If Gerry Adams thinks the scandal of the alleged abuse of his niece has gone away, he can think again. Thomas Gagen a former leader writer for the Boston Globe argues that what he did in trying to keep the scandal quiet was akin to what the Catholic Church did in visiting Irish priests it suspected of being child abusers upon the US and then had them moved from parish to parish…
Like the bishops, Adams kept quiet about his brother to protect the institution and cause he served, and like the bishops, he should face the consequences.
Gerry Adams, so skillful at political manipulation, ought to have been able to find a way to bring Liam to account, but he wasn’t willing to risk scandal. Despite knowing of the alleged abuse, he was photographed in 1997 canvassing with Liam for a Sinn Fein candidate in the Irish Republic. More disturbing, Liam Adams was able to get a job working with young people in West Belfast, Gerry Adams’s political domain. Gerry Adams allowed Liam to escape a reckoning and move about Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, much like Catholic bishops allowed priest-abusers to be transferred from one parish to another in the United States and Ireland.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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