Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Syferus]

I didn't know until Adams got locked up that IrishCentral.com were such mad Shinners.

[Maguire01]

http://www.irishcentral.com/Federal-Judge-said-BC-tapes-full-of-hearsay-and-folklore.html

Hmmm... headline doesn't quite match the Judge's quotes

"It is impossible to discern whether these three are commenting from personal knowledge, from hearsay, or are merely repeating local folklore."

He's making reference to 3 specific interviews about a specific incident. Even then, he doesn't say what the title suggests he does. And if that (i.e. the title) was his opinion, it's surely at odds with his summation that "This was a bona fide academic exercise of considerable intellectual merit."

Now i'm not suggesting for a second that everything on those tapes must be 100% true, but neither have they been "totally discredited".

Relying on tapes, the content of which, by this judge's interpretation, could as easily be "hearsay"or "folklore" as anything, kinda does discredit them as evidence to build a case on. Any wonder Gerry walked.

It does indeed. If those 3 interviews were to be the basis of a case.

[give her dixie]

The phrase, "A week is a long time in politics"  perfectly sums up the past week.

For anyone following the case of Jean McConville and Gerry Adams alleged involvement over the past while, it came as no surprise that he was going to be questioned about the allegations. He knew that as well, and he stepped up to the plate and made himself available for questioning. Over the course of 4 days, he was interviewed and then released without charge. A file has been sent to the DPP, and a few months later, a decision will be made whether to charge him or not.

Now, the response from Sinn Fein, and in particular Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and Bobby Storey was very immature and they did themselves no favours. They didn't show proper leadership at a time where they should have remained calm.

A few weeks ago when Ivor Bell was arrested, Mary Lou said "that she would welcome any measure which would "provide additional comfort to the McConville family." The arrest of Gerry though was a measure too far for her.

Martin McGuinness revealed for the 1st time what thousands of Republicans and nationalists have known for years, and who were ridiculed for saying so, and that there still lingers an old guard of the RUC in the PSNI. For years though Martin never mentioned it, and at every opportunity backed them to the hilt. Sure only a few weeks ago he got them re instated in the St Patricks day parade. For him to throw the toys out of the pram and throw these allegations at the PSNI showed a serious lack of judgement.

Bobby Storey shouldn't have stated at the mural unveiling "We havn't gone away you know". The irony of that statement and people holding "save our peace process posters" wasn't lost on too many.

During the 4 days the party should have shut up shop and said very little until they seen how it was going to pan out with Gerry. In the end, it took Gerry Adams upon his return to steady the ship. He did a great job in calming every body down.

In relation to the Boston Tapes, the whole project is now destroyed to a certain extent. The use of a legal loophole by the PSNI to get access to them never should have been allowed to proceed. Peter King and John Kerry among others warned that they shouldn't be handed over. Hilary Clinton probably could stopped them, but didn't.

Only a couple of tapes were released that contained information on Jean McConville. Ivor Bell was arrested on the back of these tapes, and while he was charged in relation to her death, the PSNI can't prove that he was X or Y on the tapes. The contract that he signed confirming who he was on the tapes is lost. So are many others. However, in a statement yesterday, Gerry Adams said " Anthony McIntyre's interview with the late Brendan Hughes and his interview with Ivor Bell formed the mainstay for my arrest last week." Did Gerry just positively identify Ivor from the tape? Could Gerry be called as a witness in Ivor's trail by the PSNI?

The hate campaign stirred against The Boston Tapes is out of line and inaccurate. To say that everyone one the tapes are telling lies and are anti peace process is based on what? Only a couple of tapes have been heard out of a total of 28. How can such a judgement be made on the basis of a couple of extracts from a couple of tapes? The continued use of the word tout, and the spread of graffiti across west Belfast is appalling. It's not that long ago when Martin and Gerry were surrounded by 3 top British Agents.

The tapes were described as having serious merit by only the 3rd person to have listened to every tape. Their value for generations to come to study the history of our time, and to learn from it would have been immense. To protect those still alive, a limit of 50 or 75 years should have been imposed.

