who is set to testify at the trial of the dissident terror grouping’s suspected leader, according to reports.
An American double agent infiltrated the core of the organisation which planted the Omagh bomb by posing as a wealthy benefactor, it is claimed.
David Rupert has now been lined up as a key witness at the trial of Michael McKevitt, the alleged Real IRA chief charged with directing paramilitary operations after his arrested in the Irish Republic last month.
Sources close to the Real IRA last night said they were unaware that a major undercover operation involving British, Irish and US security services had reportedly laid bare the murky grouping.
However, it has been claimed that Rupert, a former lorry driver from Illinois, has gathered crucial evidence of the dissidents’ operations and membership after attending bugged meetings of its ruling army council.
His efforts could help secure a life sentence conviction against McKevitt, an alleged former IRA quartermaster who split from the Provisionals in disgust following the 1997 ceasefire.
He is expected to go on trial at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court charged with masterminding Real IRA operations.
The rogue republican organisation sprang to notoriety when it carried out the Omagh bombing which killed 29 people and two unborn babies in August 1998 - the largest single atrocity of the Troubles.
The Real IRA has since been blamed for a number of bombings in London, including attacks on the BBC’s headquarters, the MI6 building and Hammersmith Bridge.
It is reported that McKevitt became close to Rupert three years ago and introduced him to other key figures in the Real IRA.
The 6ft 4in, 20-stone American, whose own past is shrouded in mystery, is thought to have become involved in the Irish republican movement in 1997 and has since made several trans-Atlantic visits.
He was then recruited by the MI5 and FBI to spy on the activities of the Real IRA’s political wing, the 32 County Sovereignty Committee.
According to reports he raised money which flowed through a bank account in the Irish Republic border town of Dundalk where McKevitt lived with his wife Bernadette Sands, sister of IRA hunger strike martyr Bobby Sands.
But at the same time it is claimed he was passing on vital information to his security force handlers.
It is now claimed Rupert and his family are living under guard in the United States under a witness protection programme which will provide his family with new identities.
Marion Price, chairperson of the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association and member of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, said she was mystified by the reports.
‘‘This is the first I have heard of it,’’ she said.
‘‘I do know that we have various people raising funds for us in America, but that name doesn’t ring a bell.
‘‘That’s not to say he hasn’t been in touch.’’
Although a Garda spokesman was equally in the dark over Rupert, he added:
‘That case (McKevitt’s) is before the court so I would imagine it would emerge at some stage.’’
