:Real Irish Republican Army

{{short description|Irish republican paramilitary group split from the Provisional IRA in 1997}}

{{Infobox war faction

| name = Real Irish Republican Army

| native_name = Óglaigh na hÉireann

| war = {{plainlist|

The Troubles (1997–1998)
Dissident Irish republican campaign (ongoing)}}

| image =

| native_name_lang = ie

| caption =

| active = 1997–2012

| ideology = {{nowrap|Irish republicanism}}
Dissident republicanism

| status =

| leader1_title = Leadership

| leader1_name = Army Council

| leaders =

| headquarters =

| area = Northern Ireland (mainly)
Republic of Ireland
Great Britain

| size = 150 (June 2005)

| split_from = {{nowrap|Provisional Irish Republican Army}}

| merged_into = New Irish Republican Army

| successor =

| opponents = British Army
{{nowrap|Police Service of Northern Ireland}}
Garda Síochána
Irish Defence Forces

}}

The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the IRA's ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the Real IRA saw itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish Republican Army and styled itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It was an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Real IRA waged a campaign in Northern Ireland against the Police Service of Northern Ireland—formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary—and the British Army. It was the largest and most active of the "dissident republican" paramilitary groups operating against the British security forces. It targeted the security forces in firearm attacks and bombings, and with grenades, mortars and rockets.

The Real IRA was also responsible for bombings in Northern Ireland and England with the goal of causing economic harm and disruption, the most notable being the 1998 Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people. After that bombing, the Real IRA went on ceasefire, but resumed operations in 2000. In March 2009 it claimed responsibility for an attack on Massereene Barracks which killed two British soldiers, the first to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1997. The Real IRA has also been involved in attacks on drug dealers.

In July 2012, it was reported that Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican militant groups were merging with the Real IRA. This new entity was named the New IRA by the media{{cite web |last=McDonald |first=Henry |title=Police 'are facing severe terror threat from IRA' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/14/police-severe-terror-threat-ira-northern-ireland-bomb-attacks |work=The Guardian |date=14 May 2016}} but members continue to identify themselves as simply "the Irish Republican Army".{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Gavan |title=Dissident republican groups merge to form 'new IRA' |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/republican-groups-form-new-ira-535041-Jul2012/ |website=TheJournal.ie |date=26 July 2012}} Small pockets of the Real IRA that did not merge with the New IRA continue to have a presence in the Republic of Ireland, particularly in Cork and to a lesser extent in Dublin.{{cite news |last=O'Keeffe |first=Cormac |title=New IRA 'will be unaffected' by murder on Derry street |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/analysis/new-ira-will-be-unaffected-by-murder-on-derry-street-920365.html |newspaper=Irish Examiner |access-date=18 December 2019 |date=27 April 2019}}

Origins

In July 1997, the Provisional IRA called a ceasefire. On 10 October 1997, a Provisional IRA General Army Convention was held in Falcarragh, County Donegal. At the convention, Provisional IRA Quartermaster General Michael McKevitt—also a member of the 12-person Provisional IRA Executive—denounced the leadership and called for an end to the group's ceasefire and to its participation in the Northern Ireland peace process. He was backed by his partner and fellow Executive member Bernadette Sands McKevitt. The two dissidents were outmanoeuvred by the leadership and were left isolated.{{cite book |last=Harnden |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Harnden |title=Bandit Country |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1999 |pages=429–431 |isbn=0-340-71736-X}}{{cite book |last=English |first=Richard |author-link=Richard English |title=Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA |publisher=Pan Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-330-49388-4}}{{rp|296}} The convention backed the pro-ceasefire line, and on 26 October McKevitt and Sands McKevitt resigned from the Executive along with other members.{{cite book |last1=Mooney |first1=John |last2=O'Toole |first2=Michael |title=Black Operations: The Secret War Against the Real IRA |publisher=Maverick House |year=2004 |isbn=0-9542945-9-9}}{{rp|33}}

In November 1997, McKevitt and other dissidents held a meeting in a farmhouse in Oldcastle, County Meath, and a new organisation, styling itself Óglaigh na hÉireann, was formed.{{rp|38–39}} The organisation attracted disaffected Provisional IRA members from the republican stronghold of South Armagh, as well as Dublin, Belfast, Limerick, Tipperary, County Louth, County Tyrone and County Monaghan.{{rp|47}}{{cite journal |last=Boyne |first=Sean |date=24 August 1998 |title=The Real IRA: after Omagh, what now? |url=http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir980824_1_n.shtml |journal=Jane's Intelligence Review |location=London |publisher=Jane's Information Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025035213/http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir980824_1_n.shtml |archive-date=25 October 2007 |access-date=16 July 2007}}

The name "Real IRA" entered common usage when in early 1998 members set up a roadblock in Jonesborough, County Armagh, and told motorists "We're from the IRA. The real IRA".

Objectives

The RIRA's objective is a united Ireland by forcing the end of British sovereignty over Northern Ireland through the use of physical force. The organisation rejects the Mitchell Principles and the Good Friday Agreement, comparing the latter to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which resulted in the partition of Ireland.{{cite web |title='Real' Irish Republican Army (rIRA) Statement |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/ira/rira280103.htm |publisher=CAIN |date=28 January 2003 |access-date=9 May 2007 |archive-date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806160931/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/ira/rira280103.htm |url-status=dead }} The organisation aims to uphold an uncompromising form of Irish republicanism and opposes any political settlement that falls short of Irish unity and independence.{{rp|316–317}}

Bernadette Sands McKevitt, sister of hunger striker Bobby Sands and a founder of the RIRA's political wing, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, said in an interview that her brother "did not die for cross-border bodies with executive powers. He did not die for nationalists to be equal British citizens within the Northern Ireland state".{{rp|316–317}} The RIRA adopted a tactic of bombing town centres to damage the economic infrastructure of Northern Ireland. The organisation also attacks members of the security forces using land mines, home-made mortars and car bombs, and has also targeted England using incendiary devices and car bombs to "spread terror and disruption".

