Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin joined a victim of sexual
abuse today in accusing Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams of “despicable behaviour”
in denying her account of how she was treated by the republican movement.
Belfast woman Maíria Cahill met Mr Martin at Leinster House
today in the wake of the BBC Spotlight programme which detailed how she was
raped in 1997 while a teenager and later and later interrogated by the IRA
about her case.
Both later spoke to the media after Mr Adams had gone on
RTE’s “News at One” to deny Ms Cahill’s claim that he forced her to confront
her alleged rapist, a senior republican.
Maria Cahill speaking at Leinster House today with Fianna
Fáil leader Micheál Martin (left).
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams: focus on response to
allegations of sexual abuse by republicans.
In response Ms Cahill said: “I am appalled. Gerry knows the
truth. He knows I know the truth. I have been forced into the position where I
have had to waive my anonymity because of his previous denials on that issue
and I think that is reprehensible.”
She commended the Spotlight programme for making the
documentary about her case.
“I also think that Gerry not only owes the victims across
the board an apology for how the IRA and Sinn Féin handled this issue. He also
owes Micheál Martin a public apology because he called it a ‘new low’ after he
raised this issue in 2012.
“And his party colleague Pearse Doherty came out and said
those claims were unfounded and untrue. And I think at this point Sinn Féin
needs to come out and say that the IRA internally investigated sex abuse cases
that Sinn Féin members were involved in some cases in that.”
Ms Cahill said that very prominent senior figures in Sinn
Féin including Gerry Adams who was an MP at the time learned of her
allegations. “Gerry had a duty to report that to the police and he did not do
so.”
She said there were other women and men who had been treated
in the same way. “I have met with victims in similar situations and I also have
met with former senior Provisional members of the IRA who confirmed that they
internally investigated cases of abuse. I think at this point it is completely
ludicrous of Sinn Féin to keep denying the issue.”
She also pointed to the fact that Mary Lou McDonald had
previously called on anybody within the Catholic Church who had been found to
have covered up abuse to be arrested and prosecuted and face the full rigours
of the law.
“I am challenging Mary Lou McDonald to come out again and
call on those members within Sinn Féin currently, and I don’t think there is
any doubt about this, who have been found to have covered up cases of child
sexual abuse to be arrested, prosecuted and face the full rigours of the law.
Nobody should be above the law on this issue.”
Ms Cahill said it was important that she had live witnesses
who can corroborate it. “Gerry has chosen two dead people and I think that is
absolutely reprehensible given his close relationship with those two people.
That he has told lies about them and he has lied about me and he clearly has
trouble with some aspects of his memory and it is not just on this issue but on
other issues in the past just like he denies his membership of the IRA which I
also know not to be true.
“The time has come where he needs to come out and say yes
this was an issue; yes it was wrong; no Maíria Cahill is not a liar and that is
the starting point for them.”
Mr Martin said that he had met Ms Cahill in 2012 and she had
given him a very comprehensive account of her case.
“Her fear was that it would never see the light of day or
get through. Unfortunately it has come to pass in that way and what is very
clear from my perspective, I did make a public statement, some time back in
relation to how Sinn Féin/IRA dealt generally with victims of sexual abuse very
similar to the Catholic Church. The institution came first.
Maria Cahill speaking at Leinster House today with Fianna
Fáil leader Micheál Martin (left).
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams: focus on response to
allegations of sexual abuse by republicans. Cahill
allegations of rape may result in others emerging
“I think Sinn Féin and Gerry Adams have very serious
questions to answer. What role did the IRA play? There clearly was an internal
kangaroo court operated by the IRA to keep Maíria quiet and silent on this.
“Today both Maíria and I listened to Gerry Adams on RTE1 and
I just watched the reaction of Maíria to it. Disbelief in terms of his comment
that he didn’t know her very well.
“He did a despicable thing in my view in that he attempted
to undermine her when he referred to self-harm in 2002.”
Mr Martin said that the one thing people should never do in
a situation like this was to try and undermine the person involved.
“You don’t in a very underhand way try to undermine the
credibility or the character of the person involved and I think that was
absolutely despicable that that happened today on the News at One.
“There are a number of key factors here. The first is that a
decision was taken here that this case would not be reported to the police by
Sinn Féin and the IRA. They attempted to deal with it internally and in an
appalling manner.
“There was not full cooperation with the police from a lot
of parties and then the police investigation itself left a lot to be desired. I
know that will be the subject of an investigation by the Ombudsman.
“Sinn Féin needs to deal with tis past in this regard
because we all remember the clarion calls from Sinn Féin spokespeople for
Church people to resign their positions in relation to similar situations.
“There is no doubt in my mind and we have had other people
coming forward in a similar context and the bottom line is this: that they
dealt with these issues internally to try and suppress any emergence of the
truth in relation to these issues for the purposes of preserving intact the
reputation of Sinn Féin/IRA.
Mr Martin said that Ms Cahill had made a comprehensive and
compelling case and Sinn Féin needed to face up to it.
“Stop denying and tell us the truth. I don’t know how many
more times Gerry is going to prevaricate, obfuscate and simply not tell the
truth about things.”
