Adams denies Tánaiste’s claims Sinn Féin ‘over-glorified’ paramilitary violence

• Yesterday 19:00

Gerry Adams has hit back at comments made by Tánaiste Micheál Martin who said Sinn Fein have “over-glorified” paramilitary violence during The Troubles.

Adams denies Tánaiste’s claims Sinn Féin ‘over-glorified’ paramilitary violence© Provided by Irish Examiner

Mr Martin made the comments last month in Boston during a Q&A session at JFK Library and said Sinn Fein have not responded sufficiently to the victims of violence.

He claimed the party is attempting to rewrite the past, to “justify terrible atrocities and acts of violence”.

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams rejected Mr Martin’s comments and said “we all need to be careful with how we deal with the past”.

In an interview with RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, comments made by the sister of murdered Lyra McKee, in which she said a lot of young people in Northern Ireland are being pulled down a road of glorifying what happened during The Troubles, were put to Mr Adams.

He said he would “take that from Lyra McKee’s sister but I won’t take it from Micheál Martin”.

Micheál Martin glorifies, rightly if you like, the men and women of the IRA of Cork in his time. I don’t glorify. I deal with the reality. The people made a stand here.

Mr Adams also accused the Irish Government of being “asleep at the wheel” in terms of its responsibilities to the North and said Mr Martin should do what victims are asking for, for the Irish Government to take an interstate case against the British government.