SUMMARY
The Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) was an armed group that splintered from PIRA and became active in a conflict against the Government of United Kingdom in 1998 (see conflict dyad Government of United Kingdom – RIRA). It is also known as True IRA or Real Óglaigh na hÉireann.
RIRA, like PIRA, maintained an incompatibility with the [Government of United Kingdom] over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, which it sought to amalgamate into one unified Irish republic encompassing the entire island. However, its initial members splintered from PIRA in opposition to the ceasefire implemented in 1997 because of the continued insistence from the Government of United Kingdom that PIRA had to decommission prior to discussions, which RIRA leaders believed would prevent them from achieving their objective of a unified Irish republic. They also rejected the Good Friday peace agreement signed by PIRA in April 1998. Consequently, RIRA was established during autumn 1997.
Much of the initial support for RIRA came from the Dundalk and Newry areas; some was also found in Dublin. Its membership comprised of many ex-PIRA troops and in 1998, it had a troop size of 100-200. When it was founded, weaponry from PIRA stores was taken. The RIRA was structured in small, tight units that trained in using guns and explosives. It had a political wing known as 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which functioned as a political pressure group for RIRA. To support itself financially, RIRA engaged in criminal activities including smuggling diesel and cigarettes.
RIRA was founded by several senior members of PIRA including its leader, Michael “Mickey” McKevitt, who was the former quartermaster-general of PIRA. On 7 August 2003, McKevitt was sentenced to jail for 20 years for charges of directing terrorism. The leader of the political wing, 32 County Sovereignty Movement, was Bernadette Sands-McKevitt. She was notable for being the sister of PIRA martyr and officer, Bobby Sands, who died whilst on hunger strike in prison in 1981.
On 15 August 1998, RIRA became infamous for causing the greatest number of deaths in a single incident during the three-decade conflict in Northern Ireland. 29 people were killed and over 200 people were injured because of the bomb attack in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The event met with popular disapproval and RIRA officially declared a cessation in its armed activities on 7 September 1998. Several attacks occurred after 1998 but these did not inflict the number of battle-related deaths required to reach the UCDP threshold for an armed conflict.
Following the Omagh bombing in August, PIRA instructed RIRA to disarm “sooner rather than later”. Apart from its connections to PIRA, links to the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army were also reported. Following the bombing in Omagh and subsequent RIRA ceasefire in August, it was believed that some members joined the CIRA.
