Kenny calls on Gerry Adams to clarify confusion over Stack suspects

The Taoiseach has called on Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams to clarify the confusion surrounding names he gave to the Garda Commissioner relating to the murder of a prison officer.

Mr Adams has said the names of three Sinn Féin figures, and a fourth former IRA figure, said to be connected with the murder of Brian Stack in 1983, were given to him by Austin Stack, Mr Stack's son. Austin Stack has denied this.

Enda Kenny told the Dáil on Tuesday the family deserved to know the truth. "Sinn Fein needs to address this,'' the Taoiseach said.

“A man was murdered…the military wing associated with the party has admitted 30 years on they murdered him.’’

Mr Adams, who is attending Fidel Castro’s funeral in Cuba, was not in the Dáil. Party deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald did not refer to the matter when she spoke at Opposition Leaders’ Questions.

Mr Kenny said the position was Mr Adams had presented names to the Garda Commissioner which, he said, he had received from Brian Stack’s son, Austin. But Austin Stack never gave him names.

“Deputy Adams needs to explain that,’’ he added.

Mr Kenny said he would speak to Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald about the matter and he was also available to meet Austin Stack and members of his family.

Mr Kenny was replying to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who said Mr Adams had given the Garda Commissioner the names of four individuals.

Austin Stack had been on radio earlier to say at not stage did he ever mention any names to Mr Adams, he added.

“It seems to me a very serious situation that the leader of a political party can pass on the names of suspects to a Garda Commissioner and we are all supposed to go off into the night and do no more about it,’’ said Mr Martin.

Earlier Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said that the names of three senior Sinn Féin figures and a fourth former IRA figure, said to be connected to the murder of prison officer Brian Stack in 1983, were given to him by Austin Stack. Mr Adams then passed these names to the Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan.

However, Mr Stack has directly contradicted Mr Adams's account. He told The Irish Times that he is "absolutely categoric" that he never mentioned any names to Mr Adams in the course of "five or six" meetings between the two men.

“Gerry Adams asked me on the first occasion if I would be prepared to discuss names. I did tell him what I knew about how the operation was sanctioned and the details of it. But we never gave him any names,” Mr Stack said.

A spokesman for Mr Adams said that Mr Adams “has made it clear that he had received these allegations from Austin Stack. Mr Adams subsequently passed on Mr Stack’s allegations to the Garda. Any investigation is a matter for the Garda Siochana.”

Mr Stack said that he had given a statement to the gardaí last week. He said that Mr Adams had set out to mislead an investigation into the murder of his father, and that gardai needed to look into that.

The Sinn Fein spokesman added that none of the Sinn Féin figures named in the email had any comment.

Mr Stack said he had been shown an email which Mr Adams sent to Garda Commissioner Noirin O’sullivan which names three Sinn Féin members as suspects in his father’s murder.

“I can quite categorically state that at no stage did I give names to Gerry Adams. The email suggests he names these four individuals as suspects in the murder. He says I gave him the names, that’s not correct, I never had a discussion with him around suspects or around names,” he said.

Mr Stack said he gave a statement to the gardai about this matter.

“The point in this case is that Gerry Adams has given false and misleading information to a live murder enquiry. I would fully expect that an Garda Siochana will now look at that and will have some point to raise in relation to that.

Mr Stack said the email was sent in late February.

“I have no idea what his game is here. I think it’s probably in context of the general election when I raised the issue around suspects within the Sinn Fein movement,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

“What we need to know is what action has Gerry Adams taken within his own organisation in relation to it.

Mr Stack said he did not discuss names with Mr Adams.

“I gave him an outline of what I knew but I withheld the names. He said ‘that’s not the way we operate.’

“I was quite shocked when the guards came to me and notified me that they had this email and they wanted me to make a statement. I was very shocked” .”I am absolutely clear I never gave Gerry Adams those names. I never had a discussion with him around names. He did ask me but I wouldn’t tell him.”

Brian Stack (48), who was the chief prison officer in Portlaoise, was shot in the neck on March 25th, 1983, after leaving an amateur boxing contest at the National Stadium in Dublin.

The father of three was left paralysed and brain-damaged. He lived for 18 months after the attack. The IRA had always denied it was behind the killing.