Donaldson was killed by Real IRA, say Gardai
Police in the Republic are now satisfied that a faction of the Real IRA was behind the murder of former Sinn Fein administrator-turned-spy Denis Donaldson.
Officers believe that he was shot dead by Real IRA dissidents in a bid to create problems for the mainstream provisional republican movement, which was initially blamed for the attack.
Gardai are following a number of lines of inquiry that have emerged in recent weeks.
But a senior officer admitted last night that they did not know yet if these could lead to a breakthrough in the case.
Donaldson (56) was shot four times — in the chest, face, arm and hand — at his remote cottage at Cloghercor, near Doochary, Co Donegal, on April 4, 2007.
Gardai said the investigation into his death remained ‘live’ and a dedicated team of detectives was working full-time on solving the case.
Suspicions about the involvement of Donaldson’s former provisional colleagues in his death circulated on both sides of the border for a couple of years after the attack.
But as the investigation unfolded, gardai became more convinced, from emerging information, that dissidents were responsible.
They now believe that associates of a major Real IRA figure in the north west of the province organised and carried out the shooting.