If there is no evidence against Gerry, and he is cleared, that should be it. For far too long the brutal murder of Jean McConville and accusations of his involvement has been thrown at Gerry, from all sides and especially by Enda Kenny. Now is the time to get to truth if we can. However, if he is charged, then that will be a serious blow to the party. From what we saw last week, there were very few who could lead like he can.

[Myles Na G.]

The phrase, "A week is a long time in politics"  perfectly sums up the past week.

For anyone following the case of Jean McConville and Gerry Adams alleged involvement over the past while, it came as no surprise that he was going to be questioned about the allegations. He knew that as well, and he stepped up to the plate and made himself available for questioning. Over the course of 4 days, he was interviewed and then released without charge. A file has been sent to the DPP, and a few months later, a decision will be made whether to charge him or not.

Now, the response from Sinn Fein, and in particular Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and Bobby Storey was very immature and they did themselves no favours. They didn't show proper leadership at a time where they should have remained calm.

A few weeks ago when Ivor Bell was arrested, Mary Lou said "that she would welcome any measure which would "provide additional comfort to the McConville family." The arrest of Gerry though was a measure too far for her.

Martin McGuinness revealed for the 1st time what thousands of Republicans and nationalists have known for years, and who were ridiculed for saying so, and that there still lingers an old guard of the RUC in the PSNI. For years though Martin never mentioned it, and at every opportunity backed them to the hilt. Sure only a few weeks ago he got them re instated in the St Patricks day parade. For him to throw the toys out of the pram and throw these allegations at the PSNI showed a serious lack of judgement.

Bobby Storey shouldn't have stated at the mural unveiling "We havn't gone away you know". The irony of that statement and people holding "save our peace process posters" wasn't lost on too many.

During the 4 days the party should have shut up shop and said very little until they seen how it was going to pan out with Gerry. In the end, it took Gerry Adams upon his return to steady the ship. He did a great job in calming every body down.

In relation to the Boston Tapes, the whole project is now destroyed to a certain extent. The use of a legal loophole by the PSNI to get access to them never should have been allowed to proceed. Peter King and John Kerry among others warned that they shouldn't be handed over. Hilary Clinton probably could stopped them, but didn't.

Only a couple of tapes were released that contained information on Jean McConville. Ivor Bell was arrested on the back of these tapes, and while he was charged in relation to her death, the PSNI can't prove that he was X or Y on the tapes. The contract that he signed confirming who he was on the tapes is lost. So are many others. However, in a statement yesterday, Gerry Adams said " Anthony McIntyre's interview with the late Brendan Hughes and his interview with Ivor Bell formed the mainstay for my arrest last week." Did Gerry just positively identify Ivor from the tape? Could Gerry be called as a witness in Ivor's trail by the PSNI?

The hate campaign stirred against The Boston Tapes is out of line and inaccurate. To say that everyone one the tapes are telling lies and are anti peace process is based on what? Only a couple of tapes have been heard out of a total of 28. How can such a judgement be made on the basis of a couple of extracts from a couple of tapes? The continued use of the word tout, and the spread of graffiti across west Belfast is appalling. It's not that long ago when Martin and Gerry were surrounded by 3 top British Agents.

The tapes were described as having serious merit by only the 3rd person to have listened to every tape. Their value for generations to come to study the history of our time, and to learn from it would have been immense. To protect those still alive, a limit of 50 or 75 years should have been imposed.

If there is no evidence against Gerry, and he is cleared, that should be it. For far too long the brutal murder of Jean McConville and accusations of his involvement has been thrown at Gerry, from all sides and especially by Enda Kenny. Now is the time to get to truth if we can. However, if he is charged, then that will be a serious blow to the party. From what we saw last week, there were very few who could lead like he can.

Nail on the head there. The Shinners missed a huge chance - they only had to shut the fcuk up for 3 or 4 days and wait until their leader was released and their journey from the political wilderness to mainstream political party would've been complete. Instead, Marty threw a tantrum and set them back about 20 years.

