Gerry Adams

I

Introduction

Gerry Adams, born in 1948, president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which is dedicated to securing the reunification of Northern Ireland with Ireland. A member of the British Parliament from West Belfast in Northern Ireland from 1983 to 1992 and again since 1997, Adams has declined to take his seat, saying that he does not recognize the authority of the British government. Although some people doubt his ability to influence the IRA, he has been a key figure in negotiations to end the violence in Northern Ireland.

II

Early Years

Gerry Adams was born in West Belfast, the eldest of ten children. After attending grammar school he became a bartender and was involved in the defense of Catholic areas of Belfast during the violent conflicts between Catholic republicans (those who wanted Northern Ireland to unite with Ireland) and Protestant loyalists (those who favored maintaining Northern Ireland’s link with Great Britain) in 1969 and 1970. The British security forces believed him to be a senior member of the IRA during the 1970s, although he has strenuously denied this. He was interned (imprisoned without trial) in 1971, but released in July 1972 to take part in talks with the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw. The talks resulted in a brief cease-fire between the Catholic and Protestant factions.

Adams was arrested again in 1973 on the suspicion of being a senior member of the IRA. After attempting to escape incarceration before his trial he was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was released in 1976. His autobiography, Cage Eleven (1993), describes his experiences as a prisoner. In February 1978 he was once again charged with membership in the IRA and placed under custody, but was later released due to insufficient evidence.

III

Rise to Prominence

In the late 1970s Adams became the leading proponent within Sinn Fein for a reassessment of its policies and its commitment to armed struggle. He believed that political action was also required to achieve the party’s aims. This set in motion Sinn Fein’s political development during the early 1980s, when the party began to take an active part in local and general elections.

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In 1983 Adams was elected president of Sinn Fein. A year later he was the victim of an assassination attempt and was shot several times while riding through central Belfast in the back of a car. In 1986 he published Politics of Irish Freedom, a presentation of his political views. During the late 1980s he also mildly criticized IRA killings of civilians, which he argued were detrimental to the Republican cause.

A

IRA Cease-Fire

Together with John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Adams played a large part in the declaration of a cease-fire by the IRA in August 1994, one of the conditions required by the British government before Sinn Fein would be allowed to participate in discussions about the future of Northern Ireland. After the cease-fire was declared, the British government removed the restrictions that it had placed on Adams’s public appearances, and he became free to travel in mainland Britain. In October 1994 United States president Bill Clinton lifted an official ban on government contacts with Sinn Fein and met with Adams in March 1995.

Despite the cease-fire, Adams was unwilling to press the IRA to completely give up its arms before all British troops were withdrawn from Northern Ireland. At the same time, the British refused to allow Sinn Fein’s participation in the talks before the complete decommissioning (surrendering of weapons) of the IRA. This reluctance on both sides caused a delay in the start of the all-party peace talks, and in February 1996 the IRA resumed its campaign of violence. Adams refused to condemn the resumption of violence, a decision that seriously damaged his credibility as leader of the Sinn Fein/IRA Republican bloc.