God, poor old Gerry has a lot to contend with if he is going to clear that lot off the front page.
Maybe if he was to stand bollock naked in Clerys window but otherwise I don’t think so.

Eric et al, this so called smoke screen for a bond holder payment stared earlier in the week with Dolores Price accusing Adams of being in the ira,do you believe that the government some how set these event in motion?

If Kennys accusation is false,Adams should bring him to court and sue him for defamation,why is he so reluctant to take this route?

With regards to bond holder payments,please remember that we will draw down 85 billion from the IMF and eu for 2011’2012 Ns 2013 the majority of that money will be used to run the country and keep our collective heads above water,this is not all being used to pay off debt to bond holders.These payments are a condition of our bailout.

We could leave this programme ,that would men Kenny and his government would have to balance the budget this Decembers by removing another 15 billion at least!

Those are the governments choices.

Just remember who got us here,they spent 12 year wrecking the country,did you really think fg and labour could fix it in two years?

@Richiefett – they haven’t tried to fix anything yet, have they??? Can’t find the auditors who audited Anglo, health minister “fixing” site lists, nobody charged for any part of the crisis, no reform of social welfare, no reform of the financial sector, still paying bond holders, no help for mortgage holders, they’re a friggin disgrace.

Also, even if the government did everything right, it’d still take five or six years for any sort of recovery. No one expects a recovery in two years, but as things are you’ll be lucky to see a proper recovery in ten.

The dead and maimed might just be a ‘distraction’ to you but they are very real to others. ‘Distraction’ and ‘deflection’ are the two most common words used by Sinn Féin/IRA to deflect attention away from their own crimes.

Patrick. The problem with grief is that it goes through stages. How you progress through those stages is down to how much you are willing to let go.

Some people are still very much in the anger phase and they are comfortable there, others have moved on, embraced the peace process and started to look forward.

The dead can’t come back, the IRA can’t take it back. Even if people got that apology or admission they would find it hollow because by now they have placed so much emphasis on it that it could only ever disappoint.

I honestly do not mean to sound callous, but there are some things in life that there is no benefit to carting around with indefinitely, sometimes we just have to let go.

@Mr lyons , i never suggested the dead and maimed were a ‘distraction’ to me so please don’t go putting words in my mouth or accuse of me of being disrespectful….i didn’t bring the dead and maimed into the discussion at all…in fact my comment , very obviously laced with sarcasm , accused Enda Kenny of playing ‘distraction’ politics , which i believe this to be….this government was voted into power , to get FF out , to reform public services and steer the country out of the mess , not to play party politics with SF or anyone else. I am aware of the atrocities caused on all sides of the troubles and I am happy to see that in 2012 we have moved on from the dark days of the troubles of the north , we are faced with other significant challenges now and I expect the government of the day to channel its efforts and energies into fixing them -not to be harking back to the past.

I’m far from convinced that a lot of what Gerry got up to in his time could be classed as a “contribution”.

Excellent post, well done.

Having a terrorist in the Dail is not a big deal?

Everyone has a history and alot more have links to terrorism in the Dail than you think. A prominent member of the Labour party and junior minister from Cork has extensive immediate family links to the IRA in its current state. The health minister is in breach of a high court order. Lowry is a tax defaulter. Everyone is aware of Gerry Adams past but he got voted through the democratic process. I am not a sinn fein supporter by a long shot but if Kenny and you are worried about ex criminals being in the Dail, perhaps you should look much closer to home and actions of your own colleagues before casting stones. Best off putting your efforts into running the country and perhaps addressing your own house first.

At the end of the day Gerry Adams was elected as a a TD. I’d say 99% of those who voted for him know that he held a lot of power within the IRA. I personally could never vote for someone that directly or indirectly was involved in the murder of innocent children. However I really don’t know why that sap is getting involved in this.

he was over at the UN partying it up on taxpayers money.

I don’t disagree.
All we are waiting for is for him to admit it.

Yes, bombing and killing innocent civilians is the only solution! That’s how Gandhi did it… oh wait. It’s how African Americans did it…. sorry.
He is a terrorist and should be in prison, not the Dail.

Ahhh @John Dobermann

A sensible voice at last

All the pussy-footing round a convicted terrorist like Adams is sickening.

The man did time for terrorist activities and is in some great prison photos in case he can’t remember that bit either.

Tell that to the relatives of the dead and the maimed.

Patrick
If you are looking for sympathy or understanding for the dead & maimed the red thumbs on your post will tell you that you are in the wrong place.

When Kenny was a young TD, his party covered up the bombings of Dublin and Monaghan, destroyed evidence and halted the investigation after 6 weeks, to prevent the killers being brought to justice. They covered up the murder of Seamus Ludlow, blamed it on his family.

