Dáil Éireann
31st Dáil
Type
Type	Lower house of Oireachtas
Leadership
Ceann Comhairle	Seán Barrett, (FG) since 9 March 2011
Govt. Chief Whip	Paul Kehoe, (FG) since 9 March 2011
Structure
Members	166
Political groups	Government coalition      Fine Gael (74)      Labour Party (35) Opposition parties      Fianna Fáil (19)      Sinn Féin (14)      Socialist Party (2)      People Before Profit (2)      WUAG (1)      Independents (18) Chairman      Ceann Comhairle (1)
Elections
Last election	25 February 2011
Meeting place
Dáil chamber Leinster House, Dublin
Website
www.oireachtas.ie

Dáil Éireann (/dɔɪl ˈɛərɒn/; Irish: [d̪ˠaːlʲ ˈeːrʲən̪ˠ]) is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).^[1] It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach (head of government). Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.

Title[link]

The name Dáil Éireann is taken from the Irish language but is the official title of the body in both English and Irish, including both language versions of the Irish constitution. Since the Dáil was first established in 1919 it has also been described variously as a "National Assembly", a "Chamber of Deputies" and a "House of Representatives".

A dáil means an assembly or parliament, so a literal translation of Dáil Éireann is "Assembly of Ireland". Article 15 of Ireland's constitution describes the body as "a House of Representatives to be called Dáil Éireann" (Teach Ionadóirí ar a dtugtar Dáil Éireann).^[2][1] For this reason Dáil Éireann is often translated as "House of Representatives".^[3] The literal Irish translation of House of Representatives is "Teach Ionadóirí".

In common usage the word Dáil is accompanied by the definite article but Dáil Éireann is not. So one speaks of "the Dáil" but not "the Dáil Éireann".

The plural Dála is occasionally used when referring to the Dáil as constituted following different elections; for example, when referring to the First and Second Dála.

Composition[link]

Ireland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Republic of Ireland

Constitution Constitution Amendments President Michael D. Higgins Council of State Presidential Commission Government Cabinet Taoiseach Enda Kenny Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore Departments of State Minister of State Civil service Oireachtas Dáil Éireann Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett Seanad Éireann Cathaoirleach Paddy Burke Opposition Leader Micheál Martin Judiciary Attorney General Courts Supreme Court Chief Justice High Court Court of Criminal Appeal Special Criminal Court Circuit Court District Court Elections Presidential (2011) European (2009) Parliamentary (2011) Local (2009) Constituencies By-elections Political parties Divisions Counties of Ireland Local government Foreign policy Foreign relations Politics of the European Union Politics of Northern Ireland

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Dáil Éireann has 166 members. Members are directly elected at least once in every five years by the people of the Republic of Ireland under a system of proportional representation known as Single transferable vote. Membership of the Dáil is open to citizens who are 21 or older. A member of the Dáil is known as a Teachta Dála, TD or Deputy.

The Dáil electorate consists of Irish and United Kingdom citizens over 18 years of age who are registered to vote in the Republic of Ireland. Under the Constitution of Ireland a general election for Dáil Éireann must occur once in every seven years, but a five year limit is currently specified by statute. The Taoiseach (head of government) can, by making a request to the president, effectively dissolve the Dáil at any time, in which case a general election must occur within thirty days. The President may refuse to dissolve the Dáil, and ask the Dáil to form an alternative government without a General Election taking place.

The STV electoral system broadly produces proportional representation in the Dáil. The small size of the constituencies used, however, usually gives a small advantage to the larger parties and under-represents smaller parties. Since the 1990s the norm in the state has been coalition governments. Prior to 1989, however, one-party government by the Fianna Fáil party was common. The multi-seat constituencies required by STV mean that candidates must often compete for election with others from the same party. This increases voter choice but is accused by some of producing TDs who are excessively parochial. Two failed attempts — 1959 and 1968 — have been made to change to the United Kingdom's Plurality voting system ('First-past-the-post') electoral system. Both were rejected in referendums. By-elections occur under the Alternative Vote system.