Gerry Adams Prosecution
MI6 have moved to protect Gerry Adams TD from prosecution for with-holding information into the activities of two serial child rapists, His Father Gerry Adams Snr and his Brother Liam Adams.
Prosecutors have directed no prosecution of Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams over claims he withheld information about his brother's sex abuse from the police.
Gerry Adams has been accused of waiting almost a decade to tell detectives what he knew about his brother Liam.
Liam Adams was convicted this week of abusing his daughter Áine from when was she aged four until she was nine.
The PSNI confirmed a decision was taken in 2010 by the Public Prosecution Service not to launch a case.
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris said: "This matter has been examined to see if we should open an investigation into the case and the advice that we received was not to open an investigation.
"We will re-examine the transcripts (of the recent court case) but all the facts in our knowledge in 2010 have not been moved on materially since the recent trial."
Adams, 58, from Bernagh Drive, Belfast, was found guilty of ten offences, including rape and gross indecency, against his daughter Áine.
The abuse was committed over a six-year period between 1977 and 1983.
Liam Adams Guilty child rape
When Gerry Adams TD was first confronted about the fact that he had concealed the rape of his 4 year old niece Aine Adams, Adams said that he had believed Aine when she said she had been raped by her Father, Liam Adams, and Gerry Adams TD went on to say that after he discovered his brother Liam was a serial child rapist he had no further contact with him. However, Gerry Adams TD was and is a liar of unprecedented magnitude, not only had Gerry Adams TD concealed the rape of 4 yearr old Aine, but Gerry Adams TD had also concealed the knowledge that his own Father, Gerry Adams Snr was a serial child rapist who had used the ‘republican’ movement to access and rape children, Gerry Adams Snr was also an active RUC informer and this was known to the PIRA leadership before Gerry Adams Snr died.
Gerry Adams TD attending his brother Liam's wedding 10 years after he accepts that Liam has raped a 4 year old child.
The truth has now been fully exposed in a Belfast Courtroom, where Liam Adams has been found guilty of being a serial child rapist, Liam Adams was a senior member of both the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein, he was promoted in both organisations even after he was outed as a serial child rapist. Gerry Adams TD helped his serial rapist brother set up home in Dundalk where he had access to countless children and in particular to young children in the families off Sinn Fein members, Sinn Fein members who trusted Liam Adams as Gerry Adams had given him the stamp of approval, knowing well that his brother was a child rapist. Gerry Adams TD was parachuted into Dundalk and claimed time and again to locals that the child rape charges against Liam were part of a Brit conspiracy to undermine Gerry Adams TD. With all his bluster and lies, Gerry Adams has finally been exposed as a man prepared to do anything, including conceal the rape of children, to protect his lucrative political career.
Liams Adams convicted, child abuse
Liam Adams has been convicted of all charges relating to the sexual abuse of his daughter Áine.
Adams was found guilty by an 11 - 1 majority verdict by the jury at Belfast Crown Court this afternoon.
Adams (58), from Bernagh Drive in west Belfast, denied 10 charges of sexual assault against his daughter Áine, now aged 40 – three of rape, three of gross indecency and four of indecent assault.
The assaults took place over a six-year period beginning in 1977 when Áine Adams was aged four.
Gerry Adams TD canvasing with his Brother Liam Adams for Sinn Fein (This is after Gerry Adams TD is aware and accepts that Liam Adams has raped his 4 year old daughter)
Liam Adams has been convicted of raping his then 4 year old daughter Aine, his crimes were concealed by his brother Gerry Adams TD. Gerry Adams TD knowing that his brother Liam had raped a 4 year old child, helped his brother Liam set up home in the Irish Republic, in Dundalk, where Liam Adams had open access to hundreds of children. Sinn Fein leaders including Gerry Adams TD protected the serial child rapist Liam Adams from apprehension or prosecution, and Gerry Adams TD only admitted his role in this crime when it was clear that Sinn Fein and the PIRA could no longer keep her silent.
In the picture below serial child rapist Gerry Adams Snr, Gerry Adams TD who concealed his Father's crimes, Liam Adams convicted for raping his 4 year old daughter, Gerry Adams TD who concealed his crimes, Martin McGuinness who helped Liam Adams establish himself in Dundalk, County Louth, after it was known that Liam Adams had been identified as someone who had raped a 4 year old child. Martin McGuinness wanted to be President of Ireland.
Gerry Adams TD
Gerry Adams Snr was also a serial child rapist, who along with other members of Sinn Fein/Provisional IRA in Belfast picked working class children up from the streets to rape them in derelict houses and sheds in west Belfast. Gerry Adams TD has admitted that he knew his Father was a serial child rapist, however, in order to protect his lucrative political career Gerry Adams TD afforded his Father a full-style PIRA funeral in west Belfast, the final insult to the many dozens of children raped by the evil Adams Family.
However, Gerry Adams TD was not the only senior member of Sinn Fein to offer succour to serial child rapist Liam Adams, want to be President of Ireland and MI6 Agent Martin McGuinness also helped Liam Adams to settle into his new Sinn Fein role in Dundalk, County Louth, as this picture clearly shows, McGuinness and Adams were as thick as thieves and therefore there is no doubt that McGuinness knew that Liam Adams was a serial child rapist.