The families of the survivors were harassed for years by the Special Branch when FG were in power for asking why the investigations were stopped.

Fine if you don’t like the Shinners and Provo’s but don’t dare try to imply that FG or FF gave a toss about the dead or maimed either. The facts just don’t show that.

I never mentioned Sinn Fein & I don’t disagree with you.
It was just an observation on the number of red thumbs on a post about the dead & maimed.

Those red thumbs may not have been directed at the dead and maimed part of the comment and more at the way it was used as a response – it was a cheap tactic to manipulate using misleading vividness.

The dead and maimed deserve more respect than that.

Justin and Patrick,
There were dead and maimed on all sides . In a war that is what happens. It is time to move on and look at what is happening in the present day. Kenny is pulling ‘strokes’.

But sure all we could do then is replace them with another set of clowns!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/supporting-the-irish-nation-step-down-from-government

Exactly

Supposed?

Sinn Féin under Adams has done nothing but progress. When he took over as party president the party had no TDs, now it’s the second largest party in the state and he’s the most popular leader…

Well, I hope Adams never stands aside. If Sinn Fein were to get any credibility, or God forbid get into power, we could be staring down the barrel of a People’s Democratic Socialist Island of Ireland.

Christ, imagine that, a real Republic that puts the interests of citizens ahead of bondholders!

Seamus,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but SF had no TD’s when he took over because they didn’t stand for election in the Dail. They didn’t believe in the legitimacy of the Dail.
And when did they come 2nd in a GE in this state? The number of SF TD’s seem to render your claim at 2nd biggest in the state as a slight exaggeration.

SF are the second most popular party according to the red c poll and are far more credible than labour FF and FG

Danny, you are wrong.

Sinn Féin stood for election, albeit ona an abstentionist platform, until 1986 when abstensionism was dropped. In fact Sinn Féin had TDs who refused to take their seats in Leinster House up until the 1960s.

Adams took over the party in 1983 and was supportive of dropping abstensionism towards Leinster House following the success of two IRA prisoners being elected to the Dáil on an Anti-H Block/Armagh Political Prisoner Committee platform in 1981. He saw the benefits of elections while the man he ousted, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, did not. Ó Brádaigh went on to found the dissident ‘Republican Sinn Féin’ party who have remained obscure since.

Don’t you think a lot more people would be bothered or not vote for him if he finally admitted what everyone knows? Sinn feiners keep trying to deflect from the fact that their party is lead by a terrorist. The truth is inconvenient.

One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter John. And no matter which you consider him to be, he is still the man that who campaigned for a political settlement to the troubles since the 70s and who also dragged the IRA to the negotiating table.

One more use of ‘deflect’.

Save your breath Patrick.
You’re not amongst friends here.

Thanks, Justin. You are correct.

Patrick,
I am your friend in that your views are spot on.
Armchair shinners don’t like what you are saying but that does not mean it isn’t true

Being blunt but does anyone actually give a toss. It’s hardly news as is. If this doesn’t work, Shatter will have to have an Anglo Irish banker arrested for a few hours. That’s been a great distraction before.

Of course you were never in the IRA, Gerry. And of course you’re a resident of Co. Louth…..

Kenny is forever mudslining, trying to divert attention away from his mistakes & lies, countless lies is all he has delivered since coming to power. Not one single pre-election promise has so fare come to fruition. Lets hope this news story will help people learn the truth about Enda. Please somone, Remind me, how much have the (nameless)-bondholders been paid since fg/labour took up office?,,,anyone know?

Not to mention diverting attention away from the billion euro the government is handing over to UNGUARANTEED bondholders tomorrow. A story like this is always manufactured the day before the next big payment.

It will only go away when Adams does or admits it. Problem is if he admits it after years of denying it then he’ll be seen as a blatant liar & hypocrite . either way it would effectively end any credibility he had and his ability to lead SF. the only viable option for him is to continue denying it and not suing anyone who accuses him of same.

Of course Gerry wasn’t in the IRA & in other breaking news The Pope admits he is in fact a Free Presbyterian.

Who cares if Gerry was in the IRA or not, doesn’t matter now, the government is strangling the country.

Exactly!

I mean he wanted the Irish citizens to vote something through, yet wouldn’t even debate it to prove it would b good for the country!

He is a disgrace of a Taoiseach.

http://www.change.org/petitions/supporting-the-irish-nation-step-down-from-government

Seamus, sf have had significant power in NI since the the GF agreement , you tell me what wonderful improvement they have done for the citizens of northern ireland,with their republican ideals?

sf have 14 seats in the dail which makes them the fourth largest party in the country,labour currently have 30 (maybe a few without whip,but SF shouldn’t be counting on their support any time soon)red c,Marie Claire,tv3, an pobalacht,popularity contests don’t mean squat.the only popularity contest that matters is election day.