[omagh_gael]

Bobby Storey's oration on the Falls reminded me of some of thr crap that's been spewed over the road in Woodvale. Very poor PR and surprising as Sinn Fein are usually water tight on these issues.

[deiseach]

The phrase, "A week is a long time in politics"  perfectly sums up the past week.

For anyone following the case of Jean McConville and Gerry Adams alleged involvement over the past while, it came as no surprise that he was going to be questioned about the allegations. He knew that as well, and he stepped up to the plate and made himself available for questioning. Over the course of 4 days, he was interviewed and then released without charge. A file has been sent to the DPP, and a few months later, a decision will be made whether to charge him or not.

Now, the response from Sinn Fein, and in particular Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and Bobby Storey was very immature and they did themselves no favours. They didn't show proper leadership at a time where they should have remained calm.

A few weeks ago when Ivor Bell was arrested, Mary Lou said "that she would welcome any measure which would "provide additional comfort to the McConville family." The arrest of Gerry though was a measure too far for her.

Martin McGuinness revealed for the 1st time what thousands of Republicans and nationalists have known for years, and who were ridiculed for saying so, and that there still lingers an old guard of the RUC in the PSNI. For years though Martin never mentioned it, and at every opportunity backed them to the hilt. Sure only a few weeks ago he got them re instated in the St Patricks day parade. For him to throw the toys out of the pram and throw these allegations at the PSNI showed a serious lack of judgement.

Bobby Storey shouldn't have stated at the mural unveiling "We havn't gone away you know". The irony of that statement and people holding "save our peace process posters" wasn't lost on too many.

During the 4 days the party should have shut up shop and said very little until they seen how it was going to pan out with Gerry. In the end, it took Gerry Adams upon his return to steady the ship. He did a great job in calming every body down.

In relation to the Boston Tapes, the whole project is now destroyed to a certain extent. The use of a legal loophole by the PSNI to get access to them never should have been allowed to proceed. Peter King and John Kerry among others warned that they shouldn't be handed over. Hilary Clinton probably could stopped them, but didn't.

Only a couple of tapes were released that contained information on Jean McConville. Ivor Bell was arrested on the back of these tapes, and while he was charged in relation to her death, the PSNI can't prove that he was X or Y on the tapes. The contract that he signed confirming who he was on the tapes is lost. So are many others. However, in a statement yesterday, Gerry Adams said " Anthony McIntyre's interview with the late Brendan Hughes and his interview with Ivor Bell formed the mainstay for my arrest last week." Did Gerry just positively identify Ivor from the tape? Could Gerry be called as a witness in Ivor's trail by the PSNI?

The hate campaign stirred against The Boston Tapes is out of line and inaccurate. To say that everyone one the tapes are telling lies and are anti peace process is based on what? Only a couple of tapes have been heard out of a total of 28. How can such a judgement be made on the basis of a couple of extracts from a couple of tapes? The continued use of the word tout, and the spread of graffiti across west Belfast is appalling. It's not that long ago when Martin and Gerry were surrounded by 3 top British Agents.

The tapes were described as having serious merit by only the 3rd person to have listened to every tape. Their value for generations to come to study the history of our time, and to learn from it would have been immense. To protect those still alive, a limit of 50 or 75 years should have been imposed.

If there is no evidence against Gerry, and he is cleared, that should be it. For far too long the brutal murder of Jean McConville and accusations of his involvement has been thrown at Gerry, from all sides and especially by Enda Kenny. Now is the time to get to truth if we can. However, if he is charged, then that will be a serious blow to the party. From what we saw last week, there were very few who could lead like he can.

That's a really good analysis of events. The only thing I'd add is that, in fairness to the Shinners *gag*, shutting up shop is impossible in this day and age. Going quiet for four days is not an option as Twitter and the like is going to fill the void, although the dummy-spitting that went on was a long way from being the least-worst option. Anyway, top post.

