Since its formation , the Real IRA has waged a campaign in Northern Ireland against the Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI ) — formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary ( RUC ) — and the British Army . It is the largest and most active of the " dissident republican " paramilitary groups operating against the British security forces . It has targeted the security forces in gun attacks and bombings , and with grenades , mortars and rockets . The organisation has also been responsible for bombings in Northern Ireland and England with the goal of causing economic harm and disruption . The most notable of these was the 1998 Omagh bombing , which killed 29 people . After that bombing the Real IRA went on ceasefire , but resumed operations again in 2000 . In March 2009 it claimed responsibility for an attack on Massereene Barracks which killed two British soldiers , the first to be killed in Northern Ireland since 1997
Omagh bombing
Omagh bombing
Real Irish Republican Army