Irish America

Omagh Bombing

FBI, M15 Ran Secret Informer

By Liz Walsh, Contributor
October / November 2002

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The FBI and the British intelligence agency, MI5, operated American spy David Rupert in the Republic of Ireland for four years without telling the Irish authorities. Rupert is the key witness against Michael McKevitt, who will be tried in a Dublin court for directing terrorism. McKevitt is the alleged head of the Real IRA, the Republican splinter group that carried out the … [Read more...] about FBI, M15 Ran Secret Informer

New Inquiry into
Omagh Bombing

By Emer Mullins, Contributor
October / November 2001

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A new inquiry into the Omagh bomb disaster three years after it took the lives of 29 men, women and children has been announced by the RUC. However, the RUC itself is denying allegations that it knew of the bomb two days before it was detonated by the Real IRA in August 1998. And an investigation is said to be underway into the allegations by the police Ombudsman in Northern … [Read more...] about New Inquiry into
Omagh Bombing

The Last Word: The
Far Side of Revenge

By Deaglán de Bréadún, Contributor
October / November 2001

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There was a terrible silence in Omagh in the days after the bombing. It seemed that not even birdsong could be heard in a town that was full of life and joy and laughter when the world turned upside down on 15 August 1998. To those who know nothing of Northern Ireland it may seem distasteful to engage in the arithmetic of tragedy, but the difference with Omagh was that the … [Read more...] about The Last Word: The
Far Side of Revenge

For the Defense

By Anne Cadwallader, Contributor
June / July 2001

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If political power can be judged by how an individual influences society and changes its laws, then there's an arguable case for British defense lawyer Michael Mansfield being one of the most powerful figures on the British stage today. The list of trials and inquiries in which he has played a major role reads like a legal history of the last 20 years, including … [Read more...] about For the Defense

Real IRA Informer in
Protective Custody

By Irish America Staff
June / July 2001

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A former leading figure in the Irish American dissident republican community is in protective custody after it was revealed that he had been working as a double agent for years. According to Irish and British news accounts, David Rupert, 49, a trucker from Illinois, infiltrated the Real IRA, the republican splinter group opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, gaining access … [Read more...] about Real IRA Informer in
Protective Custody