McKevitt trial date to be set today

Co Louth man, Michael McKevitt is back at the Special Criminal Court today.

A date for his trial is expected to be set after he failed in a bid to stop it.

McKevitt, 51, from Blackrock in Co Louth, is the first person to be charged with directing terrorism in the Republic, under new laws brought in after the Omagh bombing in 1998.

His legal team tried and failed to prevent his trial, claiming that the documents relating to the case are being withheld, which show that the prosecution star witness is a criminal and unreliable.

FBI spy David Rupert infiltrated the Real IRA and passed hundreds of documents to the FBI and British Intelligence about the accused.

The British Ambassador and the FBI were called to the court a few weeks ago to say that the withheld information is too sensitive to release.

McKevitt is now expected to go on trial in February.