Gerry Adams said there had been no cover-up by him or Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said party members are not part of any conspiracy to protect child abusers.
Speaking at a party rally in Belfast, Mr Adams referred to criticism of Sinn Féin by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in the Dáil during the week.
*www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/adams-hits-out-at-opponents-over-politicisation-of-cahill-affair-1.1977273
The criticism was made during Leaders' Question when debate was dominated by the accusation made by Belfast woman Maíria Cahill that she had been raped by a member of the IRA in the 1990s.
Maíria Cahill made the accusations in a BBC Spotlight documentary.
Ms Cahill alleged she was raped by a member of the IRA in 1997 when she was a teenager.
She alleged that she was later interrogated by the IRA about her accusations and she says she was forced to confront her attacker.
Ms Cahill went to the police and a case was brought against the alleged rapist and those said to have been involved in the IRA inquiry.
All charges were subsequently dropped after Ms Cahill withdrew her evidence.
Ms Cahill has said Mr Adams’ claim that he had asked her uncle, Joe Cahill, to urge her to go to the RUC, was not true.
She said she did have a conversation with her uncle in August 2000 following her own meeting with Mr Adams.
Ms Cahill noted that during that meeting Mr Adams did not tell her to go to the RUC.
She said, in fact, it was made clear during that conversation that if she did, the RUC would try to use her to gain information about IRA members.
Ms Cahill said her uncle told her that if he had known about the abuse before her alleged abuser had left the jurisdiction, he would have told her to go to the police.
She said not only had she been told not to go to the RUC, her family were all told not to go to the RUC.
In the Dáil this week, Mr Adams said there had been no cover-up by him or Sinn Féin.
This morning, Mr Adams rejected what he called "allegations made against myself and named Sinn Féin members by Maíria Cahill."
This assertion came early in his speech at the Sinn Féin rally, but after he said that nobody doubts that Ms Cahill has been through great distress and I have never doubted that she suffered abuse.
Later, in what party officials say is a significant development, Mr Adams called on any former IRA volunteers who may have any information about any allegations of sexual abuse to pass this on to the appropriate authorities.
He was critical of Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and accused opponents of using the controversy to to further their narrow political agenda.
Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has said Mr Adams still has questions to answer as to how his party and the IRA dealt with allegations of sex abuse within their own ranks.
"Mr Adams opted to use his speech this morning to attack his political opponents for continuing to pursue the truth, and demand answers about the manner in which sex abuse allegations were handled by members of the IRA and Sinn Féin.
"This vain attempt to deflect attention from the cover-ups within those organisations, which are now emerging is sickening", he said in a statement.
On Tuesday Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory QC announced he is establishing an independent review into three cases linked to the alleged rape.
Mr McGrory said he believed an independent external scrutiny of the processes and procedures in relation to the cases was warranted.
He said all aspects of the prosecutions would be reviewed.
Elsewhere, the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said that in any other party people with speak out and suggest that Gerry Adams should step down.
But he said that he thought it was of real concern that members of the party have towed the party line on the issue.
Minister Varadkar said only a few months ago, Gerry Adams was detained in a police station in connection with questions about the murder of Jean McConville.
He said there were now these allegations about the treatment of Ms Cahill, and allegations that child abusers were exported South by the republican movement.
(Blog Editor's comment: Surley, the level of 'social deviance' can be no different within the ranks of Sinn Fein, than within the ranks of any other political party, state security, the gardai, army, courts, prison service, navy and so on. However, what is different, is the states ability through the use of its spy and law enforcement agency, the gardai, to use certain people reputed to be (for example, gay, a drinker, drug abuser and so on to spy on and attempt to involve 'community leaders' including anti-drug campaigners, in alleged 'past' or current criminal activity, which includes paedophilia.
Allegations are circulated secretly, by word of mouth (as so-called soft-information) throught local communities and placed on the garda pulse computer system as 'gospel thruth' more often-than-not, the person about who these alegations are made has no idea about this 'agent provocature' activity.
An agent provocateur (French for "inciting agent") is an undercover agent who acts to entice another person to commit an illegal
or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act.
An agent provocateur may be acting out of own sense of nationalism/duty
or may be employed by the police
or other entity to discredit or harm another group (e.g., peaceful
protest or demonstration) by provoking them to commit a crime - thus,
undermining the protest or demonstration as whole.
To prevent infiltration by agents provocateurs,[1] the organizers of large or controversial assemblies may deploy and coordinate demonstration marshals, also called stewards.[2][3]
Ms Cahill alleged she was raped by a member of the IRA in 1997 when she was a teenager.
She alleged that she was later interrogated by the IRA about her accusations and she says she was forced to confront her attacker.
Ms Cahill went to the police and a case was brought against the alleged rapist and those said to have been involved in the IRA inquiry.
All charges were subsequently dropped after Ms Cahill withdrew her evidence.
Ms Cahill has said Mr Adams’ claim that he had asked her uncle, Joe Cahill, to urge her to go to the RUC, was not true.
She said she did have a conversation with her uncle in August 2000 following her own meeting with Mr Adams.
Ms Cahill noted that during that meeting Mr Adams did not tell her to go to the RUC.
She said, in fact, it was made clear during that conversation that if she did, the RUC would try to use her to gain information about IRA members.
Ms Cahill said her uncle told her that if he had known about the abuse before her alleged abuser had left the jurisdiction, he would have told her to go to the police.
She said not only had she been told not to go to the RUC, her family were all told not to go to the RUC.
In the Dáil this week, Mr Adams said there had been no cover-up by him or Sinn Féin.
This morning, Mr Adams rejected what he called "allegations made against myself and named Sinn Féin members by Maíria Cahill."
This assertion came early in his speech at the Sinn Féin rally, but after he said that nobody doubts that Ms Cahill has been through great distress and I have never doubted that she suffered abuse.
Later, in what party officials say is a significant development, Mr Adams called on any former IRA volunteers who may have any information about any allegations of sexual abuse to pass this on to the appropriate authorities.
He was critical of Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and accused opponents of using the controversy to to further their narrow political agenda.
Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has said Mr Adams still has questions to answer as to how his party and the IRA dealt with allegations of sex abuse within their own ranks.
"Mr Adams opted to use his speech this morning to attack his political opponents for continuing to pursue the truth, and demand answers about the manner in which sex abuse allegations were handled by members of the IRA and Sinn Féin.
"This vain attempt to deflect attention from the cover-ups within those organisations, which are now emerging is sickening", he said in a statement.
On Tuesday Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory QC announced he is establishing an independent review into three cases linked to the alleged rape.
Mr McGrory said he believed an independent external scrutiny of the processes and procedures in relation to the cases was warranted.
He said all aspects of the prosecutions would be reviewed.
Elsewhere, the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said that in any other party people with speak out and suggest that Gerry Adams should step down.
But he said that he thought it was of real concern that members of the party have towed the party line on the issue.
Minister Varadkar said only a few months ago, Gerry Adams was detained in a police station in connection with questions about the murder of Jean McConville.
He said there were now these allegations about the treatment of Ms Cahill, and allegations that child abusers were exported South by the republican movement.
Allegations are circulated secretly, by word of mouth (as so-called soft-information) throught local communities and placed on the garda pulse computer system as 'gospel thruth' more often-than-not, the person about who these alegations are made has no idea about this 'agent provocature' activity.
To prevent infiltration by agents provocateurs,[1] the organizers of large or controversial assemblies may deploy and coordinate demonstration marshals, also called stewards.[2][3]
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