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Boston Globe shows its Northern Ireland bias with attack on Gerry Adams

By
Niall O'Dowd

Published Thursday, January 7, 2010, 7:11 AM
Updated Thursday, January 7, 2010, 10:10 AM


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Gerry Adams

The Boston Globe was notorious during The Troubles for getting the Northern Ireland story wrong. For years they were influenced by British diplomats and local Irish American 'experts' such as Padraig O'Malley, who wrote a book proclaiming the conflict unsolvable and essentially blaming the IRA.

The Globe was way too lace curtain Irish to ever understand the real dynamics at work in Northern Ireland. It was always easier fro them to pin blame on those great unwashed republicans.

Even though peace has now become a reality, thanks in large part to those same Republicans, they continue to beat the old anti-Sinn Fein drum.

The latest attack is written by one Thomas Gagen, whose name has escaped us as a writer and expert on The Troubles up to now. He is apparently a member of the Boston Globe editorial board - which figures.

This latest article has to do with recent revelations about Gerry Adams and sexual abuse accusations against his brother and his father.

"In 1987 his niece Aine Tyrell told him that her father had sexually abused her from 1978, when she was 4, to 1983. Adams’s cover-up of the allegations against his brother calls into question his political future,” writes Gagen.

Adams did not "cover up" the allegations. He confronted his brother soon after he became aware of them - something Gagen refuses to mention.

Gagen also claims that Adams "did not go to the police in 1987," when Tyrell told him.

Go to the police? The hated RUC?  When Aine Tyrell herself went they were more interested in turning her into an informer. As Gerry Moriarty reported in the Irish Times:  "Áine’s mother said the RUC seemed 'more interested in recruiting her as an informer than dealing with Áine’s abusing father.'” 

Gagen conveniently leaves that out.

The Boston Globe then attempts to throw Gerry Adams in with the Bishops, who covered up sex abuse in the south. “Adams kept quiet about his brother to protect the institution and cause he served, and like the bishops, he should face the consequences."

Not true. Adams did not keep quiet. Unlike the Bishops he confronted his brother and given that he could not go to the police, it was as much as he could do at the time.

Gagen ends his piece with hype of Ed Moloney's new book called "Voices from the Grave," which will appear next year. This will rehash a lot of old incidents from The Troubles. Moloney is an Adams critic and the book will be seen as such by Republicans. It is unlikely to have any impact. Gagen never refers to Moloney's reputation in this regard of course.

He suggests at the end of his article that Adams leave Sinn Fein and attend to his family. Maybe Gagen is the guy that should think of a new career with this kind of utterly biased journalism.

Vote now - Buzz this story up!


Boston Globe shows its Northern Ireland bias with attack on Gerry Adams | Irish News | IrishCentral


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Most recent comments - See all comments

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Posted by seanomelbourne on Jan 14, 2010, 04:55 PM EST
pat69 your right wing friends misuse Adam's position to smear republicanism again I state you are not interested in fair comment.Maybe you could find it in your heart to condemn British terrorism and yes I am Irish born if you are interested.
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Posted by citizen69 on Jan 11, 2010, 11:58 AM EST
Pat, your comment has not been removed. There are two postings of this article on this site. Your comment is on the other one. By the way, I am NOT anti-republican, i am anti-terrorism. Looking at some of the usernames here you've probably never set foot in Ireland and therefor don't know the realities of thug paramilitary groups like the IRA, UDA, & republican dissidents.
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Posted by citizen69 on Jan 11, 2010, 11:52 AM EST
Or maybe you guys should just take of your republican blinkers and look at the facts! Adams knew his brother was a child rapist yet did nothing while knowing said brother was working in Youth Clubs in Gerry's own constituency, and that's just for starters. The problem with you guys, including o'dowd is that you think this is a republican matter, it is not. This is about peadophilia and the failure to protect children.
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Posted by seanomelbourne on Jan 09, 2010, 05:51 PM EST
Maybe citizen69 is not interested in different points of view,maybe he should read "The News Letter" and further his narrow minded career.
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Posted by CanadianPat on Jan 09, 2010, 09:01 AM EST
My earlier posting ,not in defence of the undefencible allegatted offences and admissions, but rather in defence of the Adams family ( one of the handfull of Republican families that dispite much personal hardships keep the flag flying throughout the 30's,40's,and 50's) and Gerry Adams himself ( upholding that family tradition and leading our nation to where we are today), have disappeared from this comment board while the selfrighteous, anti-republican " citizen69" comments remain. What is up with that?
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Posted by seanomelbourne on Jan 09, 2010, 01:48 AM EST
It beggars belief you think my name is Mr Melbourne






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