Léargas: A Podcast by Gerry Adams

Standing up for rights Among those who attended the Easter Sunday commemoration in Belfast two weeks ago was John Montgomery. I haven’t seen John in many years and it was a delight to meet him again. John is originally from St. James’ in west Belfast. Thirty years ago John was the Chairperson of the Ballyfermot Community Association. Those were different times. Political censorship and the demonis...

Back in the USA The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has attracted considerable national and international interest in recent weeks. Part of this involved me travelling last week once again to the USA. It must be four years since I was last there. While a lot has changed politically in that time both here and in the U.S. some things never change – among them the multiple stamping in r...

A special podcast by Gerry Adams part 2.  Marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Gerry’s guests include Mitchel McLaughlin, Bairbre De Brún and Gerry Kelly who all involved in the negotiations at that time..

I am writing my notes for this week's podcast in New York. Richard and I were there last weekend working on my remarks for Monday night when President Bill Clinton and I will share reflections on the Good Friday Agreement negotiations and developments since then. I will return to this in next week’s column.  President Clinton played a critical role in the build-up to the Agreement, encouraged...

Myself, Mitchel McLaughlin, Bairbre De Brún and Gerry Kelly who all involved in the negotiations at that time, reflect on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. 

The Good Friday Agreement protects everyone At the beginning of the month Jeffrey Donaldson established a panel, which includes Peter Robinson, Arlene Foster and some business and legal people, to advise on the DUP’s approach to the Windsor Framework. Some have interpreted this as Donaldson buying time until the other side of the local government elections on 18 May.  Others believe that the panel...

Talking about Martin McGuinness Tuesday was the sixth anniversary of the death of my friend and comrade Martin McGuinness. I travelled to the Derry City Hotel that evening for a public conversation about my relationship with Martin with Roy Greenslade. Roy is an author, broadcaster and journalist who during a long and distinguished career has held a series of senior positions in many of London’s m...

Celebrating St. Patrick and the GFA This week Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald and Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill will be in the USA for the St. Patrick’s Day events. St. Patrick’s Day or week is regular part of the annual calendar for the Irish diaspora everywhere but especially in the USA. Mary Lou and Michelle and Conor Murphy will engage in an extensive round of diplomatic talks with se...

Macalla na mBán.  This week’s column is dedicated to women. It includes a guest piece by Bairbre de Brún, former MLA and Minister. Wednesday was International Women’s Day. It is a day set aside to celebrate the advances of women and their contribution to society and to draw attention to the inequalities and injustices still experienced by them. In the last week three woman friends of mine died. Th...

The Story of Moore Street Last week the Moore Street Preservation Trust held an Urgent Public Meeting in Liberty Hall in Dublin to discuss the crisis surrounding the future development of the Moore St. Battlefield site and the threat posed to these historic 1916 laneways by a developer.  The meeting was chaired by Christina McLoughlin who is the niece of Sean McLoughlin. He was appointed Commandan...

Make Your Mind Up Time.  As I write this column the rumours are rife that the European Commission and the British government are close to an agreement – maybe – on the Protocol. It could be this week –it could be next week – it could be tomorrow. It may be done by the time you get to read this. The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added to the speculation by jetting into the North last Friday to...

Celebrating with Alex and Fra Republicans don’t say thank you often enough to each other. Fra McCann and Alex Maskey are 50 year activists. That is they have both been involved in the struggle for over 50 years. The two of them stepped down from the Assembly two years ago. Fra was replaced by Aisling Reilly and Alex by Danny Baker. Alex still remains the Ceann Comhairle – Speaker of the Assembly –...

Moore St belongs to the people The importance of the Moore Street 1916 Battlefield site was best summed up by Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins who said: “This area belongs to no one individual, group or party. It belongs to the people”. If you want to protect this hugely important part of our revolutionary history with its many exceptional links to the dramatic events in Dublin at Easter 19...

The Duke of York  The  recent cold snap and the sniffles of many of my associates reminded me of when I was a young curate in The Duke of York pub in Commercial Court in Belfast in the mid 1960s. In those days a hot whiskey was the cure for colds of all kinds. In the Dukes a ‘Hot Coleraine’ was the much prized preference of hot whiskey drinkers whether they had a cold or not. But in the winter it...

TREES I want to recommend that you make friends with a tree. Any tree. Pick one in your local park or glen or up on a mountain. Get up close and friendly with it. Or admire the very welcome trees now being planted along our urban roads and streets. Make friends with one of them. And you don’t have to be monogamous. You can love lots of trees. In lots of places. They come in all shapes and sizes. A...

BE PREPARED FOR MORE STUPIDITIES I considered ignoring the British Government’s exclusion of the Sinn Féin President from the recent talks. Then I thought why should I? Stupidity like this needs highlighted. For me it is proof, once again, of what democrats here are up against.  This column could analyse the statements from the current British Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister - With – T...

Don’t Let The Old Man In I'VE been at a lot of funerals recently. It seems someone from my circle of friends, comrades, associates or neighbours is dying every week this last wee while. And sometimes more often than that. I console myself by reminding myself that it's the age I’m at. People were always dying. That’s part of the circle of life. But now I notice it more because its also pa...

2022 should be marked down as the year when we eventually got rid of the last of  England’s Penal Laws imposed upon us in 1737. Well done An Dream Dearg and everyone else for bringing colour, vitality, good humour, cheerfulness, success and fun to this achievement. Leanagaí ar aghaigh. 

Beannachtaí daoibhse go leir. Have a great Christmas, dear readers. Thanks and benedictions also to the Belfast Media Group team. Christmas can be a sad and stressful time for some people. Be mindful of them, my friends. Reach out to neighbours and others who may not be as lucky as we are.  I’m strongly against the commercialism of Christmas. I love the Christmas story and the story of Joseph and...

THE Sinn Féin building on the Falls Road at the corner of Sevastopol St. is internationally famous for its mural of Bobby Sands. Less well known is the fact that the building is dedicated to the memory of another Irish republican, Joe McKelvey. 

A massacre in Instalments AS I write this column the number of Palestinians killed this year by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza strip is 207. By the time it is published in a few days time that number will have increased. Last Friday I watched online video of the last moments of Ammar Mufleh, aged 23, shot dead in Huwara, south of Nablus in the oc...

Marie Ferris and Martin.  A week or so ago on November 18 in Killarney 820 republicans broke bread together in honour of Martin and Marie Ferris. It was a great night. Marie Ferris is one of my heroes. A warrior woman. An activist. A mammy. A mamó. And the wife of Martin Ferris. Martin is one of my heros as well. He is as tough as old boots. As strong  as teak. A Kerry Gael from head to toe. But h...

Words. In Ireland the English which we use is Hiberno English. We use Irish language constructions a lot as well as many Irish words or words based on Irish words. As part of the colonisation of our island people London tried to destroy our native culture, music, dance and language. They failed and we hibernised the language they forced on us. In Ulster there is also a Scots influence. Different l...

Thank You Briege and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin  Friends from far and near were in the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan last Saturday night for a special testimonial event for my old friend and comrade Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. Mary Lou McDonald was there to remind us of Caoimhghín’s long and distinguished life of activism for over 40 years. It was also an opportunity to thank Briege. It’s not easy being the...