Currently every constituency elects between three and five TDs. The constitution specifies that no constituency may return fewer than three TDs but does not specify any upper limit to constituency magnitude. However, statute (Section 6 of the Electoral Act 1997) places a maximum size of five members on constituencies. The constitution requires that constituency boundaries be reviewed at least once in every twelve years, so that boundaries may be redrawn to accommodate changes in population. Boundary changes are currently drafted by an independent commission, and its recommendations are usually followed. Malapportionment is forbidden by the constitution. Under the Constitution, the commission is required to refer to the most recent Census of Ireland when considering boundary changes.

Number of members[link]

Under the Constitution of Ireland there must never be fewer than one TD for every thirty thousand of the population, nor more than one for every twenty thousand. In the 29th Dáil there was one TD for every 25,000 citizens, this is in line with many other European Union member state national parliament ratios with Malta having one MP for every 6,000 citizens and Spain having one MP for every 130,000 citizens. Ireland has a similar MP to Citizen ratio to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. With the adoption of the current constitution in 1937 the membership of the Dáil was reduced from 153 to 138, but in the 1960s the number was increased to 144, only to be increased more substantially in 1981 to the current figure of 166. The Electoral (Amendment) Act 2011 provides that the number of members "shall be not less than 153 and not more than 160".^[4] This will come in to effect at the next general election.

Layout[link]

The Dáil chamber has confrontational benches but the end segment is curved to create a partial hemicycle. The government TDs sit on the Ceann Comhairle's left, with the main opposition party on his right. The Chamber was adapted for use as a Parliament from its former use as a lecture theatre.

Duration[link]

The First Dáil Éireann was established in January 1919 as the single chamber parliament of the Irish Republic. One of the first actions of the Dáil was to ratify a constitution, commonly known as the Dáil Constitution. As a provisional constitution it made no reference to the length of the term of each Dáil. The first and second Dáil existed under the provisions of this constitution. Neither was recognised by the British government or the governments of other countries as the 'lawful' parliament of Ireland.

Following the signing of the 1922 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which brought the Irish War of Independence to an end, the single chamber Dáil became the lower house of a new bicameral Oireachtas, the parliament of the newly established Irish Free State. Under the treaty, a new constitution replaced the 1919 Dáil constitution.

Article 28 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State (1922) set the maximum term for the Dáil at four years. However, this constitution also provided for a mechanism which allowed the Oireachtas to ratify constitutional amendments by way of primary legislation, without the need for such amendments to first be approved by the Irish public in a referendum. This provision was to remain in effect for a period of eight years after the Free State constitution came into force (i.e. 6 December 1930). After that date constitutional amendments would require ratification by way of public referendum before they could come into force.

In 1927 the Oireachtas enacted the Constitution (Amendment No 4) Act. This Act amended Article 28 of the Free State Constitution by extending the maximum term of Dáil Éireann from four years to six years "or such shorter period as may be fixed by legislation". Later that same year the Oireachtas also enacted the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1927 (No 21 of 1927). Section 7 of that Act stated that the "maximum duration of the Oireachtas without a dissolution shall be five years reckoned from the date of the first meeting of Dáil Éireann after the last previous dissolution".

On 29 December 1937, the Irish Free State ceased to exist and was replaced by a new state called Ireland, with the coming into force of the new Constitution of Ireland. Article 16.5 of the 1937 constitution states that "Dáil Éireann shall not continue for a longer period than seven years from the date of its first meeting: a shorter period may be fixed by law". Despite this increase in the potential maximum term of the Dáil to seven years, Section 7 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1927 remained in force under the new constitution, as it applied to the term of the Dáil. As a result the maximum term of the Dáil remained five years. Since the coming info force of the 1937 constitution, no Irish government has proposed changing the maximum term of the Dáil, which still remains five years. The acceptance of five years as the maximum term for any single Dáil was reconfirmed by section 33 of the Electoral Act 1992, which states "The same Dáil shall not continue for a longer period than five years from the date of its first meeting."^[5] Consequently, the maximum term for the Dáil is five years from the date it first met following the last general election.

Dissolution[link]

Article 16.3.2 of the Constitution of Ireland (1937) provides that an election for the membership of Dáil Éireann must take place not later than 30 days after a dissolution of the current Dáil. Article 16.4.2 of the constitution requires that the newly elected Dáil Éireann must convene no later than 30 days after the polling day for the election. As such, the maximum period of time between a dissolution of Dáil Éireann before a general election, and the meeting of the new Dáil, after a general election, is 60 days.

