The offence of directing terrorism, of which McKevitt was convicted yesterday, was introduced in 1998 as part of the Government's response to the Omagh bombing.
And while McKevitt was charged with no offence directly related to the Omagh bombing, his conviction means that the leader of the "Real IRA", which carried out the Omagh attack, now faces a lengthy jail sentence.
While the hunt for the Omagh bombers continues, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, made it clear in the Dáil on June 25th this year that the legislation under which McKevitt was convicted is directly linked to the State's determination to apprehend and convict those responsible for Omagh. He was speaking on the annual renewal of the legislation.
The legislation was part of the State's democratic response to those who would subvert the peace process through the use of violence, he said. "Members of this House will need no reminding of the circumstances in which these provisions were enacted in 1998, that is, the Omagh bomb in August of that year. There was a determination that those responsible for this mass murder would not succeed in subverting the democratically expressed will of the people on this island and that the conflict should be resolved only by peaceful means and on the basis of consent."
He noted that just one person had been convicted in the Republic's jurisdiction on a charge related to the Omagh bomb.
"The investigation is continuing with excellent co-operation between the Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
He pledged that the Garda would never give up the search for those responsible.
The key offence of which Mr McKevitt was convicted yesterday was established by Section 6 of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998. This created the offence of directing, at any level of the organisation's structure, the activities of an organisation in respect of which a suppression order has been made under the Offences Against the State Act 1939.
Mr McKevitt is only person so far to have been charged or convicted of this offence.
Other provisions of the 1998 Act oblige those accused of membership of an unlawful organisation to give notice of the witnesses they intend to call; create an offence of collecting, recording or possessing information of use to members of an unlawful organisation in the commission of serious offences; create another offence of training others in the use of weapons; and empower a court to confiscate the property of someone who is convicted.
The Act also allows a court draw inferences from the failure of someone accused of membership of an unlawful organisation to answer questions, or from the giving of false or misleading answers. Since March 23rd 2002 alone, this provision was used 43 times and six convictions were obtained in cases where this provision was used.
It creates an offence of withholding information which might help prevent the commission of a serious offence, or might secure the prosecution or conviction of someone for such an offence.
It extended the maximum period of detention under the Offences Against the State Act from 48 hours to 72 hours.
The Act requires the Minister for Justice to lay a report on its operation before each House of the Oireachtas every year, prior to the consideration of whether to renew the legislation for another year. Mr McDowell laid such a report before the Oireachtas on June 18th last, saying that the Act was among the legitimate means being used to counter the threat of violence, and was "proving its worth".