Key reads<\/p>\n
- \n
- Voice from the grave fills courtroom at Gerry Adams civil action in London, writes Mark Hennessy<\/a><\/li>\n
- Adams was the IRA\u2019s leader until the mid-2000s, and it was \u201conly then that he took a backwards step\u201d, a senior former Police Service of Northern Ireland officer told the court last Thursday<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 5 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Court has resumed. Adams corrects the claimants\u2019 barrister, Max Hill, on his pronunciation of “\u00d3glaigh na h\u00c9ireann”. <\/p>\n
Does it say \u00d3glaigh on Martin McGuinness\u2019s gravestone? Hills suggests this pronounces him as a volunteer, meaning an IRA man.<\/p>\n
Adams says McGuinness has acknowledge he was in the IRA.<\/p>\n
He denied it for a long time but \u201cultimately\u201d accepted it, says Hill.<\/p>\n
Adams says he \u201cwouldn\u2019t use that terminology\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 7 minutes ago<\/p>\n
What do the three claimants want?<\/p>\n
John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, who initiated their civil case in 2022, seek \u00a31 \u201cvindicatory\u201d damages from Adams. <\/p>\n
They say their case is not focused on their injuries and their considerable losses but aims to \u201cshine a light\u201d upon Adams\u2019s alleged involvement in the Provisional IRA during the Troubles. <\/p>\n
They want to prove, on the balance of probabilities, he was \u201cso intrinsically involved\u201d in the organisation that he is \u201cas culpable for the assault \u2026 as the individuals who planted and detonated the bombs\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 45 minutes ago<\/p>\n
![\"Court](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/YZMKGGNYLW3YNIRNJB4BGI3UTA.jpg\")
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of former Sinn F\u00e9in president Gerry Adams, wearing a sprig of shamrock in the top pocket of his suit, giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, where a civil claim is being brought against him for just \u00a31 in damages by three men who were injured in Provisional IRA bombings on the UK mainland in the 1970s and 1990s. Image: Elizabeth Cook\/PA Wire <\/p>\nIf you are just joining us, the court is taking a lunch break, after which Gerry Adams will be under continued cross-examination by the claimants\u2019 barrister, Max Hill, the former British director of public prosecutions.<\/p>\n
So far, Adams has repeatedly denied he was ever a member of the IRA or its Army Council. <\/p>\n
Hill has asked him numerous times about his knowledge of the IRA memberships of various named individuals. Adams has each time conveyed that he would not know whether these people were members.<\/p>\n
The former Sinn F\u00e9in leader has sworn a written statement denying \u201ccategorically\u201d that he had any involvment in the three bombings at the heart of this case: the 1973 Old Bailey bomb, the 1996 Canary Wharf attack and the Machester Arndale explosion later that year. Claimants John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock were, respectively, injured in these three attacks, for which they allege Adams is liable.<\/p>\n
Adams has said: \u201cI was not involved in any way in the planning, preparation or conduct of any of the bombing incidents which this claim concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n
Adams asks to take a break. The judge calls an early lunch, saying the hearing will resume at 1.50pm.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n
\u2018I was never a member of the IRA or its Army Council,\u2019 says Adams<\/p>\n
Continuing in his written witness statement, Adams said: \u201cI have been a member of the political party, Sinn F\u00e9in, from 1964, and am still a member. Sinn F\u00e9in was a banned or proscribed organisation under the Special Powers Act, and remained so until May 1974. I was therefore a member of a proscribed organisation, Sinn F\u00e9in, until the ban was lifted. <\/p>\n
\u201cHowever … I was never a member of the IRA or its Army Council, and I never held any role or rank within the IRA. I repeat that I had no involvement whatsoever, in the authorisation, planning or conduct of the bombings in which the claimants were sadly injured.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy political work, from the late 1960s until today, is a matter of public record, and widely reported. I worked with many others over many years to bring the conflict in the north of Ireland to an end. Although I am retired from front line politics, I remain committed to assisting all efforts to cement the peace process and to promote Irish unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have sought, in national and international meetings and negotiations, over many years, the establishment of a truth and reconciliation process that would allow all victims of the conflict to achieve truth and accountability. I will continue to urge for the establishment of such a truth and reconciliation process so that all victims of the conflict can achieve truth and some measure of closure for the hurt they have suffered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 1 hour ago<\/p>\n