The procedure and timetable for the dissolution of Dáil Éireann, pursuant to a general election, and the date for the reassembly of the newly elected Dáil, after the election, is set out in the Constitution of Ireland. Article 13.2.1 states that “Dáil Éireann shall be summoned and dissolved by the President on the advice of the Taoiseach”. So the timing of a general election rests with the Taoiseach of the day.

Once so advised by the Taoiseach, the President issues a proclamation which specifies the date on which the current Dáil is dissolved, and the date on which the newly elected Dáil must first meet.

The timing for polling day in a general election is decided on by the Taoiseach. However, this is governed within a specified statutory framework. Once the Presidential proclamation is issued, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government sets, by way of a ministerial order, the date and time of polling day in the election.

Section 39(1) of the Electoral Act 1992 states:

“Where the Dáil is dissolved, the Clerk of the Dáil shall, immediately upon the issue of the Proclamation dissolving the Dáil, issue a writ to each returning officer for a constituency directing him to cause an election to be held of the full number of members of the Dáil to serve in the Dáil for that constituency.”

Section 96 of the Electoral Act 1992 states:

"(1) A poll at a Dáil election—

(a) shall be taken on such day as shall be appointed by the Minister by order, being a day which (disregarding any excluded day) is not earlier than the seventeenth day or later than the twenty-fifth day next following the day on which the writ or writs for the election is or are issued,

(b) shall continue for such period, not being less than twelve hours, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10.30 p.m. as may be fixed by the Minister by order, subject to the restriction that, in the case of a general election, he shall fix the same period for all constituencies.

(2) An order under this section shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made."

For the purposes of the Act an “excluded day” means a day which is a Sunday, Good Friday or a day which is declared to be a public holiday by the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973, or a day which by virtue of a statute or proclamation is a public holiday.^[6]

So, if the Dáil were dissolved on a Tuesday 1 February (in a non-leap year), and the writs for elections issued by the Clerk of the Dáil on that day, then the earliest date for polling day would be Monday 21 February (17 days later, excluding Sundays) and the latest date for polling would be Wednesday 2 March (25 days after, excluding Sundays), with polling stations being open for a minimum 12 hour period between the hours of 8am and 10.30pm on polling day (as set out in the ministerial order). In such a scenario, the latest date on which the newly elected Dáil must assembly would be Wednesday 23 March (for a 21 February polling date), or Friday 1 April (for a 2 March polling date).

Ceann Comhairle[link]

The chairman, or presiding member, of Dáil Éireann is the Ceann Comhairle. The Ceann Comhairle is chosen from among TDs but is expected to observe strict impartiality. Despite this, the government will usually try to select one of its own for the position, if its numbers allow. In order to protect the neutrality of the chair, an incumbent Ceann Comhairle does not seek re-election as a TD but rather is deemed automatically to have been re-elected by their constituency at a general election, unless they are retiring. The Ceann Comhairle does not vote except in the event of a tie. The current serving Ceann Comhairle is Fine Gael TD Seán Barrett.

Powers[link]

While in principle Dáil Éireann is only one of three components of the Oireachtas, the other two being the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann, in practice the powers the constitution grants to the Dáil render it by far the dominant branch, meaning that most bills passed by Dáil Éireann will ultimately become law. The President can only veto the bill if it is in conflict with the Constitution of Ireland. For this to happen, the President must refer the bill to the Supreme Court of Ireland to test its constitutionality upon consultation with the Council of State.

In addition to its legislative role, it is the Dáil that designates the Taoiseach for referral to the President for appointment. The Dáil may also pass a motion of no confidence in the Government, in which case the Taoiseach must either seek a parliamentary dissolution or resign.^[7]

The Dáil also has exclusive power to:

• Nominate the Taoiseach (Prime Minister)
• Approve the Taoiseach's nominees (en bloc) to serve as Government ministers
• Approve the Taoiseach's nominee for Attorney General
• Approve the budget
• Ratify treaties which include financial provisions (Provided they do not conflict with the Constitution of Ireland)
• Approve a declaration of war
• Initiate 'money bills' or bills which incur a charge on the public finances (on the recommendation of the Government only)
• Nominate the Comptroller and Auditor General

Activities[link]

Leinster House in Dublin, seat of Dáil Éireann.

