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Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams arrested over woman's murder in 1972

9 Comments
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK

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9 Comments
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Adams is a despicable person.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Hope they can make it stick.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Adams is a nasty piece of work, masquerading as a peacemaker but in reality is totally different. I hope he is tried and found guilty. Jean McConville was a Protestant married to a Catholic, who committed the "crime" of giving water to a wounded British soldier near her home. The IRA murdered her as part of their vicious Ethnic Cleansing program, during their 40 year "war" in trying to force Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join with the Irish Republic, against the will of the majority.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Adams is a scumbag terrorist, seemingly made of teflon for decades. As others have stated, let's hope they have the evidence to make the charges stick. I hope he gets sent down, he would probably go on a hunger-strike but no-one would give a rats.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

How lucky for him that he can't get what he gave.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I appreciate your thoughts on the matter, and yes it is important to remember too that some protestants, notably of the left-wing persuasion and of the working class were persecuted equally. Though I must say I feel your point as to Sinn Fein not running in Westminster is somewhat moot in as much as they took an abstentionist stance for much of their history.

We've drifted far from commenting on the above article it seems, but I do sincerely appreciate your post and the opportunity to discuss such a complicated issue. In regards to the Gerry Adams investigation, I suppose time will tell. Personally, I hope it isn't a witch hunt.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What were the IRA doing in the 1970s? It is undeniable the injustice the Brits inflicted on Eire over the centuries, but independence was recognized in 1922. The Unionists and Loyalists of Northern Ireland did not want to be part of the Irish Free State. So what do they do? Execute a widow and mother of 10 over it? Even if she was a spy, what a stupid cause, to try and graft the north with the south despite the will of the majority there.

Its really too bad the wheels of justice have turned so slowly in this case.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Argus Tuft,

the high population of loyalists in Belfast was ultimately due to the plantation of Ulster in the 15th Century, and their finding out that whilst they were rebelling against British rule in Ulster in 1798, their supposed countrymen in Munster were slaughtering their kin.

As for republicans not being recorded in censuses, that only happened because the IRA wanted that - they murdered a lady census taker in Derry in the 70s to make that point. As for votes, it was Sinn Fein who would not run in Westminster elections until recently. There were property requirements for votes to the old Northern Irish Parliament, but that disenfranchised all working-class adults - loyalists, republicans, unionists, nationalists, and others.

Hope those facts are of use to you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Prince C

what a stupid cause, to try and graft the north with the south despite the will of the majority there.

It's really quite a bit more complicated than that.

Partition was a popular British method of conciliation in the early 20th century and they'd recently done it with India and Pakistan. It wasn't a case of trying to graft something on to something else as much as it was trying to wall off a contentious and economically valuable area. Your comment seems to suggest that the north and south had some kind of established division prior to 1922 when this was not the case.

The importance of Belfast as an industrialized port to Britain shouldn't be overlooked, and the fact that it's largest industry and employer (Harland and Wolff) would not employ Catholics may account for the higher than average population of loyalists in that particular area of the country at that time.

It's also easy to declare that you have a loyalist majority when you don't let the republican opposition vote or record their number in a census.

Regardless of modern public opinion of Gerry Adams or of how direct or indirect his involvement with the IRA in the 1970s, it would be disingenuous to overlook his contribution to bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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