Right of Reply: Gerry Adams was never target of Boston College Oral History project

searlit, 75% of the HET enquiries have been about Loyalist crimes & there is a major trial on the UVF in Belfast now. To live in a truly free UI Ireland, everybody has to own up to their crimes, no guess who turned down the opportunity of a truth commission, i'll give you a clue, it wasn't the Brits, Irish govt, loyalists, INLA, OIRA - only PIRA - don't excuse their crimes, ALL IRELAND is responsible & culpable for the troubles, if the brits hadn't policed it for 30 odd years, then it would have fallen to the Irish & we wouldn't be talking about 3000 lives lost, it'll be probably 10 times as much. The loyalist propensity for violence was on a smaller scale than the republicans, but without the brits on the streets & considering they were as the majority people(60% of the ulster pop) being forced against their will in 1969 into a UI, the violence would have been on a truly terrifying scale & have engulfed the south. Yes the brits can be blamed for some of their actions & rightly held accountable for Bloody Sunday, but conversely I as a former republican abeit from the OIRA stock also recognise that without PIRA we may be living in a UI, unfortunately that is not the case & will never be in my lifetime & that is a crime alongside all of the their own sectarian atrocities such as Bloody Friday, Teebane, Shankill that they need to be held accountable for. When the smoke has cleared & a definitive history written, warts & all, it will be shown that PIRA killed more catholics, then the BA, RUC & Loyalists put together, 30 years of hurt on both sides & no chance of a democratically elected UI - was it worth it, i don't think so. When i visit the cemetaries my IRA family are buried in, i think of PIRA & how they destroyed a peaceful UI for ever.

Most people think that peace is the best way to live. The history has always been to invade, conquer, and make the Irish the enemies in their own land. By continuing to investigate SF, while ignoring loyalists, and British army atrocites, history keeps repeating itself, in Ireland.

no, it wasn't a 'brit' plot to undermine the process, they didn't need to do that as the provos were already committed to the peace process without violence, SF just got greedy, the documents were covered in a special adhesive that not only showed that the docs had been copies, but also allowed fingerprint recovery, a decision was taken at the highest level not to prosecute SF

Mr. MCIntyre, Was the 'spy ring' at Stormont 'a false allegation.....made by security force personnel to undermine the peace process?' Please respond.

i couldn't resist the posting as i knew you would respond - sirpeter, youse searlit share 1 thing in common with the brits in that you think you know what's in our interest. as searlit said - you're done pontificating & explaining to me that what youse lot know is best, you don't know us at all. If the brits had wanted to leave ireland they would have done so years ago, there still be in Ulster when your kids are 50 - u seriously don't get it, for years ireland has been kept going on exporting to UK & sharing currency parity with the punt & sterling, then FF decided that let's get the 'brits' out from underneath us & join the euro, big feckin mistake, god bless the republicans they bankrupted S Ireland ensuring that a UI would always be a pipedream.

Well, I was already to reply to you FallsRNat, though I see what wonderful work sirpeter has done explaning it. I'll just add that I'm tired of seeing the sons and daughters of Ireland being villified for protecting their own rights, in their own country. Suaimhneas/Peace...

Fallsers.You know full well that the first step to a United Ireland is peace.The GFA achieved that and power sharing.People voted for the GFA with their heads not with their hearts.Above all else they voted for peace.The nationalist's did NOT vote for partition to stay(Wishful thinking on your behalf).They voted that it would be a democratic decision by all in NI to have it removed.(Fact)The bottom line is with over 60% of the NI workforce in the civil service and costing the UK exchequer millions upon millions to support the NI partition, it's just not economically sustainable forever.It's as simple as that.The British government and taxpayer don't want it and the Irish government don't want it.The British government has committed to secure the REPEAL by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Government of Ireland Act 1920.THAT'S THE ONE FALLSERS.That's the British saying to the Irish Government they don't want NI in the future.No longer is it "A Protestant people for a Protestant NI" The Orange Order is fading and so is the border.*Sings* Another piece of pink left my atlas to-daaay~The Unionist's are leaving~Adiós,go awaaaaay.

Well said Mc Intyre, a true Irish man who survived the boot of the evil empire that still occupies Ireland,had and still has the alls to tell it the way it is.

searlit - i'm confused, i voted to accept the GFA & that meant the continuing division of this island as approved by the US, UN in the GFA et al under democratic principles. Why are we - the irish people living under occupation by another country, wake up we agreed to it & as things have turned out, we seem to care neither one way or the other. I assume that you aren't a resident of Ireland & continue to live the republican fantasist dream that if only THEY were allowed to vote then we could all live somehow happily together in a UI. An enforced 32 county state now would lead to a resumption of the violence as even I who was raised on a diet of the republican movement abeit, the OIRA/SF don't see how the unionists could be included in this state, unless of course, you are insistent that they are part of the british occupying forces & should be sent home to the UK after living here for 400 years, (i assume that you will also apply true democracy to where you live & surrender your rights & return to the emerald isle). you can't deny the free expression of the people & their right to determine their own future & this both North & South they did in the GFA & voted for the partition to stay.

it really is lamentable that some of the Oirish community still cling to the fact that Gerry is totally innocent of any crimes carried out by PIRA. I spoke to Brendan Hughes shortly before his interview for the BC project, I am under no illusions that he had found no better way to expose the continuing denials expoused by GA & his followers on anything to do with the violence ib the troubles. He knew that in the current light of the US enlightenment of one man's terrorist is nothing but a terrorist, that either the US justice or the brits would seek to use the articles to undertake criminal investigations. there's no fault in the forces of law & order doing this, only Adams truly knows the truth about the fate of McConville, it's about time he puckered up & told everybody the truth - either he is truly a man of action & committed provie issuing orders to Hughes etc to carry out these unforgivable events or he is totally innocent, provides evidence to that effect & sues the pants of both the brits & the US in court.

Settle down, sir. The article asserted that the BC project was being used in a political way. Using material gathered in an academic project to use as evidence in a criminal investigation, against an undisputably political actor, is certainly a political act. The fault lies more with the US DOJ's cooperation with the English authorities, whose motives need no further explanation. What's up, O'Bama?

Boston college may not be directly involved in a witch hunt.but they appear to aid and abet those who do.In his last paragraph McIntyre doe's indeed show some anti nationalist bias.

@clevelander.In all fairness whatever else you are saying.Here is a man who grew up with nothing.Interned and tortured.On the run and away from his wife alot of the time.Shot and nearly killed.Fearing for his life and family and lets not forget it was a just cause.A hard way to win fame and money.You say he sold his soul to the Saxon?I don't think so.Cool head clevelander.We want to get from A to B.Sometimes you have to give a little line to get what you want.Cool head.He is not the enemy.

Gerry Adams was a member of PSF. Although I say reluctantly. He sat on the sideline in 70/71 waiting to see who who came out on top. He is and was a sticky in Provo clothing. He claims many to have attended meetings/negotiations that he was never part of. He steered his close friends and relatives to his sticky brand of Republicanism. I hope Gerry has fun accepting the money and fame he has, as he has sold his soul to the Saxon. I do not want to see the british crown prosecute him for the crimes he has committed, I want the Irish People and True Republicans to prosecute him in an All-Ireland Court. Just my thought.

Give me a break. Name one thing that Boston College did to promote Peace in Ireland? Ok, I remember now. They invited Bloddy Thatcher to get an honorary doctorate!