Gerry Adams (1948 – ) was an Irish Catholic politician who played a leading role in the Northern Irish cause. As head of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams has always campaigned against British sovereignty in Northern Ireland.
Gerry Adams was born in Belfast on October 6, 1948. He grew up in a climate of tension between Catholics and Protestants. He soon decided to join the fight, participating in the civil rights movement to end anti-Catholic discrimination.
In 1972, Gerry Adams was arrested and sent to prison without trial. He was released a few months later, and tried to negotiate diplomatically with the British. Alas, without success, Gerry Adams returned to his cell in the dreadful Long Kesh prison. Unable to bear prison life, he tried to escape, and saw his prison sentence increased as a result. Considered a true leader, he became vice-president of Sinn Féin in 78.
In 1983, Gerry Adams became president of Sinn Féin. Before that time, Sinn Féin was simply a party in the service of the IRA, responsible for communicating on its behalf. The arrival of Gerry Adams at the party’s helm literally transformed Sinn Féin into an official political party.
His presence and political power are a great source of inspiration for Protestants.
They retaliated on March 14, 1984, when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UFF) fired more than 20 bullets at Gerry Adams’ vehicle. He was seriously injured, but managed to recover after several weeks.
Gerry Adams decided to launch new negotiations to put an end to the violence perpetrated by the British and the IRA. In 1998, he succeeded in negotiating the Good Friday Agreement, which put an end to the violence.
2006 was a pivotal year: the DUP and Sinn Féin won the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, and both Ian Paisley (his British opponent) and Gerry Adams were pressured by the British to find common ground. The two began negotiations for the creation of a government that would bring together Catholics and Protestants alike, to administer the northern territorial communities. This agreement was validated on March 26, 2007, and Ian Paisley was immediately appointed First Minister of Northern Ireland, while Martin McGuinness, a member of Sinn Féin, was appointed Deputy First Minister. (Ian Paisley would later resign from this position a few years later).
All these advances seem to be making good progress, and Gerry Adams is still working to put an end to the conflict. Only time will tell what will become of his fight.
