The Real IRA, the Irish terrorist group that murdered 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing, is to be outlawed in America.

An announcement is due today after pressure from the British and Irish governments on the US government appears to have paid off. The US State Department will add the Real IRA to its list of "foreign terrorist organisations", a move that should prevent supporters of the group from entering the US and restrict its fund-raising activities.

A government spokesman said the move "will be welcomed" but republican leader Martin Galvin said "any ban would indicate that the British government recognises the Real IRA as the main threat to British rule in Ireland." Others said the ban would "glamourise the group".