In the 2000s the party campaigned against the Lisbon treaty and further EU expansion. It also argued for Ireland to leave the EU in the 1970s and 80s when Adams rose to hold the centre of power inside Sinn Féin. It is the first signal from Adams – one of the longest-serving party leaders in the world – that he is considering stepping down from overall leadership of the republican party. He continued: “I want to thank everyone who has welcomed me into their homes and communities and who have made me part of countless campaigns, countless elections and countless negotiations.”

He has faced repeated questions about one of the most controversial IRA murders of the early Troubles – the 1972 kidnapping, killing and secret burial of Jean McConville, who had 10 children. In his speech Adams said: “I have always seen myself as a team player and a team builder. I have complete confidence in the leaders we elected this weekend and in the next generation of leaders.” Donaldson’s betrayal was a devastating blow for the mainstream republican movement as the former IRA prisoner was once part of Gerry Adams’ inner circle in Sinn Féin. Indeed, the peace process itself is based upon an inherent injustice for victims of terrorism – of bringing terrorists into Government. The biggest terrorists of the Troubles, such as the late Martin McGuinness, gave up “armed struggle” in exchange for becoming “Co-Premier” of Northern Ireland. The first was an amendment championed by Lord Faulks KC, reversing the legal effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in R v Adams in 2020.

Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s miracle journey 

I will be allowing my name to go forward for the position of Uachtarán Shinn Féin [party president]. And if elected I will be setting out our priorities and in particular our planned process of generational change, including my own future intentions.” Adams, who now sits as a Sinn Féin TD for Louth in the Irish Dail, was not present at the supreme court hearing in London which was heard by five justices including the lord chief justice of England and Wales, Lord Burnett. Lord Kerr, a former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland, presided. Adams’s focus on Brexit and the EU is part of a strategic shift in Sinn Féin policy towards Europe.

But sources within the mainstream Irish republican movement and veteran Adams-watchers believe the 69-year-old will still hold the centre of power in Sinn Féin from behind the scenes long after his official successor is elevated to the top post. Adams and other Sinn Féin representatives have to regularly go through additional searches and scrutiny when travelling to and from the US. This was a very emotional thing. He would not want to abandon people and if he became ‘like you’, as officials, his community would distrust all he stood for,” according to the record of the meeting. The former West Belfast MP also praised Jeremy Corbyn and said he hoped the Labour leader would become the next British prime minister. Despite his many remarkable achievements in turning the republican movement towards solely peaceful constitutional politics, Adams is now seen by both external observers and some party insiders as a brake on the party’s growth in the Republic.The book - The Negotiators' Cookbook - was launched ahead of the festive season to raise money for Sinn Fein and Mr Adams said he had enjoyed writing it. Adams was first interned in March 1972 and was released in June that year to take part in secret talks with the Conservative government in London.

The Bill hasn’t enjoyed an easy ride. The coalition against it included victims’ groups, the five major Northern Ireland parties and the Irish Government. The critics also included many in the legal profession (and well-funded university academics) known as “legacy practitioners” – who are involved in relentless anti-state litigation. This represents a significant step towards restoring national self-confidence – not least with the Irish Government threatening to challenge British legislation through a possible (and highly unusual) interstate action against the UK in the Strasbourg Court. The director of public prosecutions for Northern Ireland, who is the respondent in the case, has successfully argued in the Northern Ireland courts that the Carltona principle – based on a 1943 test case – allows that “where parliament specifies that a decision is to be taken by a specified minister, generally that decision may be taken by an appropriate person on behalf of the minister.”The decision was a victory for Adams in a long-running case linked to his attempted escapes from Long Kesh internment camp, later known as Maze prison, in 1973 and 1974 at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He was convicted in 1975 of two attempts to escape lawful custody. The opposition to the Bill was sincere and moving. But it missed the key point. There is nothing unprecedented about this amnesty. There has effectively been an amnesty – multiple amnesties – for different categories of Troubles related violence since 1998. And even before that. In a statement released through his solicitor on Tuesday night, Adams lawyer said his client “had no involvement and had no knowledge whatsoever in Denis Donaldson’s killing”.

There is an onus on the British government to identify and inform other internees whose internment may also have been unlawful.” His double was driven to the Maze where the plan was that he would be swapped for Adams in a visiting hut. Prison staff had been alerted, however, and Adams was arrested.He will not want or allow any successor to ever cast doubt on the validity of that IRA campaign. He will want them to state that this campaign was as legitimate as the rebels of 1916.” He told 1,000 delegates at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis (annual conference) in Dublin on Saturday night that he and the late Martin McGuinness had recognised the need for a new change in leadership in the party.