Gerry: I was never IRA’s man
Retiring Gerry Adams refutes claims his leadership went unchallenged for 34 years in climate of fear
GERRY Adams has refuted claims that he went unchallenged as leader at the helm of Sinn Féin for 34 years because he was feared as ‘the IRA’s man’ in the party.
Having announced his imminent retirement as party president, he insisted: ‘The IRA have never had a vote at a Sinn Féin ard fheis.’
SINN Féin leader Gerry Adams has rejected suggestions that his leadership was never challenged over 34 years because he was seen as ‘the IRA’s man’ at the party helm.
Mr Adams branded the idea, raised in an interview on RTÉ Radio yesterday, as ‘silly’. He has always denied being a member of the Provisional IRA.
The veteran republican said: ‘The IRA have never had a vote at a Sinn Féin ard fheis.’
And he described remarks by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin that the Provisionals still controlled Sinn Féin as ‘cynical and self-serving’.
Mr Adams was speaking just hours after he formally announced at his party’s ard fheis that he would not contest the next general election and that he was stepping down as the Sinn Féin party president after 34 years at the helm.
Micheál Martin told his party’s presidential dinner at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin on Saturday night: ‘Today’s Sinn Féin has always been about putting the Provisional movement first.
‘They will change their leader, but the core of the Provisional movement’s approach to politics remains and has been constantly reaffirmed by all of their prospective leaders.
‘The fact is that every one of their potential leaders joined Sinn Féin before the ceasefires and has repeatedly defended the Provisional IRA’s campaign.
‘The party remains as unreformed and as unsuitable for government as ever.
‘They are not and will not be a possible partner.’
Mr Adams retorted: ‘The Fianna Fáil leader is in no position to moralise on who should be in government. For 14 years, he sat at the Cabinet table taking decisions that wrecked the economy: €64billion of taxpayers’ money was used to bail out the banks.
‘He never once spoke out against those policies. He could write the book on bad governance.
‘Today, he props up a Fine Gael government that is refusing to deal properly with the housing and health crises.’
He continued: ‘Of course both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael don’t want to see Sinn Féin in government. They have been able to run this State in their own interests for nearly 100 years.
‘It will be the people who will decide who forms the next government and Sinn Féin will be seeking a mandate to be in that government.’ It could even be the lead party, he told This Week on RTÉ Radio 1.
Mr Adams added that he was tired of being taken over the ‘same old ground’ about the IRA and the past.
‘Should we not look to the future?’ he asked, insisting he would not be a back-seat driver when he stands down.
The future of the party would be up to the incoming leadership, he said, noting that while he had 34 years unchallenged at the helm, he had also attended his first Sinn Féin ard fheis precisely 50 years ago.
There were huge issues coming down the tracks with Brexit, he warned. ‘The Government has been sleepwalking into Brexit,’ he said. ‘The Taoiseach needs to be very clear – he has a duty to protect everyone on this island.
‘Secondly, he should support designated status for the North, and thirdly, he needs to hardball the British and use the veto.’
Mr Martin contended, however: ‘Maybe they (Sinn Féin) want a chaotic Brexit because they think it will cause immense damage to Northern Ireland and will help them.’
Also, during the interview, Mr Adams ruled out the possibility of running for the office of President of Ireland in the next election. When asked if he would consider the opportunity, he simply replied ‘no’. Mr Adams, who turns 70 next year, added that he wouldn’t consider running for any other future elections either here or in the North.
‘Cynical and self-serving’ ‘Needs to hardball the British’