Léargas: A Podcast by Gerry Adams

Our 1916 The eight months of the 1981 hunger strike campaign changed the political landscape in Ireland. It was as Síle Darragh, former O.C. of the republican women prisoners in Armagh Women’s Prison, said recently, “our 1916.” It began on 1st March 1981. When it ended on 3rd October ten hungerstrikers were dead. Bobby Sands had been the first to die on May 5th. He was followed over the following...

‘Hope should never Die’ – Bobby Sands Wednesday 20th August marks the anniversary of the death on hunger strike in 1981 of Mickey Devine. Mickey was the last of the ten men to die and several weeks later the hunger strike end on 3 October. It was also the day the by-election was held in Fermanagh South Tyrone caused by the death in May of Bobby Sands. Owen Carron successfully held the seat as the...

Comhghairdeas Féile!! Well done to all of those who planned, organised, participated in, or generally contributed to this years hugely successful Féile an Phobail. It was a colourful, imaginative, informative, entertaining, empowering and exhausting couple of weeks. This year’s published programme was a weighty volume providing information on over 600 events across the City. It was a mix of  80 de...

An interview with Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the founder and leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, Activist and advocate of Palestinian rights.  

Up for the Match Off on Sunday morning to Croke Park. Dark skies. Lots of grey clouds. Our journey was delayed by Féile An Phobail’s 5km and 10km run. Diverted and distracted we eventually got out of West Belfast and on the road to Dublin. Enroute the dark skies lightened. The grey clouds gave way to blue heavens and gentle sunshine. We were off to watch Antrim’s Lady Footballers in our own All Ir...

Planning for the Future It was Charles Stewart Parnell who said: “No man has the right to say to his country. Thus far shalt thou go and no further.” This was in the 19th century. He also declared; “Let no one set a boundary to the march of a nation.” Parnell was clearly setting out the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination. Interestingly he chose Cork to make this declaration.  Tha...

2005 – Twenty Years On Next Monday one of the most historic and transformative events in the Irish Peace Process took place. Twenty years ago on the 28 July 2005 the IRA issued a statement which ended its decades long armed struggle. In its statement the IRA said: "The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign. This will take effect from 4pm this afte...

Defend the GPO and Save Moore St. There is widespread anger at the decision by the Irish government to convert the historic GPO in Dublin into shops and offices. Last Saturday hundreds gathered in O’Connell St. to protest at the government’s plans for the GPO and for the Moore St. Battlefield site. Their demand is for the protection of the cultural and revolutionary heritage of this part of Dublin...

No Economic Block on Irish Unity In recent years there have been encouraging signs of growing support for Irish unity in successive electoral results, demographic changes, contributions from civic society, in opinion polling and in public commentary. Unsurprisingly, any debate on unity quickly focuses on practical issues like the economic viability of a united Ireland as well as on the future of a...

Palestine The Israeli forces as part of their on going genocide, in the last 24hrs have killed 142 Palestinian civilians, and injured 487.  Internment A British Supreme Court judgement in 2020 ruled that almost 400 internees were unlawfully detained under British law in the 1970s.  These internees are now elderly and some are quite poorly.  They were victim of appalling treatment at the hands of t...

Ceasefires Now Should we have been surprised by the decision of the US President Donald Trump to attack Iran? No. Shocked maybe but not surprised. The weapons of mass destruction spin, that was used to justify the invasion of Iraq two decades ago, was already in wide usage by some western governments and sections of the media before B 2’s dropped so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs on Iran. And we all...

Stand-Up to Racism In 1972 Catholic families – who had endured three years of sustained sectarian attacks on their homes – fled Annalee St in North Belfast. Last month - fifty-three years later - Catholic homes in Annalee St. were again the target of sectarian attack and families were forced to flee. In the last fortnight we have also witnessed the firebombing of homes in Ballymena, the Larne Leis...

Jim Fitzpatrick signed Limited Print of Elizabeth O’Farrell  Regular readers of this column will know that I wholeheartedly support the efforts of the Moore St. Preservation Trust to preserve the 1916 Moore St. Battlefield site in Dublin that is under threat from the developers wrecking ball. This week the Trust - a not for profit organisation led by Relatives of the Signatories of the 1916 Procla...

