Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said he will go “content to my grave” having played a role in bringing Ireland towards unification. However, he repeatedly denied being a member of the IRA when questioned at the High Court in London on Tuesday.
His declaration came during often-testy exchanges with barrister Max Hill in the civil action being taken by three victims of IRA bombings in England in 1973 and in 1996.
The case against Adams is being taken by John Clark, who was injured in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing; Jonathan Ganesh, who was hurt in the 1996 London docklands bombing; and Barry Laycock, who was left with life-changing injuries from the Manchester Arndale bombing in 1996.
They are seeking damages of £1 from Adams. They claim he was a member of the Provisional IRA, which he has always denied, and that he was a controlling force behind the bombings.
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During questioning, which will continue on Wednesday, Hill insisted Adams had been a member of the IRA. The barrister said despite claims by Adams on the contrary, it was not credible that he did not know people such as Ivor Bell were in the IRA.
Having sworn to ”Almighty God”, Adams said: “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.”
Allegations that he had been party to “a common design” to bomb Britain were untrue, he said, as were the charges that he had been on the IRA’s Army Council, or had earlier led the organisation in Belfast.
“Indeed, I have never held any rank or role within the IRA, including on the IRA’s Army Council. I have never held a command-and-control role in the IRA and have never been a senior, let alone most senior figure, in the IRA.”
Continuing, he said he had “no knowledge” of “the structure or decision-making processes of the IRA”. He also denied involvement in the drafting of the IRA’s disciplinary code, the “Green Book”.
Talks in London in 1972 involving the British government were held with a Sinn Féin delegation, he said, not one from the IRA. The 77-year-old said “no one was more surprised than me” to have been included in those talks.