Hill questions Adams about a photo of him at a funeral in which he is wearing a black beret. Hill suggests he is standing \u201cimmediately\u201d behind two IRA volunteers, who are also wearing black berets.<\/p>\n
Adams says this was part of a republican guard of honour, of which he was \u201chonoured\u201d to be a part. He has done this a number of times. Rather than \u201cresile\u201d from partaking in these, he says, it is \u201can honour\u201d.<\/p>\n
He says he also took part in the guard of honour at the funeral of former South African president Nelson Mandela, which was \u201calso a great honour, but there is no suggestion I was a member of the ANC\u201d (African National Congress).<\/p>\n
The photo was taken at the funeral of an IRA commander, Hill says. Adams says he cannot comment on that.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t distance myself from the IRA,” says Adams<\/p>\n
In court, Hill puts it to Adams that he \u201cstands by\u201d the IRA.<\/p>\n
Adams says: \u201cWell I don\u2019t stand by everything that they did, but these were my neighbours.\u201d He says \u201csome people may have an absurd idea about this\u201d, but if one\u2019s neighbourhood was \u201cinvaded and occupied\u201d there may be some form of a resistance movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad the IRA has left the State … that they are not killing … I\u2019m glad there is a peace process, but I don\u2019t distance myself from the IRA.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wants to be \u201cvery very clear that there were dastardly things that were done that should never have been done\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hills says: \u201cYou stand by the IRA because you were one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams disagrees, saying he stands by the Palestinian people but \u201cthere is no suggestion I\u2019m a member of the PLO\u201d (Palestine Liberation Organization). <\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Continuing his witness statement, Adams said he was never a member of the IRA or its Army Council and was never a \u201csenior, let alone most senior figure\u201d, in the organisation.<\/p>\n
These allegations are \u201cuntrue\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no knowledge, beyond what has been widely reported in the public domain, as to the structure or decision-making processes of the IRA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams \u2018categorically\u2019 denies involvement in three bombings at centre of case<\/p>\n
In his witness statement, Adams denied \u201ccategorically\u201d he had any involvement in the three bombings around which the legal claims are centred.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish to emphasise that I am very conscious that the claimants have suffered significantly as a result of bombings in England in 1973 and 1996, in which they were innocent victims,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough I deny categorically the allegations made by the claimants of my involvement in those bombings in any way, nothing in this statement should be taken as criticism of the claimants, or as any attempt to deny or diminish their awful experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear, I had no involvement in or advance knowledge of the Old Bailey bombing (1973), the Canary Wharf bombing (1996) or the Manchester bombing (1996). I have never been charged, prosecuted or convicted of any offence in connection with any of the bombing incidents in which the claimants were injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he does not dispute the claimants\u2019 experiences or personal injuries, but he had \u201cno involvement in the events that led to those injuries\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Hill asks Adams: \u201cAre you prepared to talk now about your long alleged involvement in the IRA?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams responds: \u201cWell I cannot talk about my \u2018long alleged involvement in the IRA\u2019 because I wasn\u2019t involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Would he talk as part of a truth and reconciliation process?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he tells Hill.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Asked whether those who carried out the 1973 Old Bailey bombing were IRA members, Adams says: \u201cI presume they were, but I have no special insight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/JAJ5XFMHZYRTCT7GIDGMVFAS7A.jpg\")
Richard McAuley outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London last week. Photograph: Aaron Chown\/PA Wire <\/p>\nThere is chuckling in the overspill court when Hill asks Adams about his long-time associate and media adviser Richard McAuley.<\/p>\n