[Applesisapples]

Gerry Adams' account of his arrest and interrogation

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/07/jean-mcconville-killing-gerry-adams-innocent-accusers

The Jean McConville killing: I'm completely innocent. But what were my accusers' motives?

Four days of interrogation produced not a scrap of evidence. This was an assault by sinister forces on the peace process itself

My recent detention and interrogation was a serious attempt to bring charges against me. It was conducted by the retrospective major investigation team (Remit) of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which is based at Carrickfergus, County Antrim.

I had contacted the PSNI in March to tell them I was available to meet them. This followed another intense round of the media speculation that has tried to link me to the killing in 1972 of Jean McConville. It is part of a sustained malicious, untruthful and sinister campaign going back many years.

Last Monday the PSNI said it wanted to speak to me. I was concerned about the timing. Sinn Féin is currently involved in very important EU and local government elections. Notwithstanding this, I travelled to the Antrim serious crime suite where I arrived at 8.05pm.

En route I talked to the senior investigating officer. He was insisting that I meet him in the car park opposite the PSNI barracks. He told me that I must get into a squad car and that he would then arrest me and drive me into the barracks. He said he couldn't arrest me inside the barracks under the legislation.

I told him I was going directly to the station of my own accord, voluntarily. As it turned out there is no legislative bar on me being arrested within the station. And subsequently that's exactly what happened.

My solicitor was present. I was escorted by two detectives from Remit to the serious crime suite. A custody sergeant took me through all of the processes and protocols. My belt, tie, comb, watch, Fáinne and Easter Lily pins were removed. My solicitor made representations that I be allowed to keep my pen and notebook given that the offence that I was accused of occurred 42 years ago. After some toing and froing, I was eventually granted this request by the custody superintendent.

Shortly before the first of 33 taped interviews, I was served with a pre-interview brief. This accused me of IRA membership and conspiracy in the murder of Jean McConville. It also claimed that the PSNI had new evidential material to put to me. The interview commenced at 10.55pm. Two interrogators – a man and a woman – conducted all the interrogations. All of this was recorded and videotaped. My private consultations with my solicitor may also have been covertly recorded.

I was told that the interrogations were an evidence-gathering process, and that the police would be making the case that I was a member of the IRA; that I had a senior IRA managerial role in Belfast at the time of Jean McConville's abduction; and that I was therefore bound to know about her killing. I challenged my interrogators to produce the new evidential material. They said that this would happen at a later interview but they wanted to take me through my childhood, family history and so on. Over the following four days it became clear that the objective of the interviews was to get to the point where they could charge me with IRA membership and thereby link me to the McConville case. The membership charge was clearly their principal goal. The interrogators made no secret of this. At one point the male detective described their plan as "a stage-managed approach". It later transpired that it was a phased strategy, with nine different phases.

The first phases dealt with my family history of republican activism. My own early involvement in Sinn Féin as a teenager – when it was a banned organisation. My time in the 1960s in the civil rights movement and various housing action groups in west Belfast, the pogroms of 1969 and the start of the Troubles.

It was asserted that I was guilty of IRA membership through association because of my family background – my friends. They referred to countless pieces of "open source" material that, they said, linked me to the IRA. These were anonymous newspaper articles from 1971 and 1972, photographs of Martin McGuinness and me at republican funerals, and books about the period.

If any of these claimed I was in the IRA, then that was, according to my interrogators, evidence. They consistently cast up my habit of referring to friends as "comrades". This, they said, was evidence of IRA membership. They claimed I was turned by special branch during interrogations in Belfast's Palace Barracks in 1972 and that I became an MI5 agent! They also spoke about the peace talks in 1972, and my periods of internment and imprisonment in Long Kesh. This was presented as "bad-character evidence".

Much of the interrogations concerned Boston College's so-called Belfast Project conceived by Paul Bew – a university lecturer and a former adviser to the former unionist leader David Trimble – and run by Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre.

