A split within the `Real IRA' is believed to have delayed a planned announcement of a permanent end to its campaign of violence.
Gardai believe that some leading figures in the group, which was responsible for the Omagh bombing atrocity, are against the idea of a permanent ceasefire and want only a period of respite before relaunching a terrorist campaign.
Two figures, a Dundalk man and a man living in west Dublin, are said to be the primary main opponents to a permanent ceasefire. Their opposition is believed to have delayed the ceasefire announcement which was expected yesterday afternoon.
An anonymous spokesman for the group had indicated in calls to the Belfast nationalist newspaper, the Irish News, that an announcement about a permanent ceasefire was about to be made.
The group called a temporary "suspension" of its armed campaign three days after the Omagh bombing. It also issued two other statements in the aftermath of the bombing claiming it had given an adequate warning. However, this was denied by the RUC and Ulster Television.
In the North, RUC and Metropolitan Police Force forensic experts, sifting through the debris, have recovered parts of the timer-power unit (TPU) used in the Omagh car-bomb.
The RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, said the TPU resembled six others used in attacks by the `Real IRA'. All were packed into identical plastic sandwich boxes. The unit is identical to TPUs used in previous `Real IRA' bombs.
Three men being questioned by gardai investigating the Omagh bombing are not believed to have any direct connection with the `Real IRA' group which carried out the bombing, according to Garda sources.
It is understood the men are being questioned about an organised car-stealing ring in Dublin which has been used in the recent past by Dublin criminals and, it is suspected, by figures with both criminal and republican terrorist connections.
It is believed the men came to the attention of the Garda investigation in Monaghan as a result of information linking a Co Kildare member of the `Real IRA' to organised criminals, including a car-stealing ring, in Dublin.
However, it is thought unlikely the men had anything to do with stealing the Vauxhall Cavalier car used in the Omagh bombing.
The three men, all in their 20s, who are being questioned in Monaghan Garda Station, were arrested in Spiddal, Co Galway, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
They are held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows their detention for 48 hours for questioning without charge.
The 32-County Sovereignty Movement last night said it would continue "to work politically until British rule is ended".
In a statement, it said: "The British often during the past 30 years fabricated stories that Republican support or morale were dwindling. Such fabrications only boosted our determination."
It added: "The 32-County Sovereignty Movement is separate and distinct from the `Real IRA' in the same way that Sinn Fein is separate and distinct from the IRA.
"We are a legal and open political movement opposed to British rule in Ireland. Any statements, policies or decisions by the `Real IRA' as to its review, consultation or the timing of its suspension would be entirely a matter for the `Real IRA'."