Dáil Éireann determines its own standing orders and its members are protected by certain rights arising from parliamentary privilege. In line with other modern parliamentary systems, TDs do not generally vote in accordance with their consciences or the wishes of their constituents, but must follow the instructions of party whips, a practice that originated in the Irish Parliamentary Party. Except in exceptional circumstances, the Dáil meets in public. The Dáil currently has three standing committees and thirteen select committees.

A typical day consists of questions to various cabinet ministers, Leaders questions whereby opposition Leaders ask the Taoiseach questions and routine debates on Bills. Every Tuesday and Wednesday three hours over the two days are given to the debate of opposition motions. These normally try to embarrass the government and are widely covered in the media. The government and its Majority normally amends these suitably and the amended version is passed by the Government.

During debate and speeches, it is very common for TDs to switch back and forth between Irish and English. Typically, a TD will begin a speech in Irish, then switch to English with the phrase, "As I was saying ..."^[8]

Standing committees[link]

• Committee on Administration
• Committee on Consolidation Bills
• Committee on Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann
• Committee on Procedure and Privileges
  • Sub-committee on Compellability
  • Sub-committee on Dáil Reform
• Committee of Public Accounts

Select committees[link]

• Select committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture
  • Select sub-committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
  • Select sub-committee on Agriculture, Marine and Food
• Select committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht
  • Select sub-committee on Environment, Community and Local Government
  • Select sub-committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport
  • Select sub-committee on Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
• Select committee on European Union Affairs
• Select committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Select committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform
  • Select sub-committee on Finance
  • Select sub-committee on Public Expenditure and Reform
• Select committee on Health and Children
  • Select sub-committee on Health
  • Select Sub-committee on Children and Youth Affairs
• Select committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
• Select committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions
• Select committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education
  • Select sub-committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
  • Select sub-committee on Social Protection
  • Select sub-committee on Education and Skills
• Select committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Voting procedure[link]

Firstly the Ceann Comhairle (or Deputy Ceann Comhairle) puts the question in Irish asking the TDs present to say Tá (Yes) or Níl (No) if they agree or disagree with the question before them. The Ceann Comhairle then gives his opinion as to the outcome of the voice vote. Deputies can challenge the Ceann Comhairle and demand a recorded vote by shouting Votáil! (Vote!) The Ceann Comhairle then shouts 'Votáil' again which starts the voting process. Division bells sound around Leinster House and in some of its adjoining buildings calling Deputies to the chamber to vote. The bells ring for six minutes and the doors to the chamber are locked after a further four minutes.

The Ceann Comhairle then appoints two tellers for each side and Deputies are given one minute to vote. The vote is taken by electronic means whereby Deputies press either the Tá or Níl button on their desks to vote for or against a motion. After the voting time has concluded a sheet (Division Paper) containing the result and each TDs vote is signed by the four tellers and given to the Ceann Comhairle who declares the result.

While electronic voting has become the norm the Dáil votes manually through the lobbies at the back of the chamber on a number of occasions, for example, motions of no confidence. A teller in an electronic vote can call a manual vote if they so wish. This has become an opposition tactic during important votes which are widely covered in the media.

History[link]

Precursors[link]

The first legislature to exist in Ireland was the Parliament of Ireland and the first legislative lower house was the House of Commons of this body. However the Parliament of Ireland was abolished under the Act of Union of 1800. Irish nationalists first convened Dáil Éireann as a revolutionary parliament in 1919 and while it successfully took over most functions of government it was not recognised under United Kingdom law.

In 1921 the United Kingdom government established a legislature called the Parliament of Southern Ireland in an effort to appease nationalists by granting Ireland limited home rule. However this body was rejected and boycotted by nationalists whose allegiance remained with the Dáil. Nonetheless, because the First Dáil was illegal under the United Kingdom constitution, the lower house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, is considered in British legal theory as the precursor to the Dáil.