Campaign

=Early campaign=

The organisation's first action was an attempted bombing in Banbridge, County Down on 7 January 1998. The intention was to explode a {{convert|300|lb|adj=on}} car bomb, but this was thwarted when the bomb was defused by security forces.{{rp|68–71}}{{cite news |title=Police detonate car bomb in Ulster |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/45270.stm |work=BBC News |date=7 January 1998 |access-date=8 May 2007}} The RIRA continued its campaign in late February with bombings in Moira, County Down and Portadown, County Armagh.{{rp|87}}{{cite news |title=Eleven injured by Northern Ireland bomb |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/58729.stm |work=BBC News |date=21 February 1998 |access-date=8 May 2007}}{{cite news |title=Car bomb explodes in Portadown |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/59314.stm |work=BBC News |date=23 February 1998 |access-date=8 May 2007}} On 9 May the organisation announced its existence, in a coded telephone call to Belfast media claiming responsibility for a mortar attack on a police station in Belleek, County Fermanagh.{{cite news |title='True' IRA claims responsibility for blast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/90405.stm |work=BBC News |date=10 May 1998 |access-date=8 May 2007}}

The RIRA also carried out attacks in Newtownhamilton and Newry,{{cite web |title=Abstracts on Organisations – 'R' |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/rorgan.htm |publisher=CAIN |access-date=5 May 2007 |archive-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206180554/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/rorgan.htm |url-status=dead }} and a second attack in Banbridge on 1 August injured 35 people and caused £3.5 million of damage when a {{convert|500|lb|adj=on}} car bomb exploded.{{cite news |title=Car Bomb Wounds 35 in Ulster Town |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E3D71E38F931A3575BC0A96E958260 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 August 1998 |access-date=17 June 2007}}{{cite news |title=Bomb warning in Banbridge |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0213/banbridge.html |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=13 February 1999 |access-date=17 June 2007}} Despite these attacks the organisation lacked a significant base and was heavily infiltrated by informers. This led to a series of high-profile arrests and seizures by the Garda Síochána in the first half of 1998; these involved the death of RIRA member Rónán Mac Lochlainn who was shot dead trying to escape from police, following an attempted robbery of a security van in County Wicklow.{{rp|70–71, 101–102, 124–129}}{{cite news |title=Shot robber 'was republican paramilitary' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/87549.stm |work=BBC News |date=4 May 1998 |access-date=8 May 2007}}

=Omagh bombing=

On 15 August 1998, the RIRA left a car containing 500 lb of home-made explosives in the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone. The bombers could not find a parking space near the intended target of the courthouse, and the car was left 400 metres away.{{rp|211–212}}{{cite web | title = The Omagh Bomb – Main Events | url = http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/omagh/events.htm | publisher = CAIN | access-date = 28 June 2007 | archive-date = 1 October 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111001132931/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/omagh/events.htm | url-status = dead }} As a result, three inaccurate telephone warnings were issued, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) believed the bomb was located outside the courthouse. They attempted to establish a security cordon to keep civilians clear of the area, which inadvertently pushed people closer to the location of the bomb.{{rp|211–212}} Shortly after, the bomb exploded killing 29 people and injuring 220 others, in what became the single deadliest strike of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The bombing caused a major outcry throughout the world, and the Irish and British governments introduced new legislation in an attempt to destroy the organisation.{{rp|232}}{{cite news |last=White |first=Michael |author-link=Michael White (journalist) |date=25 August 1998 |title=MPs recalled to match Dublin anti-terror law |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1998/aug/25/houseofcommons.uk |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=6 May 2007}} The RIRA also came under pressure from the Provisional IRA, when Provisional IRA members visited the homes of 60 people connected with the RIRA and ordered them to disband and stop interfering with Provisional IRA arms dumps.{{cite news|last=O'Neill |first=Sean |date=4 May 1998 |title=Give up violence or else, Provos tell the 'Real IRA' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1998/09/04/nuls104.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=8 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050316082603/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=%2Farchive%2F1998%2F09%2F04%2Fnuls104.html |archive-date=16 March 2005 }} With the organisation under intense pressure, which included McKevitt and Sands-McKevitt being forced from their home after the media named McKevitt in connection with the bombing, the RIRA called a ceasefire on 8 September.{{cite news |title=Candlelight vigil for bomb victims |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/154720.stm |work=BBC News |date=20 August 1998 |access-date=5 May 2007}}{{cite news |title=1998: Real IRA announce ceasefire |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/8/newsid_2503000/2503633.stm |work=BBC News |date=8 September 1998 |access-date=5 May 2007}}

=Ceasefire=

Following the declaration of the ceasefire the RIRA began to regroup, and by the end of October had elected a new leadership and were planning their future direction.{{rp|257–260}} In late December, Irish government representative Martin Mansergh held a meeting with McKevitt in Dundalk, in an attempt to convince McKevitt to disband the RIRA. McKevitt refused, stating that members would be left defenceless against attacks by the Provisional IRA.{{rp|257–260}} In 1999, the RIRA began preparations for a renewed campaign, and in May three members travelled to Split in Croatia to purchase arms, which were smuggled back to Ireland.{{cite book |last=Boyne |first=Sean |title=Gunrunners |publisher=O'Brien Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84717-014-9}}{{rp|381–382}} On 20 October, ten people were arrested when Gardaí raided a RIRA training camp near Stamullen, County Meath.{{cite news |title=Garda chief pledges to halt the Real IRA |author=Tom Brady |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garda-chief-pledges-to-halt-the-real-ira-394558.html |work=Irish Independent |date=22 October 1998 |access-date=15 June 2007}}

