Adams urges reconciliation at memorial to murdered IRA member
SINN Fein president Gerry Adams has called for reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
The veteran politician, who negotiated for the IRA, made the call last night at an event in memory of a republican shot dead by loyalists 45 years ago.
IRA member Louis Leonard had been working in a butcher’s shop in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, on February 7, 1972 when he was murdered.
He said: “The pain of the Leonard family is, I’m sure, as real for them tonight as it was 45 years ago.
“I’m equally certain that it is as deep and hurtful today for all of those families bereaved during the conflict.
“Survivors and victims are not a monolith. Some are the best possible peacemakers. Some just want to get on with their lives. Others are unforgiving. But all of us have to look to the future.”
Mr Adams acknowledged DUP leader Arlene Foster’s family had suffered. The IRA attempted to shoot her father dead at their home in Fermanagh in 1979 when she was eight.
He said his family “also suffered”, detailing two relatives — one, IRA member Patrick Mulvenna, who was killed by the Army, and the other, Ciaran Murphy, who was killed by loyalists.
“All of that, thankfully, is behind us,” he said.
“One of the big challenges now is to develop a process of reconciliation. We don’t have to forget what happened, or indeed to forgive, if that is impossible for us. But we do have to do all that we possibly can to build a future based on respect, tolerance and equality. That requires reconciliation. It requires reaching out to former enemies.”
But South Antrim DUP MP Paul Girvan hit back: “Of course Mr Adams still justifies the targeting of Mrs Foster’s father and the man driving her school bus. This says it all about Gerry Adams’ belief in reconciliation.
“Both acts were an act of terrorism and utterly unjustified. Sinn Fein, on an almost weekly basis, celebrates and glories in acts of terror.”