Both Moloney and McIntyre are opponents of the Sinn Féin leadership and our strategy, and have interviewed former republicans who are also hostile. These former republicans have accused us of betrayal and have said we should be shot because of our support for the Good Friday agreement and policing.

The allegation of conspiracy in the killing of Mrs McConville is based almost exclusively on hearsay from unnamed alleged Boston College interviewees but mainly from the late Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes. Other alleged interviewees were identified only by a letter of the alphabet, eg interviewee R or Y. It has been claimed by prosecutors in court that one of these is Ivor Bell, although the interrogators told me he has denied the allegations.
I rejected all allegations made about me in the Boston tapes, which have now been totally discredited. Historians from the college have made it clear that this "never was a Boston College History Department project". A spokesman for the college has confirmed that it would be prepared to hand back interviews to those involved.

I am innocent of any involvement in the abduction, killing or burial of Mrs McConville, or of IRA membership. I have never disassociated myself from the IRA and I never will, but I am not uncritical of IRA actions and particularly the terrible injustice inflicted on Mrs McConville and her family. I very much regret what happened to them and their mother and understand the antipathy they feel towards republicans.

This case raises in a stark way the need for the legacy issues of the past to be addressed in a victim-centred way. Sinn Féin is committed to dealing with the past, including the issue of victims and their families. We have put forward our own proposals for an independent international truth recovery process, which both governments have rejected. We have also signed up for the compromise proposals presented by US envoys Richard Haass and Meghan O'Sullivan. The two unionist parties and the British government have not.

Sinn Féin is for policing. There is no doubt about this. Civic, accountable, public service policing. It has not been achieved yet.

During my interrogation, no new evidential material, indeed no evidence of any kind, was produced. When I was being released I made a formal complaint about aspects of my interrogation. My arrest and the very serious attempt to charge me with IRA membership is damaging to the peace process and the political institutions.

There is only one way for our society to go, and that is forward. I am a united Irelander. I want to live in a citizen-centred, rights-based society. There is now a peaceful and democratic way to achieve this. The two governments are guarantors of the Good Friday agreement. They have failed in this responsibility. The future belongs to everyone. So, as well as the British and Irish governments, civic society, church leaders, trade unions, the media, academia and private citizens must find a way to provide positive leadership.

The Good Friday agreement is the people's agreement. It does not belong to the elites. It must be defended, implemented and promoted.

Yes, deal with the past. Yes, deal with victims. But the focus needs to be on the future. There will be bumps on that road. There will be diversions. There are powerful vested interests who have not bought into the peace process. Obstacles will be erected, but we must build the peace and see off sinister forces against equality and justice for everyone.

'My private consultations with my solicitor may also have been covertly recorded.' Gerry doesn't provide any reason or evidence for this assertion, he just throws the mud against the wall and hope that some of it sticks.

'I rejected all allegations made about me in the Boston tapes, which have now been totally discredited. Historians from the college have made it clear that this "never was a Boston College History Department project". A spokesman for the college has confirmed that it would be prepared to hand back interviews to those involved.'
Three unconnected statements here, cobbled together in the hope that, taken together, they sound a bit stronger than they actually are.  Statement 1: the allegations have not been totally discredited. Either Gerry is confusing the substance of the interviews with the row about the confidentiality clause in the contracts, or else he is assuming that, because the PSNI were unable to charge him, that automatically discredits any allegations against him. It doesn't. It just means that they can't prove them at this point. Statement 2: this was never 'a Boston College History Department project'. So what? It was still "a bona fide academic exercise of considerable intellectual merit" according to Judge William G. Young. The fact that Boston College is now trying to distance itself and its staff from the project has more to do with the fact that the College has been heavily criticised by other academic institutions in the US for the way it has undermined important research going on in other institutions by its poor management of this project. Statement 3: the fact that the College is prepared to hand back statements means nothing at all, other than that Boston College wishes this whole thing would go away, preferably before the PSNI come calling again with more subpoenas.

