A Dublin-born businessman and convicted criminal has been named as one of the prime suspects over the massive IRA bomb which tore through Manchester 30 years ago.

Cyril McGuinness, known as ‘Dublin Jimmy’, died in hospital in 2019 after collapsing at his home when it was raided by police investigating an unrelated offence.

He is understood to have had a ‘hands-on’ role in the bombing on June 15, 1996, which injured 220 people and caused more than £700m of damage, a source claimed.

It is understood Crown Prosecution Service lawyers thought there was a ‘fighting chance’ of a conviction against McGuinness, who was living in Buxton, Derbyshire, when he died.

Last week, police announced they were closing their investigation into the bombing, for which nobody has ever been charged.

A source close to the investigation told the Manchester Evening News that McGuinness was believed to have travelled to the city on the day of the attack, which happened while England was hosting the Euro 96 football tournament.

Minutes after the bomb was discovered in a Ford Cargo box van - parked on double-yellow lines with its hazard lights flashing near Marks & Spencer outside the Arndale shopping centre - two men made their way to a burgundy Ford Granada driven by a third man.

Along the way they called an IRA chief in Ireland to let them know the bomb had been planted. The Granada was later found abandoned in Preston.

The failure to prosecute any suspects at the time led to allegations that political influence, at the time of the Good Friday Peace Agreement, had hampered the search for justice of those injured in the attack.

McGuinness, who was raised in Cloghran in County Dublin, had dozens of convictions to his name including smuggling, theft and transporting illegal waste. In 2008 he was described in a European extradition warrant as an active member of an Irish criminal organisation.

He is reported to have supplied vehicles to the Provisional IRA and been involved in smuggling activities with paramilitaries.

But while thought to be a republican, the Irish Times reported the Garda believed he was primarily a criminal with ‘no political beliefs’ whose main motivation was money.

In November 2019, McGuinness collapsed and later died of a cardiac arrest following a police raid on his home in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Derbyshire Police had reportedly been asked to search the house by police in Northern Ireland as part of an investigation into the kidnap and torture of businessman Kevin Lunney.

A court heard how McGuinness organised the attack on Mr Lunney, who was bundled into a car outside his home in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, in September 2019 and seriously assaulted.

Mr Lunney was driven to a farm where he was tied up inside a horse box, beaten, and slashed with a Stanley knife. The letters QIH - the initials of Quinn Industrial Holdings, the company he worked for - were carved into his chest. He also had his leg broken with a wooden bat.

In December 2021 three men were jailed after being convicted of abducting and torturing Mr Lunney.

An inquest heard McGuinness was handcuffed during the raid on his house on November 8, 2019, but cooperated with police before he started suffering breathing difficulties.

He died later that morning at Stepping Hill Hospital. A jury inquest ruled he died of natural causes.

A second suspect in the bomb plot was arrested at Birmingham Airport in September 2022. He had been travelling back to Ireland from a holiday, but the flight route was via the Midlands.

He was flagged to police due to an arrest on sight order on his record should he ever set foot in the UK.

He was then interviewed by Greater Manchester Police officers but, it’s understood, didn’t say a word and was released without charge.

In a statement last week Counter Terrorism Policing North West said that as all lines of enquiry had been exhausted the investigation was 'no longer active'.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said: ‘A case of this significance, coupled with the amount of time that has passed, brings complexities so pursuing limited investigative opportunities such as these takes time.

‘Those limited investigative opportunities have now been exhausted and the investigation is no longer active.’

He added: ‘Should any further evidence or information come to light about new or existing suspects then we are prepared to review this position again.’

Counter Terror Police North West and Greater Manchester Police declined to confirm or deny Cyril McGuinness was a suspect in the bombing.