Revolutionary Dáil (1919–1922)[link]

The current Dáil derives from the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, but claims a direct line of descent from the 'First Dáil' of 1919. This Dáil was an assembly established by Sinn Féin MPs elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in the 1918 United Kingdom general election. Upon winning a majority of Irish seats in the election (many uncontested), Sinn Féin MPs refused to recognise the United Kingdom parliament and instead convened as the First Dáil Éireann (translated as "Assembly of Ireland"): the unicameral legislature of a new notional Irish Republic, and the first Irish parliament to exist since 1801.

The Dáil of the Irish Republic, however, was only recognised internationally by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The first meeting of the Dáil occurred in Dublin on 21 January 1919, in the Mansion House, attended by 27 members. The body was prohibited in the following September, and was forced underground, meeting in several locations.

Irish Free State (1922–1937)[link]

The Dáil of the Irish Republic was succeeded in 1922 by the Dáil of the Irish Free State. The Irish Free State, comprising the twenty-six southern and western counties of Ireland, was established under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Dáil Éireann (now described as a "Chamber of Deputies") became the lower house of a new legislature called the Oireachtas. The first Dáil to exist under the Constitution of the Irish Free State succeeded the Second Dáil of the Irish Republic and so was styled the Third Dáil. The Third Dáil, and every subsequent Dáil, has met in Leinster House.

Constitution of Ireland (Since 1937)[link]

The Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, established the modern Irish state, referred to today as Ireland.^[9] Under the constitution a new legislature retained the title Oireachtas, and its lower house remained Dáil Éireann. The first Dáil to meet under the Constitution of Ireland was described as the Ninth Dáil.

Members of the 31st (Current) Dáil[link]

e • d Summary of 25 February 2011 Dáil Éireann election results

	Party	Leader	First Pref votes	% FPv	Swing%	TDs	Change (since 2007)	% of seats
	Fine Gael	Kenny, EndaEnda Kenny	801,628	36.1	8.8	76	25	45.8
	Labour Party	Gilmore, EamonEamon Gilmore	431,796	19.5	9.3	37	17	22.3
	Fianna Fáil[nb 1]	Martin, MicheálMicheál Martin	387,358	17.5	24.2	20	57	12.0
	Sinn Féin	Adams, GerryGerry Adams	220,661	9.9	3.0	14	10	8.4
	Socialist Party	None	26,770	1.2	0.6	2	2	1.2
	People Before Profit	None	21,551	1.0	0.6	2	2	1.2
	WUAG	Healy, SéamusSéamus Healy	8,818	0.4	0.1	1	1	0.6
	Green Party	Gormley, JohnJohn Gormley	41,039	1.8	2.9	0	6	0
	South Kerry Independent	Gleeson, MichaelMichael Gleeson	4,939	0.2	0.2	0		0
	Workers' Party	Finnegan, MickMick Finnegan	3,056	0.1	0	0		0
	Christian Solidarity	Greene, RichardRichard Greene	2,102	0.1	0	0		0
	Fís Nua	None	938	0		0		0
	Independent	—[nb 2]	269,703	12.1	6.9	14	9	8.4
Total			2,220,359	100		166	Turnout	70.0%

The United Left Alliance (ULA) won 59,423 votes (2.7%) and five seats. The ULA comprised the Socialist Party, the People Before Profit Alliance, the Workers and Unemployed Action Group and independent candidate Declan Bree (2,284 votes).

Independents include New Vision candidates (25,422 votes, 1 seat) and People's Convention candidates (1,512 votes).