Hill asks if McAuley is still alive, to which Adams says: \u201cTo the best of my knowledge he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counsel asks if McAuley has not been sitting in the courtroom during the trial, including at this moment. Adams says he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you know full well,\u201d says Hill. \u201cAnd he is an IRA volunteer, isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams responds: \u201cHe was given a prison sentence for IRA membership.\u201d He says this was some 30 years ago, and the IRA is no longer active so current membership is not an issue.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams is now being cross-examined by the claimants\u2019 barrister, Max Hill, the former British director of public prosecutions.<\/p>\n
Hill asks him if his written witness statement is truthful. Adams says it is.<\/p>\n
Hill questions him on his claim to \u201chave no knowledge, beyond what has been widely reported in the public domain, as to the structure or decision-making processes of the IRA\u201d. Adams says this statement is the truth.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams turns to face claimant Barry Laycock, who was injured in the 1996 Manchester Arndale bombing. He says he was \u201cextremely moved\u201d by Laycock\u2019s testimony during the trial.<\/p>\n
Judge Swift tells Adams he is here to answer questions put to him. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a public forum in any other sense other than for you to answer questions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams \u2018shocked\u2019 by \u2018amount of ignorance\u2019 in Britain about Ireland<\/p>\n
Adams tells the court he was an MP representing West Belfast trying to work out a way to bring the \u201cconflict to an end\u201d and to find an \u201calternative\u201d. <\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in produced some documents on this and he engaged with SDLP leader John Hume to agree on the \u201ccentrality, the imperative for dialogue\u201d.<\/p>\n
He and Hume did outreach with members of the Unionist community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of this led to the cessation in 1994 because we were able to impress there was an alternative,\u201d he says. He begins to say what the IRA \u201cfamously\u201d thought of the cessation, but he interrupts himself to say he is \u201cshocked\u201d by the \u201camount of ignorance\u201d there is about Ireland in Britain.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams says he became vice-president of Sinn F\u00e9in in 1978 after leaving Long Kesh prison where he had been interned. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe big focus at that time was mostly what happened in the prisons,\u201d he says, talking about \u201cbrutality\u201d in the H-Blocks and the Armagh women\u2019s prison.<\/p>\n
At this time, he says, he was \u201cintellectually socialist\u201d and \u201cintellectually republican\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI developed my own thinking that we had to build an all-Ireland party and a radical party based on republican principles … The war was ongoing: killings, explosions, actions by the Brits and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in began to explore electoral opportunities and, in the middle of this, the hunger strikes by republican prisoners started, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hunger strikes for my generations were seismic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Craven says Adams joined Sinn F\u00e9in, then outlawed, in 1964. He asks Adams to explain why he joined at that time.<\/p>\n
Adams says he was 16 and the political party was at that time banned. There was a dispute about an Irish flag that was removed. A schoolboy at the time, he knew \u201cthis was big\u201d, but he \u201ccouldn\u2019t figure out what all this was about\u201d. <\/p>\n
His father asked him to assist with political leaflets and he began to read \u201cfairly ferociously\u201d about the activities of the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is, for better or for worse, my first steps into activism, political activism and politics,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams has been sworn into the box and is being brought through his written witness statement by his barrister, Edward Craven. <\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Court is in session this St Patrick\u2019s Day, with Mr Justice Jonathan Swift having entered court 16. Some housekeeping matters are being discussed ahead of Adams testifying.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Adams has arrived in court 16. He is expected to take the stand at 10.30am.<\/p>\n
![\"Gerry](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/NXPOU5HUHLY62BIBYMTX6VQO4M.jpg\")
Gerry Adams arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, on St Patrick’s Day. Photograph: Aaron Chown\/PA Wire <\/p>\nEllen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Who are the claimants? <\/p>\n
John Clark <\/b><\/p>\n
Clark was on duty as a police officer and was sent to the area of the Old Bailey after a warning was received from the Provisional IRA that a bomb was due to detonate at 3pm. Clark claims he was between five and 10 yards away from the vehicle containing the bomb when it exploded at 2.50pm. Shrapnel lodged in his head and hand.<\/p>\n