Officers found a firing range inside a disused wine cellar being used as an underground bunker, and seized weapons including an assault rifle, a submachine gun, a semi-automatic pistol and an RPG-18 rocket launcher.{{rp|314–315}} An earlier version of the rocket launcher, the RPG-7, had been in the possession of the Provisional IRA from as early as 1972, but this was the first time the RPG-18 had been found in the possession of a paramilitary organisation in Ireland.{{cite journal |last=Boyne |first=Sean |date=23 August 2000 |title=Real IRA arms purchasing in Croatia indicates a change of tactics |url=http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm000823_1_n.shtml |journal=Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor |location=London |publisher=Jane's Information Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060624035820/http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm000823_1_n.shtml |archive-date=24 June 2006 |access-date=28 June 2007}}

=Return to activity=

On 20 January 2000, the RIRA issued a call-to-arms in a statement to the Irish News. The statement condemned the Northern Ireland Executive, and stated: "Once again, Óglaigh na hÉireann declares the right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland. We call on all volunteers loyal to the Irish Republic to unite to uphold the Republic and establish a permanent national parliament representative of all the people."{{rp|326}}{{cite web |title=Real IRA call for unity among all Republicans |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2000/0120/north.html |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=20 January 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}} The RIRA launched its new campaign on 25 February with an attempted bombing of Shackleton Army Barracks in Ballykelly. The bombers were disturbed as they were assembling the device, which would have caused mass murder if detonated, according to soldiers.{{cite news |title=Police quiz man about bombing |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/656770.stm |work=BBC News |date=28 February 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}}{{cite news |title=Real IRA behind bid to blow up barracks |author=Tom Brady |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/real-ira-behind-bid-to-blow-up-barracks-383691.html |work=The Irish Independent |date=29 February 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}}

On 29 February, a rocket launcher similar to one seized in the 1999 raid was found near an army base in Dungannon, County Tyrone,{{cite news |title=Rocket launcher linked to dissidents |author=Tom Brady |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/661265.stm |work=BBC News |date=29 February 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}} and on 15 March three men were arrested following the discovery of 500 lb of home-made explosives when the RUC searched two cars in Hillsborough, County Down.{{cite news |title=Explosives find linked to Real IRA |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/679353.stm |work=BBC News |date=16 March 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}} On 6 April a bomb attack took place at Ebrington Barracks in Derry. RIRA members lowered a device consisting of 5 lb of homemade explosives over the perimeter fence using ropes, and the bomb subsequently exploded damaging the fence and an unmanned guardhouse.{{rp|335}}{{cite news |title=Bombing blamed on dissidents |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/703814.stm |work=BBC News |date=6 April 2000 |access-date=15 June 2007}}

==Bombings in England==

File:Real IRA bomb damage in Ealing.jpg]]

After the Omagh bombing, the RIRA leadership were unwilling to launch a full-scale campaign in Northern Ireland due to the possibility of civilians being killed.{{rp|338}} Instead they decided to launch a series of attacks in England, in particular London, which they hoped would attract disenchanted Provisional IRA members to join the RIRA.{{rp|338}} On 1 June 2000, a bomb damaged Hammersmith Bridge, a symbolic target for Irish republican paramilitary groups.{{cite news |title=Police hunt bridge bombers |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/774216.stm |work=BBC News |date=2 June 2000 |access-date=6 May 2007}}{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |author-link=Henry McDonald (writer) |date=4 June 2000 |title=Real IRA armed with super mortar |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jun/04/northernireland.henrymcdonald2 |work=The Guardian |access-date=15 June 2007}} The bridge had been targeted by the Irish Republican Army on 29 March 1939 as part of its Sabotage Campaign, and by the Provisional IRA on 24 April 1996.{{cite news|last=Randall |first=Colin |title=Bridge survives as IRA's 30lb bombs fail to explode |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1996/04/26/nbomb26.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 April 1996 |access-date=15 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040826074517/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=%2Farchive%2F1996%2F04%2F26%2Fnbomb26.html |archive-date=26 August 2004 }}

On 19 July, security forces carried out a controlled explosion on a bomb left at Ealing Broadway station and public transport was disrupted when the Metropolitan Police closed Victoria and Paddington train stations and halted services on the London Underground.{{cite news | title = Bomb scares hit capital | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/840694.stm | work = BBC News | date = 19 July 2000 | access-date = 5 May 2007}} On 21 September a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the MI6 headquarters using an RPG-22 rocket launcher, which generated headlines around the world.{{rp|349–350}}{{rp|84}}{{cite web |title=Security tight in London in wake of MI6 attack |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2000/0921/9022-dissidents/ |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=21 September 2000 |access-date=3 May 2007}} In November 2000, security forces foiled a plot to drive 500 lb of homemade explosives to central London that month, a bomb twice as powerful as the one in Omagh. At the time, police were warning for weeks that a terrorist attack in London could be imminent.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1374106/Real-IRAs-500lb-bomb-for-London-is-thwarted.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1374106/Real-IRAs-500lb-bomb-for-London-is-thwarted.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Real IRA's 500lb bomb for London is thwarted|first=David|last=Cracknell|date=12 November 2000|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}