This project failed on one issue only, the issue of whether or not the participants should've been promised that their statements would remain with the College until they died. Moloney claims he passed the issue of the legal status of this promise over to Boston College to check, firstly because they were the sponsoring body and secondly because they have their own extensive legal resources. He claims he was given assurances that this had been done and he says he has the emails to prove this. If that proves to be the case, then I know who I blame for the fiasco.

The Police told his solicitor that they couldn't give assurances that they wouldn't be taped. His solicitor confirmed this to an Irish News reporter. Is the Solicitor no complicit in what you perceive as Adam's mud slinging?

[Applesisapples]

Very assured performance from Conor Murphy on Nolan the other evening. But is Gregory Campbell the best that the DUP had available.
Dolly from the Stoops was floundering, muttering in the background when others were speaking, very unprofessional. As for Nesbitt...well...Murhy and Gerry Kelly have handled the Adams situation well unlike Marty and Bobby.

[glens abu]

The phrase, "A week is a long time in politics"  perfectly sums up the past week.

For anyone following the case of Jean McConville and Gerry Adams alleged involvement over the past while, it came as no surprise that he was going to be questioned about the allegations. He knew that as well, and he stepped up to the plate and made himself available for questioning. Over the course of 4 days, he was interviewed and then released without charge. A file has been sent to the DPP, and a few months later, a decision will be made whether to charge him or not.

Now, the response from Sinn Fein, and in particular Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and Bobby Storey was very immature and they did themselves no favours. They didn't show proper leadership at a time where they should have remained calm.

A few weeks ago when Ivor Bell was arrested, Mary Lou said "that she would welcome any measure which would "provide additional comfort to the McConville family." The arrest of Gerry though was a measure too far for her.

Martin McGuinness revealed for the 1st time what thousands of Republicans and nationalists have known for years, and who were ridiculed for saying so, and that there still lingers an old guard of the RUC in the PSNI. For years though Martin never mentioned it, and at every opportunity backed them to the hilt. Sure only a few weeks ago he got them re instated in the St Patricks day parade. For him to throw the toys out of the pram and throw these allegations at the PSNI showed a serious lack of judgement.

Bobby Storey shouldn't have stated at the mural unveiling "We havn't gone away you know". The irony of that statement and people holding "save our peace process posters" wasn't lost on too many.

During the 4 days the party should have shut up shop and said very little until they seen how it was going to pan out with Gerry. In the end, it took Gerry Adams upon his return to steady the ship. He did a great job in calming every body down.

In relation to the Boston Tapes, the whole project is now destroyed to a certain extent. The use of a legal loophole by the PSNI to get access to them never should have been allowed to proceed. Peter King and John Kerry among others warned that they shouldn't be handed over. Hilary Clinton probably could stopped them, but didn't.

Only a couple of tapes were released that contained information on Jean McConville. Ivor Bell was arrested on the back of these tapes, and while he was charged in relation to her death, the PSNI can't prove that he was X or Y on the tapes. The contract that he signed confirming who he was on the tapes is lost. So are many others. However, in a statement yesterday, Gerry Adams said " Anthony McIntyre's interview with the late Brendan Hughes and his interview with Ivor Bell formed the mainstay for my arrest last week." Did Gerry just positively identify Ivor from the tape? Could Gerry be called as a witness in Ivor's trail by the PSNI?

The hate campaign stirred against The Boston Tapes is out of line and inaccurate. To say that everyone one the tapes are telling lies and are anti peace process is based on what? Only a couple of tapes have been heard out of a total of 28. How can such a judgement be made on the basis of a couple of extracts from a couple of tapes? The continued use of the word tout, and the spread of graffiti across west Belfast is appalling. It's not that long ago when Martin and Gerry were surrounded by 3 top British Agents.

The tapes were described as having serious merit by only the 3rd person to have listened to every tape. Their value for generations to come to study the history of our time, and to learn from it would have been immense. To protect those still alive, a limit of 50 or 75 years should have been imposed.

