Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt dies

Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt has died.

In June 2009, he was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bombing.

The Omagh bomb is the worst single atrocity during almost 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The 71-year-old, from Blackrock in County Louth, had been diagnosed with cancer a number of years ago and was the alleged founder of dissident republican group the Real IRA.

The Real IRA was formed after a split in the mainstream Provisional IRA (PIRA) in October 1997, after Sinn Féin became involved in the peace process.

In August 2003 McKevitt was found guilty of directing terrorism and membership of an illegal organisation.

The Irish government had introduced the new offence in response to the Omagh attack.

He was not charged over the Omagh bomb but was the first person to be prosecuted for directing terrorism in the Republic of Ireland and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In a landmark civil case in 2009, the High Court in Belfast ruled McKevitt and three other men were liable for the 1998 Omagh bomb that killed 29 people and unborn twins.

The other three men were Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly.

He was released from prison in 2016 after serving a 20-year sentence.

The 71-year-old was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, a sister of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.