On 21 February 2001, a bomb disguised as a torch left outside a Territorial Army base in Shepherd's Bush seriously injured a 14-year-old cadet, who was blinded and had his hand blown off.{{cite news | title = TA blast was deliberate attack | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1183106.stm | work = BBC News | date = 22 February 2001 | access-date = 15 June 2007}}{{cite news | title = BBC bomb prompts terror warning | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1201444.stm | work = BBC News | date = 5 March 2001 | access-date = 15 June 2007}} A second attack in Shepherd's Bush, the 4 March BBC bombing, injured a civilian outside the BBC Television Centre.{{cite news | title = Bomb blast outside BBC | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1201273.stm | work = BBC News | date = 4 March 2001 | access-date = 3 May 2007}} The explosion was captured by a BBC cameraman, and the footage was broadcast on TV stations worldwide, and gained mass publicity for the group.{{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Brits | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | year = 2001 | page = [https://archive.org/details/brits00pete/page/384 384] | isbn = 0-7475-5806-X | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/brits00pete/page/384 }} On 14 April, a bomb exploded at a postal sorting office in Hendon, causing minor damage but no injuries.{{cite news | title = Real IRA linked to post office blast | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1278355.stm | work = BBC News | date = 15 April 2001 | access-date = 15 June 2007}} Three weeks later on 6 May, a second bomb exploded at the same building, causing slight injuries to a passer-by.{{cite news | title = Election bombing campaign feared | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1315452.stm | work = BBC News | date = 6 May 2001 | access-date = 15 June 2007}} The 3 August 2001 Ealing bombing injured seven people, and on 3 November a car bomb containing 60 lb of home-made explosives was planted in the centre of Birmingham. The bomb did not fully detonate and no one was injured.{{cite news | title = New leads in hunt for bombers | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1649338.stm | work = BBC News | date = 11 November 2001 | access-date = 3 May 2007}}

==Renewed campaign in Northern Ireland==

The successful attack on Hammersmith Bridge encouraged the RIRA leadership to launch further attacks in Northern Ireland.{{rp|340}} On 19 June 2000 a bomb was found in the grounds of Hillsborough Castle, home of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson.{{rp|340}}{{cite news |title=Mandelson feels 'safe' despite device |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/798309.stm |work=BBC News |date=20 June 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}} On 30 June, a bomb exploded on the Dublin-to-Belfast railway line near the village of Meigh in County Armagh. The explosion damaged the tracks, and caused disruption to train services.{{cite news |title=Dissidents linked to railway blast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/812563.stm |work=BBC News |date=30 June 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}} On 9 July a car bomb damaged buildings in Stewartstown, County Tyrone including an RUC station,{{rp|361}}{{cite news |title=Dissidents linked to NI blast |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/825178.stm |work=BBC News |date=9 July 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}} and on 10 August, an attack in Derry was thwarted by the RUC after a van containing a 500 lb bomb failed to stop at a police checkpoint. Following a car chase the bombers escaped across the Irish border, and the Irish Army carried out a controlled explosion on the bomb after the van was found abandoned in County Donegal.{{rp|347–348}}{{cite news |title=Major NI bomb attack 'thwarted' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/875812.stm |work=BBC News |date=11 August 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}}

On 13 September 2000, two 80 lb bombs were planted at the Magilligan army camp in County Londonderry, one of which was planted in a wooden hut and partially exploded when a soldier opened the door to the hut.{{rp|347–348}} The second bomb was found during a follow-up search and made safe by bomb disposal experts.{{cite news |title=Bombs placed in army base |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/922958.stm |work=BBC News |date=13 September 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}} On 11 November the RUC and British Army prevented a mortar attack after stopping a van near Derrylin, County Fermanagh,{{cite news |title=Mortar find linked to Real IRA |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1021000.stm |work=BBC News |date=13 November 2000 |access-date=28 June 2007}} and the RUC prevented a further attack on 13 January 2001 when an 1100 lb bomb was found in Armagh – the largest bomb found in several years according to the RUC.{{rp|374}}{{cite news |title=Bomb 'largest found' in recent years |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1122561.stm |work=BBC News |date=17 January 2001 |access-date=28 June 2007}}

On 23 January, the RIRA attacked Ebrington Army Barracks in Derry for a second time, firing a mortar over a perimeter fence.{{rp|375–376}}{{cite web |title=Dissident Republicans blamed for mortar attack |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2001/0123/11835-bomb/ |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=23 January 2001 |access-date = 28 June 2007}} A mortar similar to the one used in the attack was found by Gardaí near Newtowncunningham on 13 February, and British army bomb disposal experts made safe another mortar found between Dungannon and Carrickmore on 12 April.{{rp|375–376}}{{cite news | title = 'Barrack buster' mortar disarmed | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1274997.stm | work = BBC News | date = 15 April 2001 | access-date = 28 June 2007}} On 1 August a 40 lb bomb was discovered in a car at the long-stay car park of Belfast International Airport following a telephone warning, and was made safe with two controlled explosions by bomb disposal experts.{{cite news | title = Dissidents blamed for airport bomb | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1469573.stm | work = BBC News | date = 2 August 2001 | access-date = 28 June 2007}} In December a six-day security operation ended when a 70 lb bomb found under railway tracks at Killeen Bridge near Newry was defused. The operation began following telephone warnings, and the road and railway line connecting Newry to Dundalk were closed due to security alerts.{{cite web | title = Bomb found under rail line | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1692599.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 5 December 2001 | access-date = 28 June 2007}}

A pipe bomb was discovered at a police officer's home in Annalong, County Down on 3 January 2002,{{cite web | title = Republicans 'attacked officer's home' | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1742240.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 4 January 2002 | access-date = 28 June 2007}} and two teenage boys were injured in County Armagh on 2 March when a bomb hidden in a traffic cone exploded.{{cite web | title = Boys injured in blast | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1852162.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 3 March 2002 | access-date = 28 June 2007}} On 29 March 2002 the RIRA targeted a former member of the Royal Irish Regiment from Sion Mills, County Tyrone, with a bomb attached to his car that failed to explode.{{cite news | title = Ex-soldier escapes 'Real IRA' booby trap bomb attack | author = David McKittrick | url = http://www.independent.ie/national-news/exsoldier-escapes-real--ira-booby-trap-bomb--attack-315371.html | newspaper = The Irish Independent | date = 30 March 2002 | access-date = 17 March 2009}} On 1 August 2002 a civilian worker was killed by an explosion at a Territorial Army base in Derry. The man, a 51-year-old former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, was the thirtieth person killed by the RIRA.{{cite web | title = Dissidents blamed for army attack | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/2166312.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 1 August 2002 | access-date = 28 June 2007}}