If there is no evidence against Gerry, and he is cleared, that should be it. For far too long the brutal murder of Jean McConville and accusations of his involvement has been thrown at Gerry, from all sides and especially by Enda Kenny. Now is the time to get to truth if we can. However, if he is charged, then that will be a serious blow to the party. From what we saw last week, there were very few who could lead like he can.

Very quiet for the past fortnight Dixie,is this the best you can come up with to defend the bunch of touts that you support and quote at every opportunity.Catch a grip your chum McIntyre has been shown up for what he is.His get Gerry campaign has backfired on him,Ivor Bell and all the others who thought by touting it would bring down Adams and SF but instead they have put themselves in the Dock.

[Hound]

Who are R and Y ?

think there was 28 people who touted to Boston college,R and Y are two of them.Only the police Bew,Mcintyre and their crew know who they are.

28 ??


That's a lot of informants.

Sure is but the d**kheads thought nobody would see them until they were dead,but they were sold a pup

You're a great man for the name calling!
Would you be a typical SF canvasser?

Good God you are easily offended if calling a tout a d**khead annoyed you,sorry.I'am sure you would be aware anyone on a SF canvas is told to behave at all times,even though I am sure there is many a time they feel like letting rip.

Jayz, nothing in my comments would suggest I was offended!
Very amused at your postings/name-callings as an SF representative.

It is also interesting to know the SF canvassers have been instructed to behave and told to not let rip during the many times that they feel like it. Householders can breath a sigh a relief!

I wonder how many other parties need to instruct their canvasers to behave themselves?

[Applesisapples]

If SF want to attract the middleclass nationalist vote, they will need to stop pandering to the baser elements within their immediate working class support. That means temperate language and none of the crass remarks a la Bobby Storey. They need also to reign in on the monkey see monkey do mimicry of loyalist parades and commemorations.

[trueblue1234]

The phrase, "A week is a long time in politics"  perfectly sums up the past week.

For anyone following the case of Jean McConville and Gerry Adams alleged involvement over the past while, it came as no surprise that he was going to be questioned about the allegations. He knew that as well, and he stepped up to the plate and made himself available for questioning. Over the course of 4 days, he was interviewed and then released without charge. A file has been sent to the DPP, and a few months later, a decision will be made whether to charge him or not.

Now, the response from Sinn Fein, and in particular Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and Bobby Storey was very immature and they did themselves no favours. They didn't show proper leadership at a time where they should have remained calm.

A few weeks ago when Ivor Bell was arrested, Mary Lou said "that she would welcome any measure which would "provide additional comfort to the McConville family." The arrest of Gerry though was a measure too far for her.

Martin McGuinness revealed for the 1st time what thousands of Republicans and nationalists have known for years, and who were ridiculed for saying so, and that there still lingers an old guard of the RUC in the PSNI. For years though Martin never mentioned it, and at every opportunity backed them to the hilt. Sure only a few weeks ago he got them re instated in the St Patricks day parade. For him to throw the toys out of the pram and throw these allegations at the PSNI showed a serious lack of judgement.

Bobby Storey shouldn't have stated at the mural unveiling "We havn't gone away you know". The irony of that statement and people holding "save our peace process posters" wasn't lost on too many.

During the 4 days the party should have shut up shop and said very little until they seen how it was going to pan out with Gerry. In the end, it took Gerry Adams upon his return to steady the ship. He did a great job in calming every body down.

In relation to the Boston Tapes, the whole project is now destroyed to a certain extent. The use of a legal loophole by the PSNI to get access to them never should have been allowed to proceed. Peter King and John Kerry among others warned that they shouldn't be handed over. Hilary Clinton probably could stopped them, but didn't.

Only a couple of tapes were released that contained information on Jean McConville. Ivor Bell was arrested on the back of these tapes, and while he was charged in relation to her death, the PSNI can't prove that he was X or Y on the tapes. The contract that he signed confirming who he was on the tapes is lost. So are many others. However, in a statement yesterday, Gerry Adams said " Anthony McIntyre's interview with the late Brendan Hughes and his interview with Ivor Bell formed the mainstay for my arrest last week." Did Gerry just positively identify Ivor from the tape? Could Gerry be called as a witness in Ivor's trail by the PSNI?

