Gerry Adams, long the most prominent Republican politician from Northern Ireland during the conflict known as the Troubles, gave evidence in London’s High Court on Tuesday denying any membership of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He is being sued by victims who say he was ultimately responsible for IRA bombings in England.
When asked by the claimants’ lawyer Max Hill whether he would discuss any involvement in the IRA in the context of a truth and reconciliation process about the Troubles, Adams replied: “I can’t talk about my involvement in the IRA because I was never involved.”
Why the claimants say Adams was involved
Adams led Sinn Féin, historically seen as the political wing of the IRA, and became the best-known public face of the campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland. He later helped negotiate the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely brought the Troubles to an end.
Now 77, Adams has long faced accusations—from former IRA members among others—that he was a member of the Provisional IRA, its armed faction. He has consistently denied those claims.
Three people injured in separate bombings are suing him in a civil case: an attack at London’s Old Bailey in 1973 (the IRA’s first mainland strike) and two blasts in 1996, one in Manchester and another in London. The claimants seek a civil finding, on the balance of probabilities, that Adams was personally liable for the bombings as a senior IRA figure and later as a member of its Army Council.
What Adams told the court about the IRA and its actions
Entering the London court on Tuesday, Adams wished the judge “a very happy St Patrick’s Day” before telling the judge he was never directly involved in the paramilitary organisation he politically represented.
He said he did not distance himself from the IRA politically but insisted he personally was not a member. Adams acknowledged that at times he had defended some IRA actions on general principles, arguing people have a right to resist occupation, and he drew comparisons with Palestinians and Ukrainians. Claimants’ counsel Max Hill suggested Adams’ support amounted to standing by the IRA because he was a member. Adams replied that while he did not stand by everything the IRA did, and described some of their acts as “dastardly things” that should not have been done, he regarded many of those involved as his neighbours. He added he was glad the IRA had “left the stage” and that there had been no further killings since.
Background: the Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement
“The Troubles” is the term commonly used in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to describe the largely sectarian conflict between predominantly Catholic Republicans—who sought to end union with Britain and join the Republic of Ireland—and predominantly Protestant Unionists—who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. Much of the fighting involved Republican paramilitaries, most notably the IRA, and British security forces. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the IRA extended attacks to the British mainland, including London and other English cities. More than 3,600 people were killed during the Troubles.
Adams became president of Sinn Féin in 1983. He served as an MP in the UK Parliament at times between 1983 and 2011 but, in line with his party, he did not take his seat in Westminster. He later served in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, where Sinn Féin is now the largest party; he stepped down as Sinn Féin president in 2018 and retired from active politics in 2020.
Adams was one of the key Republican negotiators of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, an accord between the UK and Irish governments and most Northern Irish parties that helped calm the conflict. Key elements of the agreement included the establishment of a power-sharing executive at Stormont to ensure unionists and republicans govern together; the right for Northern Irish residents to hold British, Irish, or both nationalities; and commitments from the UK and Ireland to allow for a referendum on a united Ireland if it becomes the majority wish of Northern Ireland’s people. Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