=Arrests=

Despite the RIRA's renewed activity, the organisation was weakened by the arrest of key members and continued infiltration by informers. McKevitt was arrested on 29 March 2001 and charged with membership of an illegal organisation and directing terrorism, and remanded into custody.{{rp|378–381}} In July 2001, following the arrests of McKevitt and other RIRA members, British and Irish government sources hinted that the organisation was now in disarray.{{cite news |author= |title = Real IRA a 'high threat' |url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1426950/Real-IRA-a-high-threat.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=8 April 2003 |access-date=3 May 2007}} Other key figures were jailed, including the RIRA's Director of Operations, Liam Campbell, who was convicted of membership of an illegal organisation,{{cite news | title = Dissidents dub IRA 'traitors' | author = Shane Harrison | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1617836.stm | work = BBC News | date = 24 October 2001 | access-date = 5 May 2007}} and Colm Murphy who was convicted of conspiring to cause the Omagh bombing, although this conviction was overturned on appeal.{{cite news |last=McKittrick |first=David |date=26 January 2002 |title=Omagh bomb plot man is sentenced to 14 years' jail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/omagh-bomb-plot-man-is-sentenced-to-14-years-jail-9224896.html |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=17 April 2007}}{{cite news |author= |title=Omagh bombing convict wins appeal |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/omagh-bombing-convict-wins-appeal-487589.html |newspaper=The Independent |agency=Press Association |date=21 January 2005 |access-date=17 April 2007}}

On 10 April 2002, Ruairi Convey, from Donaghmede, Dublin, was jailed for three years for membership of the RIRA. During a search of his home a list of names and home addresses of members of the Gardaí's Emergency Response Unit was found.{{cite web|title=Dissident republican jailed for IRA membership |url=http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/04/10/story46042.asp |publisher=BreakingNews.ie |date=10 April 2002 |access-date=3 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604145536/http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2002/04/10/story46042.asp |archive-date= 4 June 2007 }} Five RIRA members were also convicted in connection with the 2001 bombing campaign in England, and received sentences varying from 16 years to 22 years' imprisonment.{{cite web | title = Real IRA bombers jailed | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2930957.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 9 April 2003 | access-date = 5 May 2007}} In October 2002, McKevitt and other RIRA members imprisoned in Portlaoise Prison issued a statement calling for the organisation to stand down.{{rp|410–411}}{{cite web |title=Real IRA announces its disbandment |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/1020/31093-realira/ |publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann |date=20 October 2002 |access-date=3 May 2007}} After a two-month trial, McKevitt was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment in August 2003 after being convicted of directing terrorism.{{cite news |author= |title=McKevitt sentenced to 20 years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/aug/07/northernireland |newspaper=The Guardian |agency=Press Association |date=7 August 2003 |access-date=3 May 2007}}

=2002–2007=

After McKevitt's imprisonment, the RIRA regrouped and claimed responsibility for a series of firebomb attacks against premises in Belfast in November 2004,{{cite news |last=Chrisafis |first=Angelique |date=26 November 2004 |title=Firebomb campaign hits Belfast |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/26/northernireland.politics |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=3 May 2007}} and an attack on a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) patrol in Ballymena during March 2006 was attributed to the RIRA by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC).{{cite web|last=Independent Monitoring Commission |title=Twelfth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission |pages=12–13 |date=4 October 2006 |publisher=The Stationery Office |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7cd726e5274a2c9a4846eb/0101680120.pdf |access-date=4 February 2024 }} On 9 August 2006, fire bomb attacks by the RIRA hit businesses in Newry, County Down. Buildings belonging to JJB Sports and Carpetright were destroyed, and ones belonging to MFI and TK Maxx were badly damaged.{{cite web | title = Real IRA admits city bomb attacks | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4783953.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 11 August 2006 | access-date = 3 May 2007}} On 27 October 2006, a large amount of explosives was found in Kilbranish, Mount Leinster, County Carlow by police, who believe the RIRA were trying to derail the peace process with a bomb attack.{{cite web | title = Irish police 'foil Real IRA plot' | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6094660.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 28 October 2006 | access-date = 3 May 2007}} The IMC believe the RIRA were also responsible for a failed mortar attack on Craigavon PSNI Station on 4 December 2006.{{cite web | title = Device is fired at police station | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6206266.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 4 December 2006 | access-date = 6 May 2007}}{{cite web|last=Independent Monitoring Commission |title=Fifteenth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission |page=12 |date=25 April 2007 |publisher=The Stationery Office |url=http://www.nio.gov.uk/fifteenth_report_of_the_independent_monitoring_commission.pdf |access-date=13 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214082450/http://www.nio.gov.uk/fifteenth_report_of_the_independent_monitoring_commission.pdf |archive-date=14 December 2010 }} The IMC's October 2006 report stated that the RIRA remains "active and dangerous" and that it seeks to "sustain its position as a terrorist organisation". The RIRA has stated it has no intention of calling a ceasefire unless a declaration of intent to withdraw from Northern Ireland is made by the British Government.

