The IRA Quartermaster General (QMG) oversaw the acquisition, concealment and maintenance of weaponry for the Irish Republican Army since its foundation in 1919. His department worked closely with the Engineering in the development of weapons.
A number of people held the post of IRA QMG. In 1997, the then QMG, Michael McKevitt, broke away from the Provisional IRA to form the Real IRA, taking weaponry to his breakaway organisation.[citation needed]