“I moved immediately both to stop that and to get him dumped out of Sinn Féin..”

According to Gerry Adams’ previous version of events..

Mr Adams denied that Liam was nominated as a potential Sinn Féin candidate in the Dundalk area after the Sinn Féin leader broke ties with his brother. He said that as soon as he heard of the possibility his brother might be nominated, he moved to ensure that such a thing could not happen. “I moved immediately both to stop that and to get him dumped out of Sinn Féin without telling people why. But I moved very, very quickly. He wasn’t a contender, there was no nomination for Liam Adams in the Dundalk area. There was no convention in which his name was put forward, there was no contest in which he was part of.”

But today’s Sunday Tribune has pictures, from a Dundalk Argus article, of Gerry Adams canvassing in Dundalk in June 1997 with Liam Adams on behalf of the SF candidate Owen Hanratty. [Added link to Sunday Tribune front-page article]

Updated below the fold.And we’ve been sent another photograph of the Adams brothers canvassing together in Dundalk in 1997.

And there are still questions about what happened in west Belfast..

Adds From Suzanne Breen’s Sunday Tribune article [added link]

We have also statements from three republicans who were present at the selection convention in the Imperial Hotel, which Sinn Féin still denies took place. It was chaired by Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and minutes were taken, the sources said. Liam Adams was supported by Belfast republicans living in Dundalk who were moderates and pro-leadership.

Local Dundalk republicans, and south Armagh men living in Co Louth, rallied behind Hanratty. After a debate, it was agreed that IRA activists and republican supporters who weren’t in Sinn Féin could vote at the meeting.

“The room was packed,” one source said. “Liam Adams came in with two envelopes. I’m told one was an acceptance speech and the other was one of him conceding. He immediately saw from the crowd gathered that he wouldn’t win, so he pulled out. A massive show-of-hands defeat would have damaged his brother.”

“Another source said: “Liam announced to the room that he was withdrawing from the race. He wished Owen Hanratty all the best, pledged to work for him on his campaign, and they shook hands.”

Sinn Féin claims Liam’s involvement in the party in Dundalk was brief, but republican sources insist it lasted at least seven years. One source said Gerry Adams regularly visited his brother in Muirhevnamor, staying overnight in his home many times.

Update According to the BBC report

A Sinn Fein spokesman said it saw no conflict with the Sunday Tribune’s claims and Mr Adams’ previous comments on meetings with his brother.

“Gerry Adams has made it clear that he did see his brother on occasions in the 1990s and made it clear when he discovered he was a member of the party in the Dundalk area he moved to have him expelled in the late 1990s,” a Sinn Fein spokesman added.

Which is a reference to the RTÉ interview with Tommie Gorman.

Except that, as noted above, Gerry Adams subsequently said that, as soon as he heard of the possibility his brother might be nominated as the Sinn Féin candidate for Co Louth in the 1997 general election he “moved immediately both to stop that and to get him dumped out of Sinn Féin”.

That’s before Sinn Féin selected Owen Hanratty as their candidate for Co Louth in 1997.

And before Gerry Adams joined Liam Adams on the streets of Dundalk canvassing for Hanratty.

Pete Baker