In a lengthy interview with the newspaper An Phoblacht in 2003, the leadership of the Provisional IRA said that the RIRA had "no coherent strategy".{{cite web|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/ira/rira280103.htm|title=CAIN: real Irish Republican Army (rIRA) Statement, 28 January 2003|first=Dr Martin|last=Melaugh|website=cain.ulst.ac.uk|access-date=17 June 2006|archive-date=6 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806160931/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/organ/ira/rira280103.htm|url-status=dead}}

=2007–2011=

File:Bogside (21), August 2009.JPG, Derry]]

On 8 November 2007, two RIRA members shot an off-duty PSNI officer as he sat in his car on Bishop Street in Derry, causing injuries to his face and arm.{{cite news |title= Policeman injured in gun attack |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7091544.stm |work= BBC News |date= 12 November 2007 |access-date=12 November 2007 }} On 12 November another PSNI member was shot by RIRA members in Dungannon, County Tyrone.{{cite web | title = Real IRA admits shooting officer | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7095156.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 14 November 2007 | access-date = 14 November 2007}} On 7 February 2008, the RIRA stated that, after experiencing a three-year period of reorganisation, it intended to "go back to war" by launching a new offensive against "legitimate targets".{{cite news | title = Mackey slams Provos as RIRA vows resumption of violence | author = Adrian Mullan | url = http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/349259728115496.php | newspaper = Ulster Herald | date = 7 February 2008 | access-date = 29 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080616191412/http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/UH/free/349259728115496.php |archive-date = 16 June 2008}} It also, despite having apologised for the Omagh bombing,{{cite web | title = Real IRA apologises for Omagh bomb | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/northern_ireland/focus/153629.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 18 August 1998 | access-date = 29 July 2010}} denied any large scale involvement with the attack and said that their part had only gone as far as their codeword being used. On 12 May 2008 the RIRA seriously injured a member of the PSNI when a booby trap bomb exploded underneath his car near Spamount, County Tyrone.{{cite web | title = Officer hurt by booby-trap bomb | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7397420.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 13 May 2008 | access-date = 22 May 2008}}{{cite news|title=Murder bid admitted by Real IRA |author=Diana Rusk |url=http://www.irishnews.com/appnews/540/5860/2008/5/16/587806_345515892637Murderbid.html |newspaper=The Irish News |date=16 May 2008 |access-date=22 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210101742/http://www.irishnews.com/appnews/540/5860/2008/5/16/587806_345515892637Murderbid.html |archive-date=10 February 2009 }} On 25 September 2008 the RIRA shot a man in the neck in St Johnston, near the County Londonderry border.{{cite news | title = Pipe-bomb target previously shot by RIRA | work = The Irish News | date = 29 October 2008}} The same man was targeted in a pipe bomb attack on his home on 25 October, the RIRA did not claim responsibility for the attack, but security forces believe they were responsible for it.

On 7 March 2009, the RIRA claimed responsibility for the 2009 Massereene Barracks shooting.{{cite web | title = Real IRA was behind army attack | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7930995.stm | publisher = BBC | date = 7 March 2009 | access-date = 7 March 2009}} This shooting occurred outside the Massereene Barracks as four soldiers were receiving a pizza delivery. Two soldiers were killed, and the other two soldiers and two deliverymen were injured.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7931260.stm|title= How the barracks attack unfolded|date=8 March 2009|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 March 2009}} On 3 April 2009, the RIRA in Derry claimed responsibility for carrying out a punishment shooting of a man who was awaiting sentencing for raping a 15-year-old girl.{{cite news | url = http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/Dissidents-claim-shooting.5138953.jp | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120525122757/http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/Dissidents-claim-shooting.5138953.jp | archive-date = 25 May 2012 | title = Dissidents claim shooting | date = 3 April 2009 | newspaper = Londonderry Sentinel }} The RIRA were also blamed for orchestrating rioting in the Ardoyne area of Belfast on 13 July 2009 as an Apprentice Boys parade was passing. Several PSNI officers were injured in the rioting and at least one shot was fired at police.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8148955.stm |title=Real IRA blamed for Belfast riots |date=14 July 2009 |work=BBC News}} In early November, the Independent Monitoring Commission released a report stating that the threat from the RIRA and other dissident republicans was at its most serious level since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.{{cite news |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7cseWGI0agG0RPjh5CBHQbWOyTAD9BONUPO0 |title=Report: IRA dissidents pose a threat to Northern Ireland |date=4 November 2009 |agency=Associated Press}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

When drug dealer Sean Winters was shot dead in Portmarnock, north Dublin, in September 2010, the Real IRA "emerged as the chief suspects". They were also suspected of shooting dead drugs gang leader Michael Kelly in Coolock in September 2011.{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0908/breaking8.html |title=Funeral for Real IRA member |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=8 September 2012 |access-date=5 October 2012 |archive-date=9 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909072345/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0908/breaking8.html }}

On 5 October 2010, a car bomb exploded outside a branch of the Ulster Bank on Culmore Road in Derry. Two police officers were slightly injured in the blast, which also damaged a hotel and other businesses. Several telephone warnings were received an hour prior to the blast allowing police to cordon off the area.{{cite web | title = Real IRA claims responsibility for Derry car bombing | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11477073 | work = BBC News | date = 5 October 2010 | access-date = 16 December 2011}} The RIRA later claimed responsibility in a telephone call to the Derry Journal.{{cite news | url = https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1005/breaking1.html | title = Real IRA claims Derry bombing | date = 10 May 2010 | newspaper = The Irish Times | access-date = 20 February 2020 | archive-date = 22 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121022061543/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/1005/breaking1.html }}