Gerry can be top whatever popularity contest he likes,but it will be cold day in hell when the good people of Ireland have him representing this country,no matter how cuddly his gotten,since he may or may not have left those bunch of murdering bastards.

Another use of ‘distraction’. The Shinner vocabulary is very limited indeed.

I am belong to Sli-Nios-Fearr, i don’t like SF and I dont like my intelligence being insulted by an idiot like Enda! Gerry should have patted him on the head, told him he’s a good boy and go fetch a live grenade!

And the guilt by association fallacy is a poor method of debate.

What you say is true and it cannot be denied. I have no doubt that certain information has been used to facilitate some people. But you also cannot deny the validity of the concerns over what are very serious criminal investigations being undermined ,as I described. Gerry….got it!……

Good one Mark.

Mark,your making some leaps,about 30 years of diverging policies and the active purging of the minority hard liners from DL,before merging with labour.

CJ Was a minister in the FF when he was gun running ,does that make all members of Finns fail,Terrorists because their membership coincides with Charlie’s years in the party?

Jerry MCCabe wasn’t an enemy was he? Didn’t stop the IRA gunning him down. They were no heroes and if they were why has he such a problem admitting to it?

Words fail me!!

Oh June you live in a strange parallel universe !!

June well said.
and we should be proud to be Irish and give SF the credit it deserves.

June, yes or no question,do you believe he was a member of he IRA.

Seamus ,which IRA are and which that set up the dail? The current dail had the support of the free state army is that what you mean?

The previous Dail to that was he second dail (war of independence) and it was a prominent FG man who was the Chief of staff.

The irish defence forces are the only army on this island that have a legitimate claim to the men and women who fought for our independence.

Richie, would the great Tom Barry agree with you?

After all, perhaps the most famous field commander the IRA ever had still supported the IRA up until his death in the 1970s…

@Paul Mallon,

They have tried,that is clear,tried and failed in a lot of areas maybe,but there are reasons;Reform in the public sector has been pathetically slow,but they are being fought tooth and nail buy the public sector union which are in the middle of playing a game waiting for the next election so there pals can get back in (paranoid I know but its how I feel)
The Anglo/banking sector thing,there was a referendum put forward to allow the Dail conduct an enquiry with the use of a tribunal,but that was shot down by the people of Ireland-they did try.

Our Debt-As far as I know we haven’t exactly paid it all back yet and still trying to get a deal-A Soverign government of Irlenad did guarantee this debt unfortunately.What would have them do?Bear in mind a default means we have to balance books over night,might work but it is a massive gamble.I could clear my own debt if I took my wages at the end of the month and put it on a long odds in the bookies it might come good but it might not.

With regards to mortgages read this article http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0209/1224311519278.html
Its not exactly nothing

Mark,I dont know, the guy died in the 70′s as you have stated,and you dont know either (i’m assuming,and you look to young to have spoken to him )

Also as you have stated he wasn’t shy about his opinions on the IRA,Gerry wont admit what the dogs on the street know,I cant actually understand why he denies this,it would’nt impact his current support base.Maybe he actually does want to be Taoiseach .

Tom Barrys opinion would be nice to hear but I’m more interested in what the people of NI think,only 16% of the North want a united Ireland.http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0620/1224299225080.html

Which members of the Dáil you suggesting have committed murder?

HOW ABOUT THE REMOVAL OF LOYALIST ORANGE DUP MURDERERS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND????

Is that the same Dáil that was set up by the IRA?

It would just be something else instead David ie Mary Lou’s weight,any distraction will do.

If he goes away then the news cycle might be filled with stories about how a multi billion Euro bank was audited in 2008 and the Govt. claims that no one has a notion who did it.

The government are a joke no real hard decisions made they go after the easy ones and put it out as the biggest decisions ever hopefully labour will end up like the Green Party destroyed and never another chance to be in power the two party’s still playing the same old card Fianna Fáil made us do it

David Shelton
That maybe so but it does not change the FACT that Fine Gael and Labour have given away billions and billions to unsecured bond holders and will be giving away €1 billion again tomorrow in a blatant display of disregard of the people of Ireland. Kenny is trying to distract us all from the fact that he is robbing from us to pay off the wealthy.

The truth is Adams dug himself into a hole with his denials and now he can’t get out of it. Dolores price is the person who brought this up again with some very shocking information. Now whether Adams likes it or not as a citizen of this country I feel entitled to keep asking the question of a TD who is being paid by my tax euros to answer the allegations that have been made about him. Why so coy Gerry?

Classic example of someone wanting their own version of the truth. Adams has denied it hundreds of times. He has nothing to “fess up” to.

Wow, you can’t even spell his name correctly.

Really , I did not see anyone asking De Valera to come clean years ago when he held the highest office in the land .