Léargas: A Podcast by Gerry Adams

Lá Mór Dearg As this column goes to print Boris Johnson comes to visit our  political leaders in Hillsborough. Whatever he may say or not say one thing is clear. We do not need him to govern us. But more of that anon. Employers must talk to workers Several trade unions are involved in industrial action in the public and private sectors in an effort to get employers to increase wages and improve co...

A transformative election The overwhelming majority of citizens on this island want our future to be different from what went before. Those who voted last Thursday want those they have elected to represent their interests, to make power sharing work and to shape a new future. Attacks on Human Rights laws must be opposed The British government confirmed this week that it plans to replace the Human...

The Sun Is Setting. The legacy of empire, of colonialism and of slavery is for many still a matter of the present and not the past. This is especially true for many of the former British colonies in the Caribbean. Last November Barbados formally removed Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State. Since then the British government sent two groups of British royals as part of a charm offensive to the r...

May 5th - The Peoples Day Less than one week to polling day and the pundits and pollsters are filling the airways and column inches with their take on who will be the big winners and who will be the losers. Who will emerge with more or fewer Assembly seats? Will the Protocol galvinise a so far lack lustre unionist campaign? Will the DUP/TUV and their loyalist allies succeed in frightening unionist...

THE MUSIC MEN My recent tales of singsongs in the H Blocks have triggered more reminiscences of other such events. Two in particular stand out. Both were after Long Kesh was burned down Rióísn Reimagined This column gives a huge cead míle fáilte to  a new musical offering Re-imagining Roísín  from Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, produced by Dónal  O Connor.

Celebrating the Easter Rising Today Irish republicans across Ireland and globally will commemorate and celebrate the men and women who rose up against the British Empire and in favour of an Irish Republic, at Easter time 1916. A century later their extraordinary courage is often passed over by some, particularly in the political establishment in Dublin, who occasionally pay lip service to their sa...

A Question for Jeffrey.  The democratic question remains the key issue internationally. It has been so since people asserted their right to citizenship.  At the heart of that is the entitlement to self governance. That is governance of the people, for the people and by the people. Without outside interference by others.  This issue, or the denial of this right, creates and underpins conflict. That...

UDR Declassified by Micheál Smith On 1 April 1970 the Ulster Defence Regiment of the British Army formally took its place in the ranks of the British Army. The UDR was a locally recruited militia established by the British government following its disbandment of the B Specials the previous year. When it too was disbanded 22 years later it had achieved an even greater level of sectarian notoriety t...

Moving Backwards?  One unionist twitter account at the weekend posed the question; “How many different ways can the DUP tell us we MUST vote DUP no matter how incompetent or corrupt they have been?” The comment followed Jeffrey Donaldson’s claim that this election is the most important in a generation for unionists. He warned: “Sinn Féin will push for border poll unless DUP wins in May election.”...

Irish Neutrality is not for sale The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to dominate the news agenda. Lines of tanks and armoured vehicles inexorably move toward Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Images of hospitals and family homes bombed and destroyed; of refugees, particularly children, the elderly and disabled, forcibly fleeing has led to a massive outpouring of solidarity. People want to hel...

Write On! Last Thursday was World Book Day. This year is the 25th anniversary of the event. This reminded me of the volume of publications produced by former republican prisoners. Palestinians deserve our support also:  There are two photographs in this week’s column. One is of a school. Totally destroyed. Levelled. Classrooms reduced to rubble. The work of students scattered across the ground. Th...

Russia get out of Ukraine The big story of the moment is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Like many of you I have been watching the round the clock news reports emerging from what is now a war zone. The television images and photographs are distressing. Burning buildings, the skeletal shell of others already destroyed. Russian tanks and armed soldiers. And terrified citizens and families, many wit...

The Game is Up The singular message emerging from the conflicting voices within political unionism at this time is their opposition to the election of a Sinn Féin First Minister. Whatever other differences there may be between the different strands of unionism on other issues like how to oppose the protocol, on this they are united.  Maura McCrory Maura McCrory died last week and I attended her fu...