Liam Adams Prosecuted by David McDowell
The claim came from prosecuting lawyer David McDowell as he closed the case against 58-year-old Liam Adams.
Mr McDowell told the Belfast Crown Court jury of nine men and three women that "the truth is king in this case".
"We suggest members of the jury that when you look at the truth, quite literally, you could not make it up," said the lawyer, adding that such was the evidence of Áine Adams, "no ordinary member of the public who has not been abused could not have come up with it."
Defence QC Eilis McDermott
Adams' defence QC Eilis McDermott counter claimed, however, that both Áine and her mother Sarah were proven liars whose evidence "doesn't hold water".
"The fact that the witnesses are prepared to swear by Almighty God to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and then lie to you [over dealings with the police], must mean in a case like this, that you cannot accept the truthfulness of any part of their evidence because it's all you have got," declared the lawyer.
Liam Adams, from Bearnagh Drive in west Belfast, is charged with ten offences including rape, indecent assault and gross indecency against his daughter more than 30 years ago on dates between March 1977 and March 1983.
He denies all charges.
Aine Adams
His daughter 40-year-old Áine Adams has testified that between the ages of four and nine, her father raped and abused her at various addresses the family lived in - including when her mother was in hospital giving birth to her brother and when she was in bed beside her brother.
The jury have heard that although the allegations were brought to police attention in 1987, six months after a family confrontation in Buncrana, the complaint was withdrawn.
Sarah Campbell
Adams' ex-wife Sarah Campbell said that was because she felt the police were more interested in her husband's activities and associates, recounting how one social worker told her the police had asked for Mrs Campbell to meet them in the city centre.
Those claims have been refuted by social workers.
The allegations were raised again in 2007 and it was then that Liam Adams was arrested and interviewed.
The jury have also heard that when initially asked about being confronted by his wife, daughter and his brother Gerry Adams, Liam Adams denied it happened.
Giving evidence on his own behalf when he repeatedly and consistently denied the allegations, Adams claimed he lied about the alleged meeting because it had been "drummed into us that we don't talk about Gerry Adams".
"It had been drummed into us since I was a young person, since the Troubles started that you don't talk about Gerry Adams - you don't talk about him in the barracks, to the British Army, in the media or even as you get older and socialise, you don't talk about Gerry Adams," claimed Liam Adams.
He labelled the allegations against him as "rubbish, absolute rubbish".
On Monday, Mr McDowell said while doubts would likely be cast on the claims for why the allegations were not pursued in the mid-1980s, he suggested to the jury that they use their "common sense".
He suggested that it would be "perfectly credible" that the police would have been interested in not just the allegations of abuse - but also had an "unhealthy interest...in big Gerry" and added that while there were no records of any social worker passing on a police message, "that's the things about off the record conversations, they're not recorded."
Aine Adams credibility
The truthfulness of Áine's account, said Mr McDowell, lay in the details of her evidence because if it had not happened, "how could she come up with this?"
If Áine had not been subjected to it, suggested the lawyer, "she could not have told you of the turmoil in the mind of the child."
He further declared to the jury that looking at the evidence and in applying common sense and their life experience, they would be "firmly convinced" of Adams' guilt.
During her closing remarks, Ms McDermott conceded that Adams, contrary to his solicitor's advice, had lied to police about the meeting in Buncrana, Co Donegal but that he had given his reasons for that.
"It may seem to you a good reason or a bad reason but it's his reason," said the lawyer, adding that the jury should apply their common sense when looking at that aspect of Adams' evidence.
Liam Adams the evidence
She urged the jury to look at the evidence of the social workers who testified that no such message was ever passed onto Áine and her mother from the police, claiming their account "is just patently not right".
Describing the jury as the "supreme judges of fact," Ms McDermott told them that only two people "in the whole world" really knew what had happened - Adams and his daughter Áine.
"Look at the evidence and ask: 'Is that enough, is that enough to satisfy me beyond reasonable doubt so that I'm firmly convinced of the guilt of a person?'," said the lawyer, adding that Áine and her mother could not be relied on.
Áine's sister Sinead had given evidence, telling the jury that her father allegedly confessed to her that he had abused Áine during a reconciliation meeting in December 2002, a meeting which was followed up by regular visits before things broke down again around ten months later.
On Monday, however, Ms McDermott said that not only had Adams denied any such confession, she put to the jury that if a father had just confessed to you that he abused your sister "you would not be able to wait to get out the door....you would not go anywhere near him".
She also highlighted the fact that although the Crown say he is a "monster" - who first raped his daughter when she was around five - none of his other three daughters or any child he worked with in various youth clubs and projects had ever made a similar complaint.
"We say to you that the only proper verdicts that you can return on these counts are verdicts of not guilty," declared Ms McDermott.
Once trial judge Deputy Recorder Judge Corinne Philpott QC has directed the jury in how to apply the law to each of the charges, the jury will retire to consider their verdicts.
The jury have been told their deliberations will begin on Tuesday.