Old Farts  As I get older I seem to be farting more than I used to. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t keep a record of my farts. That would be impossible but I do have a notion that my flatuence is more intense since I turned seventy, or at least I’m getting more complaints than I used to. Richard is particularly offensive and loud in his protestations at my alleged emmissions. Especially in the car...

Mothers Against Genocide This column makes no apologies for writing so much about the genocide in Palestine and the urgent need for ceasefires and a peace process.  At least 14,000 babies face imminent death from starvation. Over 60,000 Palestinian children, women, men have been killed, including more than 4,000 since Israel ended its ceasefire in March. One especially harrowing example of Israel’...

San Francisco – A Ballymurphy Man/A Work in Progress If you live in the San Francisco area go along to the Vogue Theatre on 1st June to see a sneak preview of Trisha Ziff’s film – A Ballymurphy Man. It’s me telling my story, talking about the influences in my life and of our efforts to build the peace process.  Trisha is still working on the final cut and The World Premier of her documentary film...

PRESIDENTIAL VOTING RIGHTS In a historic vote in the Assembly last week its members overwhelmingly passed by 46 votes to 25 - a motion calling on the Irish government to implement the recommendation of the 2013 Constitutional Convention on the Constitution to extend “the right to vote in elections for President of Ireland to all Irish citizens on the island of Ireland.” The reality of course is th...

Swinger I spent the last week in Dublin in the Four Courts as part of the outworking of my case against the BBC’s Spotlight programme nine years ago. But more of that when it’s over which could take another fortnight. On the morning that the case started our Gearóid phoned me to say that his father-in-law Paddy ‘Swinger’ McBride was dead. The news was a great shock. I had spent a half hour or more...

Statue of Bobby Sands to be unveiled On May 4 at 3pm, a statue of Bobby Sands will be unveiled in the Republican Memorial Garden in Twinbrook, where Bobby lived. The organisers of the event, all local republican activists and all inspired by the courage and self-sacrifice of Bobby and his comrades, have worked hard over recent years to raise the funds for the statue. Former hunger striker Pat Shee...

  Kathleen Lynn – a Rebel Woman I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter. Across the island and further afield commemorations were held at countless locations to remember those who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising and in all of the generations of the freedom struggle. The Belfast turnout was big and Pearse Doherty, who made an exceptional speech, was given a very warm welcome. I saw no mention of hi...

  Wear an Easter Lilly I did not think Easter is almost upon us. It has crept up on me. For Irish republicans Easter holds a special significance. It is synonymous with the 1916 Easter Rising and the heroism over a century ago of those who rose up against the British Empire and declared for a Republic. It is also a time when we remember all of those women and men – over countless generations – who...

  Protecting our environment The blue skies and warm weather of recent days is a reminder that spring will soon give way to summer. Everywhere the trees and flowers are coming into bloom and the dark evenings are retreating as our daylight hours increase. Regrettably, this change in weather also brings with it acts of vandalism, in particular the setting of wildfires that present a real danger to...

  The North began, the North held on, The strife for native land; When Ireland rose to smite her foes God bless the Northern land Thomas Davis In the 1790s Belfast was the centre of an Irish political movement which linked Antrim and Down with the Republics of France and America, and Belfast citizens celebrated the Fall of the Bastille, drank toasts to Mirabeau and Lafayette and studied Payne’s gr...

  Martin Mc Guinness. A Reflection. Friday the 21 March was the eighth anniversary of the death of our friend and leader Martin McGuinness. Like many others, I am sure, I was perplexed as it dawned on me that eight years had passed since we lost him. In my head I thought it was five or six years ago. But as we people of a certain age should now know time waits for no one. I remember as if it was y...

 Defend Neutrality. If truth be told the long standing claim of neutrality by the southern Irish state is not all its made out to be. It is a fact that successive Irish governments have turned a blind eye to American war planes using Shannon as a stopping off point for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as carrying munitions to Israel for its genocidal war against the people of Palestine.  U...