Current distribution of seats[link]

See also[link]

• Bicameralism
• Dáil Éireann election summary
• Elections in the Republic of Ireland
• Current Irish government
• History of the Republic of Ireland
• Parliamentary constituencies in the Republic of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Records of members of the Oireachtas

Notes[link]

1. ^ Fianna Fáil's total includes Ceann Comhairle Séamus Kirk, who was re-elected automatically.
2. ^ Elected independent candidates were Stephen Donnelly, Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (of New Vision), Tom Fleming, Noel Grealish, John Halligan, Michael Healy-Rae, Michael Lowry, Finian McGrath, Mattie McGrath, Catherine Murphy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Thomas Pringle, Shane Ross, and Mick Wallace.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Houses of the Oireachtas – Official website
• Members of Dáil Éireann 1919–2003 – Oireachtas website

Gerry Adams TD Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh
President of Sinn Féin
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 November 1983
Preceded by	Ruairí Ó Brádaigh
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2011
Preceded by	Arthur Morgan
Constituency	Louth
Member of Parliament for Belfast West
In office 1 May 1997 – 26 January 2011
Preceded by	Joe Hendron
Succeeded by	Paul Maskey
Majority	17,759 (54.7%)
In office 9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Gerry Fitt
Succeeded by	Joe Hendron
Majority	16,862 (41.1%)
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West
In office 25 June 1998 – 7 December 2010
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Pat Sheehan
Personal details
Born	(1948-10-06) 6 October 1948 (age 63) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish[1][2]
Political party	Sinn Féin
Spouse(s)	Collette McArdle
Children	3
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Gerry Adams (Irish: Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh;^[3] born 6 October 1948 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Louth.^[4][5] From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest^[6] political party in Northern Ireland and the largest nationalist party.^[7][8] From the late 1980s onwards, Adams was an important figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, initially following contact by the then Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader John Hume and subsequently with the Irish and British governments and then other parties. In 2005, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) indicated that its armed campaign was over and that it is now exclusively committed to democratic politics.^[9] Under Adams, Sinn Féin changed its traditional policy of abstentionism towards Oireachtas Éireann, the parliament of the Republic of Ireland, in 1986 and later took seats in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly. However, Sinn Féin retains a policy of abstentionism towards the Westminster Parliament, but since 2002, receives allowances for staff and takes up offices in the House of Commons.^[10]

Ancestry and early life[link]

Adams' parents, Gerry Adams, Sr. and Annie Hannaway, came from republican backgrounds. Adams' grandfather, also called Gerry Adams, had been a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) during the Irish War of Independence. Two of Adams' uncles, Dominic and Patrick Adams, had been interned by the governments in Belfast and Dublin. Although it is reported that his uncle Dominic was a one-time IRA chief of staff, J. Bowyer Bell states in his book, The Secret Army: The IRA 1916 (Irish Academy Press), that Dominic Adams was a senior figure in the IRA of the mid-1940s. Gerry Sr. joined the IRA at age sixteen. In 1942, he participated in an IRA ambush on a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) patrol but was himself shot, arrested and sentenced to eight years imprisonment.

Adams' maternal great-grandfather, Michael Hannaway, was a member of the Fenians during their dynamiting campaign in England in the 1860s and 1870s. Michael's son, Billy, was election agent for Éamon de Valera in 1918 in West Belfast but refused to follow de Valera into democratic and constitutional politics upon the formation of Fianna Fáil.

Annie Hannaway was a member of Cumann na mBan, the women's branch of the IRA. Three of her brothers (Alfie, Liam and Tommy) were known IRA members.

Adams attended St Finian's Primary School on the Falls Road where he was taught by De La Salle brothers. Having passed the eleven-plus exam in 1960, he attended St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School. He left St. Mary's with six O-levels and became a barman. He was increasingly involved in the Irish republican movement, joining Sinn Féin and Fianna Éireann in 1964, after being radicalised by the Divis Street riots during that year's general election campaign.^[11]

In 1971, Adams married Collette McArdle,^[12] with whom he has three children.

Early political career[link]

The Easter Lily is a badge worn at Easter by Irish republicans as symbol of remembrance for Irish combatants who died during or were executed after the 1916 Easter Rising.

In the late 1960s, a civil rights campaign developed in Northern Ireland. Adams was an active supporter and joined the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in 1967.^[11] However, the civil rights movement was met with protests from loyalist counter-demonstrators. In August 1969, Northern Ireland cities like Belfast and Derry erupted in major rioting and British troops were called in at the request of the Government of Northern Ireland (see 1969 Northern Ireland Riots).