More than 200 people were injured in the 1973 blast, while one man died from a heart attack.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Ganesh<\/b><\/p>\n
![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5P6TZO52JAPOUCKBHWEK2M34DM.jpg\")
Jonathan Ganesh arriving at the High Court in London last week. Photograph: Andy Rain\/EPA <\/p>\nGanesh was at work as a security guard at South Quay Docklands, outside Canary Wharf in London, when the February 9th, 1996, bomb detonated, killing two and injuring many others.<\/p>\n
Ganesh says he recalls seeing a big orange flash and a plume of smoke before he was hit by debris and glass. The impact of the blast threw him to the ground, perforated his ear drums and he lost consciousness. Two of his friends were killed by the bomb, and he alleges he has suffered from significant post-traumatic stress disorder since.<\/p>\n
Barry Laycock<\/b><\/p>\n
![\"Barry](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/T2KIESSKXOXHFX42AACERFBZSQ.jpg\")
Barry Laycock outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, where a civil claim is being brought against former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams for just \u00a31 in damages. Photograph: Aaron Chown\/PA Wire <\/p>\nLaycock has taken morphine-strength painkillers to dull his pain every day since he was injured in the 1996 Manchester Arndale shopping centre bombing that injured about 200 people.<\/p>\n
He was employed by North Western Trains based at Manchester Victoria Station. On June 15th, 1996, he was supposed to be on holiday with his wife, but he decided to go to work to finish some outstanding matters. <\/p>\n
He was in his office when he felt the blast that smashed every window and door from their frames. He was blown about six feet across the room and has suffered from degenerative and persisting back and leg injuries.<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Throughout the case, Adams\u2019s lawyers have insisted their client is facing \u201chearsay\u201d evidence from witnesses, including army intelligence and former Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, without any supporting evidence to back up their claims.<\/p>\n
In addition, they insist the case by the three men has been brought several decades too late and argue it should be subject to a three-year limitation set out in legislation in 1980.<\/p>\n
Adams was charged with IRA membership in 1978, but that case fell because of insufficient evidence. He was twice convicted for twice attempting to escape from internment, but those were quashed in 2020. \u2013 Mark Hennessy<\/p>\n
Ellen O\u2019Riordan – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n
Former Sinn F\u00e9in president Gerry Adams will this morning take the witness stand to give testimony in the civil case being taken against him by three victims of IRA bombs in England, who allege that he was the controlling force behind them, writes Ireland and Britain Editor Mark Hennessy.<\/p>\n
The men, John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock \u2013 injured in the 1973 Old Bailey bomb, the 1996 Canary Wharf attack and the Manchester Arndale explosion later that year \u2013 seek a High Court ruling that he is personally liable for their injuries.<\/p>\n
Complete with bodyguards, Adams has attended every day of the case in the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London, where, unusually, he has been allowed to drive into the court precinct to park.<\/p>\n
Adams will face questioning today and into tomorrow from a former British director of public prosecutions, Max Hill before Mr Justice Jonathan Swift in court no 16 in the sprawling court complex.<\/p>\n
Now aged 77, Adams has denied for decades that he was a member of the IRA and has long since \u201cstrenuously\u201d denied any involvement in the planning for the bombing attacks on English cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Main points Former Sinn F\u00e9in leader Gerry Adams is testifying at the Royal Courts of Justice in London…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[9,10,13,14,9618,6,6439,11,12,130,15,16,5,47,7,8,65,66,67],"class_list":{"0":"post-389704","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-featured-news","11":"tag-featurednews","12":"tag-gerry-adams","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-irish-republican-army","15":"tag-latest-news","16":"tag-latestnews","17":"tag-london","18":"tag-main-news","19":"tag-mainnews","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-sinn-fein","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topstories","24":"tag-world","25":"tag-world-news","26":"tag-worldnews"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116244901244268646","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Adams was the IRA\u2019s leader until the mid-2000s, and it was \u201conly then that he took a backwards step\u201d, a senior former Police Service of Northern Ireland officer told the court last Thursday<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n