Standing up to Bullies.  Some politicians rarely, if ever see the irony in the words they use. Take Boris Johnson. He is currently using the dispute between the Ukraine and Russia to distract attention from the Downing Street Party-gate scandal. As more and more voices within his own party are questioning his leadership credentials Johnson is busy presenting himself as a leader on the world stage...

Ormeau Road collusion exposed Collusion between British intelligence, the RUC, UDR, British Army and Loyalist paramilitary organisations is a fact of life here. This is indisputable. A succession of reports have confirmed the extent to which loyalist death squads operated under the patronage of the British state. Growing Older I have a sore back. I hurt it decades ago playing handball against a ch...

Reflections on Bloody Sunday.  Somehow human beings, including this columnist,  put more stead in twenty year anniversaries than in nineteen year ones. So in the case of Bloody Sunday 50 years seems more important than forty nine. Why this is so is worthy of some research beyond at this point my capacity. But fifty years it is since that fateful day.  In less than 30 minutes it was all over. The s...

Save Moore Street - Buy a raffle ticket for an original 1914 Mauser rifle Last Saturday hundreds of people took part in a Save Moore Street rally in Dublin. The rally was called at short notice by the Moore Street Preservation Trust in response to the decision by Dublin City planners to green light the redevelopment plans by the UK based developer Hammerson for Moore Street and its environs. Remem...

Condolences are not enough I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ashling Murphy. The spontaneous public outpouring of grief at her murder underlines the frustration and anger that exists at the habitual reports of violence against women. Condolences are not enough. Men, and I include myself in this, need to take responsibility for ensuring that every woman has the ri...

Sectarianism must be ended: Sectarianism is a legacy of our colonial past. We have the opportunity to confine it to the dustbin of history. CAN DOGS THINK?  ‘Can dogs think? Is that what you asked me?’ Your man snapped at me in exasperation. ‘What kind of stupid question is that to ask anyone? Are you winding me up again?’

OUR old pal Tom Hartley is a fine singer. He and I have been known to duet together. Back in the day in C Wing in Belfast Prison on the Crumlin Road, his dulcet tones echoed around the landings like a bird in flight while my rich baritone kept close harmony.   Our sonorous grace notes soared and dipped in perfect tune. Even now, decades later, men locked in the loneliness of their cells at that ti...

A funny kind of New Year’s resolution: NEW Year resolutions and I are old friends. Usually I muse at the end of the old year about what I need to commit myself to for new year’s arrival.   This year the pandemic cuts down the options. Going to the gym isn't on. Taking up senior hurling or football? Same problem. Stopping the drink? Maybe? But seeing as I am fairly sober most of the time it wo...

THIS Christmas take a moment to think about Leonard Peltier. Leonard was convicted in 1977 of the murder in 1975 of two FBI agents during a confrontation at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Two others who were charged with the murders were found not guilty by reason of self-defence. Peltier has always denied involvement in the two deaths. He has been in prison for almost 45 years. A New...

The last number eleven up the Rock AT A cruinniú in Glór na Móna I noticed a pop-up advertising one of the projects Glór na Móna is pioneering. ‘Faoi Scáth an tSléibhe – Connecting People and Place in the Upper Springfield Area’ is a heritage project aimed at making local history vibrant and accessible. The pop-up contained a photo of the number eleven bus wending its way along the Whiterock Road....

The Treaty In the early hours of 6 December 1921 the Irish delegates taking part in the negotiations with the British government signed The Anglo Irish Treaty. Their decision reinforced the terms of the partitionist Government of Ireland Act passed in the British Parliament one year earlier. In the years since then the decision to sign The Treaty has been discussed, debated, argued over and been t...

Six of The Best:  I’m reading Colin Broderick’s ‘Thats That,’ an evocative account of growing up in Altnamuskin in Tyrone at the height of the conflict. Colin’s mother and her efforts to protect her brood are at the heart of this story. Opinion Poll on Irish Unity: Only a planned conversation, involving all of those who wish to participate, can hope to find solutions to these issues. One thing is...