The hate campaign stirred against The Boston Tapes is out of line and inaccurate. To say that everyone one the tapes are telling lies and are anti peace process is based on what? Only a couple of tapes have been heard out of a total of 28. How can such a judgement be made on the basis of a couple of extracts from a couple of tapes? The continued use of the word tout, and the spread of graffiti across west Belfast is appalling. It's not that long ago when Martin and Gerry were surrounded by 3 top British Agents.

The tapes were described as having serious merit by only the 3rd person to have listened to every tape. Their value for generations to come to study the history of our time, and to learn from it would have been immense. To protect those still alive, a limit of 50 or 75 years should have been imposed.

If there is no evidence against Gerry, and he is cleared, that should be it. For far too long the brutal murder of Jean McConville and accusations of his involvement has been thrown at Gerry, from all sides and especially by Enda Kenny. Now is the time to get to truth if we can. However, if he is charged, then that will be a serious blow to the party. From what we saw last week, there were very few who could lead like he can.

Nail on the head there. The Shinners missed a huge chance - they only had to shut the fcuk up for 3 or 4 days and wait until their leader was released and their journey from the political wilderness to mainstream political party would've been complete. Instead, Marty threw a tantrum and set them back about 20 years.

Lol, You may wish that to be the case, but I'd say you know yourself that it isn't.

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If SF want to attract the middleclass nationalist vote, they will need to stop pandering to the baser elements within their immediate working class support. That means temperate language and none of the crass remarks a la Bobby Storey. They need also to reign in on the monkey see monkey do mimicry of loyalist parades and commemorations.

That Bobby Storey thing was ridiculous and was just handing the Unionists a rod to beat SF with. As was said before I thought they were smarter than that!

Still not sure about the Boston Tapes thing. Did McIntyre and Moloney do it to nail Adams and others? I don't think so. Surely there are easier ways to do that. Yes the tapes are an account as to what happened but are they signed as sworn testimony? Are they admissible in a court of law? I doubt it in which case it's all a big sideshow by the PSNI.

SF should have known the PSNI had nothing concrete on Adams and he'd be released without charge. McGuinness' saying they would rethink the support for the police was not a good idea. He should have waited until Adams was out and then lambasted the shite out of them and taken it to the Ombudsman for an impartial verdict on the whole thing.

Everyone and their mother knows it's a DUP publicity stunt before an election because they're worried about the Nutters going to the TUV and UKIP... I expect the election to be quite the success for Sinn Fein due to the Unionists splitting their vote too much now. I think the DUP are definitely going to take a hit!

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i agree screen that DUP will take a hit but i think SF will take a bigger hit,SF got alot of support due to the SDLP being totally incompetent and also trying to oust bigots like mccrea from mid ulster but with politics here becoming more "normal" people are starting to see through SF.They are single handly destroying our education system and the real thing that sticks in my throat about SF is if you dare to speak against them you are a "dissendent".

I agree but I think the SDLP are still clean useless so I can't see where SF are going to lose some of their vote unless people are that apathetic now that they just don't turn out!

I've yet to look at anybody in NI Politics who I would say "Yeah that's a serious operator who will work hard for me I want to pick him!". Probably had I been at voting age at the time Hume but other than that the rest are a crowd of fcukwits.

Let's vote for SF for Westminster so that they don't even go! What the fcuk is the point in that?!

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c**k, there is no alternative for Nationalists in the North. The SDLP are still in disarray. Al and Dolly can't stand one another and Attwood is sulking in the wings. They have no ideas and no leadership. It is widely recognised that O'Dowd and Poots are perhaps the best performing ministers in Departments that are riven with problems. What is destroying the education system is unionism's inability to compromise and an unwillingness to see change through.