Adams was active in Sinn Féin at this time, siding with the Provisionals in the split of 1970.^{[citation needed]} In August 1971, internment was reintroduced to Northern Ireland under the Special Powers Act 1922. Adams was interned in March 1972, on HMS Maidstone, but was released in June to take part in secret, but abortive talks in London.^[11] The IRA negotiated a short-lived truce with the British government and an IRA delegation met with the British Home Secretary, William Whitelaw at Cheyne Walk in Chelsea. The delegation included Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Sean Mac Stiofain (IRA Chief of Staff), Daithi O'Conaill, Seamus Twomey, Ivor Bell and Dublin solicitor Myles Shevlin.^[13] The IRA insisted Adams be included in the meeting and he was released from internment to participate. Following the failure of the talks, he played a central role in planning the bomb blitz on Belfast known as Bloody Friday.^[11] He was re-arrested in July 1973 and interned at the Long Kesh internment camp. After taking part in an IRA-organised escape attempt, he was sentenced to a period of imprisonment. During this time, he wrote articles in the paper An Phoblacht under the by-line "Brownie", where he criticized the strategy and policy of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Billy McKee. He was also highly critical of a decision taken in Belfast by McKee to assassinate members of the rival Official IRA, who had been on ceasefire since 1972.^[14] After his release in 1976, he was again arrested in 1978 for alleged IRA membership, the charges were subsequently dismissed.^[15]

During the 1981 hunger strike, Adams played an important policy-making role, which saw the emergence of his party as a political force. In 1983, he was elected president of Sinn Féin and became the first Sinn Féin MP elected to the British House of Commons since Phil Clarke and Tom Mitchell in the mid-1950s.^[11] Following his election as MP for Belfast West, the British government lifted a ban on him travelling to Great Britain. In line with Sinn Féin policy, he refused to take his seat in the House of Commons.

On 14 March 1984 in central Belfast, Adams was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt when several Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) gunmen fired about 20 shots into the car in which he was travelling. He was hit in the neck, shoulder and arm. After the shooting, he was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove the three bullets which had entered his body. Under-cover plain clothes police officers seized three suspects who were later convicted and sentenced.^[16] One of the three was John Gregg, who would be killed by rival loyalists in 2003. Adams claimed that the British army had prior knowledge of the attack and allowed it to go ahead.^[17]

Allegations of IRA membership[link]

Adams has stated repeatedly that he has never been a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).^[18] However, authors such as Ed Moloney, Peter Taylor, Mark Urban and historian Richard English have all named Adams as part of the IRA leadership since the 1970s.^{[19][20][21][22]} Adams has denied Moloney's claims, calling them "libellous".^[23]

President of Sinn Féin[link]

In 1978, Gerry Adams became joint vice-president of Sinn Féin and a key figure in directing a challenge to the Sinn Féin leadership of President Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and joint vice- president Dáithí Ó Conaill.

The 1975 IRA-British truce is often viewed as the event that began the challenge to the original Provisional Sinn Féin leadership, which was said to be Southern-based and dominated by southerners like Ó Brádaigh and Ó Conaill. However, the Chief of Staff of the IRA at the time, Seamus Twomey, was a senior figure from Belfast. Others in the leadership were also Northern based, including Billy McKee from Belfast. Adams (allegedly) rose to become the most senior figure in the IRA Northern Command on the basis of his absolute rejection of anything but military action, but this conflicts with the fact that during his time in prison, Adams came to reassess his approach and became more political.^{[citation needed]}

One of the reasons that the Provisional IRA and provisional Sinn Féin were founded, in December 1969 and January 1970, respectively, was that people like Ó Brádaigh, O'Connell and McKee opposed participation in constitutional politics. The other reason was the failure of the Goulding leadership to provide for the defence of nationalist areas. When, at the December 1969 IRA convention and the January 1970 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis the delegates voted to participate in the Dublin (Leinster House), Belfast (Stormont) and London (Westminster) parliaments, the organizations split. Gerry Adams, who had joined the Republican Movement in the early 1960s, sided with the Provisionals.

