Ireland is a small Island with a total population of 5.5 million people. 1.5 million people live in northern Ireland which remains part of the United Kingdom and is Governed by the Northern Ireland Assembly which is made up of both Catholic and Protestant politicians who represent both religious communities in northern Ireland. In 1916 there was a political up rising by Irish republicans (nationalist/Catholic) and the British withdrew from 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, the 26 counties (The Irish Republic) has since been governed by The Irish Government.
While Ireland may be small in scale when compared to other European nations its scandals are just as big, complex and news worthy. The big news stories in Ireland in recent weeks relate to politicians in Northern Ireland (the north) and these stories have been based around two senior politicians in Belfast City, Gerry Adams (President of Sinn Fein, the largest Catholic/Nationalist Party in the north) and Iris Robinson (Wife of Democratic Unionist Party leader Peter Robinson. The DUP is the largest Protestant/Unionist party in the north). Iris Robinson is an elected MP (Member of the British Parliament as is Gerry Adams).
The revelations in recent weeks about these two politicians could not be invented by even the most imaginative tabloid journalist. Several weeks ago Ulster Television (UTV) (one of the main TV stations in the north) produced a documentary (Insight) in which it was claimed that the President of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, had known for over a decade that his brother Liam Dominic Adams had raped his daughter Aine from the age of 4. Aine appeared on the programme and explained how she and he mother had went to meet Gerry Adams MP several years ago to tell him what his brother Liam had done. Gerry Adams appeared on the programme and accepted that he had indeed known for over a decade that Aine had been raped by his brother Liam. Gerry admitted that Liam had told him that he had indeed raped Aine over many years since she was 4 years old. The Adams story brought shock waves to the Irish people both at home and abroad, not because this (child abuse) is a new development in Irish society, but the fact that the man (Gerry Adams) welcomed into the White House, Westminster and other democratic institutions around the world had actually concealed the rape of his little nice Aine.
However, the Adams story did not end there. A few days after the Insight programme Gerry Adams was forced to admit that his own father Gerry Adams Snr was also a child rapist and that Gerry had also concealed this information from the police and social services. However, since these revelations Gerry Adams MP has tried to spin and lie his way out of the political corner that he finds himself in, he has said that once his brother Liam had told him that he was a child rapist he had no more contact with his brother Liam. However, the Sunday Tribune in Ireland and other good media have clearly established that not only were Gerry Adams and his brother in contact, but that Gerry Adams helped his brother Liam establish a new live with a new family (including children) in the Irish Republic. Liam Adams is to be arrested within days when a European Arrest Warrant is issued by the Courts in Northern Ireland. It now appears that Liam Adams knew he had 24 charges of rape out-standing against him in the north and that he used his position in Sinn Fein to hide in a safe house in the Irish Republic so that the Police could not arrest him. The reason I have shared this story is not simply to demonise a man who has done terrible wrong, but because while Gerry Adams was protecting his brother from the Courts of Justice, Gerry Adams was the President of Sinn Fein, an organisation that was forcing known sex offenders out of the community.
However Sinn Fein's woes while very much an issue at the moment were quickly joined by the woes of their partners in Government the DUP. Iris Robinson MP has been a fearsome politician for many years, she and her husband Peter Robinson MP have been married for 40 years and have three grown up children. Iris has been out spoken against homosexual relationships and has taken high moral ground on a number of other social and personal issues. However when one is high on moral ground there is only one way to go when you lose your footing, and thats down. Yes indeed, last week the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation NI) produced a documentary by its Spotlight team, in this documentary it was shown that Iris Robinson had been having a sexual relationship with a teenage boy and that she had used her political position to secure money for this young boy so that he could start a business. It would appear that Mr Peter Robinson had discovered this affair in March 2009 after Iris had attempted suicide. It would appear that Peter ordered that any monies secured by Iris for her young lover should be returned immediately. Since the Spotlight documentary more revelations have been brought forward about Iris, and it may well be that her decision to retire from politics with immediate effect was the right one.
However, having said all of the above I am very consious of the fact that in the next few days Northern Ireland may reach yet another mile stone in its turbulent political history. The DUP and Sinn Fein are trying to make a deal that would see the British Westminster Government devolve responsibility for Policing and Justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly. This would be a very big move forward in a very fragile peace process. However while Ireland may be small in scale its political scandals can be just as interesting, complex and intriguing as those in America or France. by theirishobserver.blogspot.com
