Real IRA had 30 active members at time of Omagh bomb

There were around 30 active members of the Real IRA at the time of the Omagh bombing, a leading expert on dissident republicanism has told a public inquiry.

Twenty-nine people were killed, including the mother of unborn twins, when the Real IRA detonated a car bomb in the town of Omagh on 15 August 1998.

Academic Dr John Morrison was giving evidence on the second day of this phase of proceedings.

He is an associate professor in Criminology at Maynooth University.

He was called to provide context and overview of the capability of dissident republicanism at the time of the 1998 bombing.

Dr Morrison told the inquiry that the Real IRA emerged out of a split with the Provisional IRA in 1997.

Tension had been growing for several years over moves toward peace.