A large Real IRA explosives dump and arms cache were discovered in Dunleer, County Louth by Gardaí in October 2010, following a weekend of searches and arrests in the east of the country.{{Cite news|title=This article is more than 9 years old Irish police find explosives and arms dump in blow to dissident republicans|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/12/irish-police-arms-explosives-find|last=McDonald|first=Henry|date=12 October 2010|access-date=11 June 2020|work=The Guardian}} In addition, two Real IRA men were charged in Dublin's non-jury Special Criminal Court of membership of an illegal organisation.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The Real IRA claimed responsibility for kidnapping and shooting dead of one of their members, Kieran Doherty, for alleged drug dealing.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-26315595 |title=Kieran Doherty: Appeal four years after Real IRA murder |work=BBC News |date=24 February 2014}} Further seizures of the group's arms and explosives by the Gardaí in 2012 and 2013 led to over a dozen more arrests.{{cite web |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/dissident-republican-seizure-dublin-988889-Jul2013/ |title=Dissident arms seizure includes golden gun |work=The Journal |date=11 July 2013}} In 2011 Michael Campbell, brother of Liam, was found guilty in Vilnius, Lithuania, of trying to purchase arms and explosives{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8206384.stm|title=Vilnius 'Real IRA' trial to open|date=18 August 2009|access-date=18 August 2009|work=BBC News}} and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. In October 2013 Campbell was freed on appeal, only to have the Supreme Court of Lithuania order a retrial in June 2014.{{update inline|date=April 2019}} Campbell has maintained his innocence, accusing British intelligence of attempting to frame him.{{cite news |url=http://www.thejournal.ie/michale-campbell-retrial-1539602-Jun2014/ |title=The Irishman accused of Real IRA gun-running in Lithuania is to face a retrial |newspaper=Irish News |date=27 June 2014}}

=Since 2012: merger and beyond ("New IRA")=

File:Rira-tag-derry-road-sign.jpg

On 26 July 2012, it was reported that Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) and other small republican militant groups were merging with the Real IRA. As before, the group would continue to refer to itself as "the Irish Republican Army",{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |date=26 July 2012 |title=Republican dissidents join forces to form a new IRA |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jul/26/ira-northern-ireland-dissident-republican-groups |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=26 July 2012}}{{cite news |author= |title=New IRA: full statement by the dissident 'Army Council' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jul/26/ira-northern-ireland-dissident-republican-groups1 |newspaper=The Guardian

|date=26 July 2012 |access-date=26 July 2012}} though some media began to refer to the group as a "new IRA".{{cite news |author= |title=Rise of the 'new IRA' and what it means for the rest of us |url=http://www.herald.ie/news/rise-of-the-new-ira-and-what-it-means-for-the-rest-of-us-28906870.html |newspaper=The Herald |date=17 November 2012 |access-date=22 August 2016}}{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Henry |date=5 December 2012 |title='New IRA' group blamed for killing of Dublin crime boss |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/05/new-ira-blamed-killing-dublin-crime-boss |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=22 August 2016}}{{cite news |last=Deeney |first=Donna |date=11 December 2012 |title=Terror suspects part of new dissident group, court told |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/terror-suspects-part-of-new-dissident-group-court-told-29004098.html |newspaper=The Belfast Telegraph |access-date=22 August 2016}}

Structure and status

The RIRA has a command structure similar to the Provisional IRA, with a seven-member Army Council consisting of a chief of staff, quartermaster general, director of training, director of operations, director of finance, director of publicity, and adjutant general.{{rp|40–45}} The rank-and-file members operate in active service units of covert cells to prevent the organisation from being compromised by informers. In June 2005, the organisation was believed to have a maximum of about 150 members, according to a statement by the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell.{{cite web|title=Parliamentary Debates (Official Report – Unrevised) Dáil Éireann Thursday, 23 June 2005 – Page 1 |url=http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20050623.xml&Page=1&Ex=1487#N1487 |publisher=Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas |date=23 June 2005 |access-date=3 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060227022226/http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=DAL20050623.xml&Page=1&Ex=1487 |archive-date=27 February 2006 }}

The RIRA also has political wings: the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (formerly the 32 County Sovereignty Committee), led by Francis Mackey,{{cite news |last=Watt |first=Nicholas |date=16 April 2001 |title=Bombers widen the republican divide |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/16/northernireland.devolution |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=4 May 2007}} and unregistered political party Saoradh, led by Brian Kenna.{{cite web|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/politicalnews/2016/09/26/news/new-revolutionary-republican-party-saoradh-launched-708613/|title=New 'revolutionary' republican party Saoradh launched|date=26 September 2016}}

The RIRA is distinct from the Continuity IRA, another Provisional IRA splinter group founded in 1986, although the two groups have been known to co-operate at a local level.{{cite web|last=Independent Monitoring Commission |title=Eighth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission |page=13 |date=1 February 2006 |publisher=The Stationery Office |url=http://www.nio.gov.uk/eighth_report_of_the_independent_monitoring_commission.pdf |access-date=13 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214083850/http://www.nio.gov.uk/eighth_report_of_the_independent_monitoring_commission.pdf |archive-date=14 December 2010 }} The Provisional IRA has been hostile to the RIRA and issued threats to RIRA members, and in October 2000 was alleged to be responsible for the fatal shooting of Belfast RIRA member Joe O'Connor according to O'Connor's family and 32 County Sovereignty Movement member Marian Price.{{rp|320–321}}{{cite news |last=Mullin |first=John |author-link=John Mullin (journalist) |date=19 October 2000 |title=Shots fired at funeral of Real IRA man |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/19/northernireland.johnmullin |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=3 May 2007}}

