Former Real IRA leader dies following battle with cancer
Michael McKevitt had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago.
Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt has died following a battle with cancer.
McKevitt, who was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bomb, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago.
He was released from prison in 2016 after serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism and membership of an illegal organisation.
The 71-year-old was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, a sister of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
From Co Louth, McKevitt always denied being involved in the 1998 Omagh bombing, but in 2009 a judge ruled in a landmark civil trial that McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were all liable for the bomb.
LMFM By Marc O Driscoll The Co. Louth native was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bombing in 1998.
The founder of the Real IRA, Michael McKevitt has died following a long illness.
The Co. Louth native was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bombing and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago.
He was released from prison in 2016 after serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism and membership of an illegal organisation.
The 71-year-old who lived in Blackrock outside Dundalk was married to Bernadette Sands McKevitt, a sister of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.
03:28 EDT, 3 January 2021
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Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, who plotted the 1998 Omagh bombing, has died from cancer aged 71.
He was one of four men found liable for the horrific attack which killed 29 victims and marked the single deadliest atrocity during the Troubles.
McKevitt was released from prison in 2016 after serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism and membership of an illegal organisation.
The Irish paramilitary leader was diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago, and today the Republican Network for Unity said it was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and comrade.
The husband of a woman murdered in the Omagh bomb says he hopes her killer is “happy in hell”.
Stanley McComb insists the public should not feel any sympathy for former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, who died on Saturday after a long battle with cancer aged 71.
“It doesn’t bother me one bit that he’s died,” said Mr McComb, whose wife Ann was among 29 innocent civilians and two unborn twins killed in the 1998 slaughter.
“Michael McKevitt didn’t make my life any better, he’s dead and gone and I’ve no sympathy.
“I hope he is happy in hell, I hope he rots there. That’s a terrible thing to say about another human being, but that man is not a human being.”
Founder of the Real IRA Michael McKevitt has died
He was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bomb and had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago
Michael McKevitt (Image: PA)
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