The President, Mrs McAleese, yesterday welcomed Mr Gerry Adams's statement rejecting violence

The President, Mrs McAleese, yesterday welcomed Mr Gerry Adams's statement rejecting violence

The President, Mrs McAleese, yesterday welcomed Mr Gerry Adams's statement rejecting violence. She called it an important building block in the peace process.

"I think his contribution has been a very important building block to that process. It's one of thousands of building blocks which will be needed," she said.

The President told a television interviewer that the Omagh massacre had been "probably the lowest point of my life", and repeated her message that it had caused a political realignment.

"People power in the wake of Omagh gave a very, very clear message to that tiny nut of men and women of violence. They got their message emphatically that they will not win. Their day is over."