Organisations called "Irish Republican Army" are illegal in both UK law{{cite act |title=Terrorism Act 2000 |date=2000-07-20 |reporter=UK Public General Acts |volume=2000 c. 11 |chapter=Schedule 2: Proscribed Organisations |at=sec. [Section |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/section/11 |chapter-url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121085241/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/schedule/2 |archive-date=2013-01-21 |url-status=live}} and Irish law;{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1939/sro/162/made/en/print|title=S.I. No. 162/1939 – Unlawful Organisation (Suppression) Order, 1939.|work=Irish Statute Book|access-date=15 March 2016}} under section 18 of the Offences against the State Act 1939 both proscriptions have been held to apply to the RIRA as to other groups of the name.{{cite web|url=http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/takes/dail2004060100245|title=Written Answers – Proscribed Organisations.|date=1 June 2004|work=Dáil Éireann debates|access-date=15 March 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Judicial%20Decisions/PublishedByYear/Documents/2004/2004%20NICA%2023/j_j_KERC5003.htm |title=The Queen v Z. |date=30 June 2004 |publisher=Courts Service of Northern Ireland |pages=[2004] NICA 23 |access-date=15 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316001710/https://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Judicial%20Decisions/PublishedByYear/Documents/2004/2004%20NICA%2023/j_j_KERC5003.htm |archive-date=16 March 2016 }} Membership in the organisation is punishable by a sentence of up to ten years' imprisonment under UK law.{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |title=Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo021030/debtext/21030-08.htm |house=House of Commons |date=30 October 2002 |column=889 |speaker=Douglas Hogg |position=Member of Parliament for Sleaford and North Hykeham }} {{Cite web |url=https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo021030/debtext/21030-08.htm |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 30 Oct 2002 (Pt 8) |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-date=17 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317094228/https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo021030/debtext/21030-08.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }} On May 16, 2001, the United States government designated the RIRA (and its aliases) as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" (FTO).{{Cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/2001/05/real-ira-gets-terrorist-listing/|title=Real IRA Gets Terrorist Listing|agency=Reuters|date=1 May 2001|magazine=Wired|access-date=20 March 2019}} This makes it illegal for Americans to provide material support to the RIRA, requires American financial institutions to freeze the group's assets, and denies suspected RIRA members visas into the United States.{{cite web | title = US brands Real IRA 'terrorists' | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1333145.stm |website= BBC | date = 16 May 2001 | access-date = 5 May 2007}}

Funding

In 2014, Forbes magazine estimated the group's annual turnover at US$50 million.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/ghki45efh/9-real-ira-annual-turnover-50-million/ |title=The World's 10 Richest Terrorist Organizations |magazine=Forbes |access-date=16 December 2014}} According to the police in Northern Ireland, the main sources of the Real IRA's funding are illegal fuel operations and various smuggling activities.{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/real-ira-is-ninth-richest-terror-group-in-the-world-30748913.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218181658/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/real-ira-is-ninth-richest-terror-group-in-the-world-30748913.html |archive-date=18 December 2014 |title=Real IRA 'is ninth richest terror group in the world' |newspaper=The Belfast Telegraph |date=17 November 2014 }} Illicit cigarettes were also said to be a significant source of income for the group.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thecre.com/ccsf/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Illicit-Cigarette-Trafficking-and-the-Funding-of-Terrorism.pdf|title=Illicit cigarette trafficking and the funding of terrorism|last=Billingslea|first=William|year=2004|work=The Police Chief Magazine|access-date=26 June 2017}} There are also other significant sources of funding from the group, including funding from sympathisers based in the US and other countries.{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/the-boston-bombings-should-make-us-real-ira-supporters-stop-and-think/|title=The Boston bombings should make 'Real IRA' supporters in the US stop and think {{!}} Coffee House|last=Oborne|first=Peter|date=25 April 2013|work=Coffee House|access-date=26 June 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=13 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213025943/https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2013/04/the-boston-bombings-should-make-us-real-ira-supporters-stop-and-think/}}

Weaponry

The RIRA initially took small amounts of materiel from Provisional IRA arms dumps under the control of McKevitt and other former Provisional IRA members, including the plastic explosive Semtex, Uzi submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, handguns, detonators and timing devices.{{rp|321}}{{rp|382–383}} The defection of senior Provisional IRA members also gave the RIRA the ability to manufacture home-made explosives and improvised mortars, including the Mark 15 mortar capable of firing a {{convert|200|lb|adj=on}} shell.{{rp|183}}

In 1999, the organisation supplemented its equipment by importing arms from Croatia, including military explosive TM500, CZ Model 25 submachine guns, modified AK-47 assault rifles with a folding stock, and RPG-18 and RPG-22 rocket launchers{{rp|382,440}} but a July 2000 attempt to smuggle a second consignment of arms was foiled by Croatian police, who seized seven RPG-18s, AK-47 assault rifles, detonators, ammunition, and twenty packs of TM500.{{rp|384}}

In 2001, RIRA members travelled to Slovakia to procure arms, and were caught in a sting operation by the British security agency MI5. The men attempted to purchase five tonnes of plastic explosives, 2,000 detonators, 500 handguns, 200 rocket-propelled-grenades, and also wire-guided missiles and sniper rifles. Three men from County Louth were arrested and extradited to the UK and subsequently imprisoned for 30 years each after pleading guilty to conspiring to cause explosions and other charges.{{cite news |last=Norton-Taylor |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Norton-Taylor |date=8 May 2002 |title=30 years in jail for Real IRA trio |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/08/northernireland.richardnortontaylor |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=28 June 2007}}

In 2005, explosive substances comprising an improvised electric detonator, two coils of detonating wire and two panel-mounted time delay relays were found at a house in Ballyfermot

|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0315/60980-ira/

In June 2006, the PSNI made arrests following an MI5 sting operation targeting a dissident republican gun smuggling plot. The RIRA had attempted to procure arms from France including Semtex and C-4 plastic explosives, SA-7 surface-to-air missiles, AK-47s, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols with silencers, anti-tank weapons and detonators.{{rp|390}}{{cite news |title=Man in court on 'Real IRA' charge |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5112572.stm |work=BBC News |date=24 June 2006 |access-date=28 June 2007}} On 30 June 2010, two of those arrested were found guilty following a trial by judge in Belfast. On 1 October 2010, one man was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for attempting to import weapons and explosives, while the other was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for making a Portuguese property available for the purpose of terrorism.{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10464897 | title= Two guilty of Real IRA gun plot | date=30 June 2010 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11453874 | title= Pair jailed for Real IRA gun plot | date=1 October 2010 |work=BBC News}}