In Long Kesh in the mid-1970s, and writing under the pseudonym "Brownie" in Republican News, Adams called on Republicans for increased political activity, especially at a local level.^[24] The call resonated with younger Northern people, many of whom had been active in the Provisional IRA but had not necessarily been highly active in Sinn Féin. In 1977, Adams and Danny Morrison drafted the address of Jimmy Drumm at the Annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration at Bodenstown. The address was viewed as watershed in that Drumm acknowledged that the war would be a long one and that success depended on political activity that would complement the IRA's armed campaign. For some,^[who?] this wedding of politics and armed struggle culminated in Danny Morrison's statement at the 1981 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in which he asked "Who here really believes we can win the war through the Ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in one hand and the Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland". For others, however, the call to link political activity with armed struggle had been clearly defined in Sinn Féin policy and in the Presidential Addresses of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, but it had not resonated with the young Northerners.^[25]

Gerry Adams at the Fermanagh Commemoration.

Even after the election of Bobby Sands as MP for Fermanagh/South Tyrone, a part of the mass mobilization associated with the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike by republican prisoners in the H blocks of the Maze prison (known as Long Kesh by Republicans), Adams was cautious about the level of political involvement by Sinn Féin. Charles Haughey, the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, called an election for June 1981. At an Ard Chomhairle meeting, Adams recommended that they contest only four constituencies which were in border counties. Instead, H-Block/Armagh Candidates contested nine constituencies and elected two TDs. This, along with the election of Bobby Sands, was a precursor to a big electoral breakthrough in elections in 1982 to the Northern Ireland Assembly.^[26] Adams, Danny Morrison, Martin McGuinness, Jim McAllister, and Owen Carron were elected as abstentionists. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had announced before the election that it would not take any seats and so its 14 elected representatives also abstained from participating in the Assembly and it was a failure. The 1982 election was followed by the 1983 Westminster election, in which Sinn Féin's vote increased and Gerry Adams was elected, as an abstentionist, as MP for Belfast West. It was in 1983 that Ruairí Ó Brádaigh resigned as President of Sinn Féin and was succeeded by Gerry Adams.

Republicans had long claimed that the only legitimate Irish state was the Irish Republic declared in the Proclamation of the Republic of 1916, which they considered to be still in existence.^{[citation needed]} In their view, the legitimate government was the IRA Army Council, which had been vested with the authority of that Republic in 1938 (prior to the Second World War) by the last remaining anti-Treaty deputies of the Second Dáil. Adams continued to adhere to this claim of republican political legitimacy^{[citation needed]} until quite recently — however, in his 2005 speech to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis he explicitly rejected it. "But we refuse to criminalise those who break the law in pursuit of legitimate political objectives. ... Sinn Féin is accused of recognising the Army Council of the IRA as the legitimate government of this island. That is not the case. ... do not believe that the Army Council is the government of Ireland. Such a government will only exist when all the people of this island elect it. Does Sinn Féin accept the institutions of this state as the legitimate institutions of this state? Of course we do."^[27]

As a result of this non-recognition, Sinn Féin had abstained from taking any of the seats they won in the British or Irish parliaments. At its 1986 Ard Fheis, Sinn Féin delegates passed a resolution to amend the rules and constitution that would allow its members to sit in the Dublin parliament (Leinster House/Dáil Éireann). At this, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh led a small walkout, just as he and Sean Mac Stiofain had done sixteen years earlier with the creation of Provisional Sinn Féin.^{[28][29][30][31]} This minority, which rejected dropping the policy of abstentionism, now nominally distinguishes itself from Provisional Sinn Féin by using the name Republican Sinn Féin (or Sinn Féin Poblachtach), and maintains that they are the true Sinn Féin republicans.

Adams' leadership of Sinn Féin was supported by a Northern-based cadre that included people like Danny Morrison and Martin McGuinness. Over time, Adams and others pointed to Republican electoral successes in the early and mid-1980s, when hunger strikers Bobby Sands and Kieran Doherty were elected to the British House of Commons and Dáil Éireann respectively, and they advocated that Sinn Féin become increasingly political and base its influence on electoral politics rather than paramilitarism. The electoral effects of this strategy were shown later by the election of Adams and McGuinness to the House of Commons.

Voice ban[link]

Adams's prominence as an Irish Republican leader was increased by the ban on the media broadcast of his voice (the ban actually covered eleven republican and loyalist organisations,^[32] but in practice Adams was the only one prominent enough to appear regularly on TV). This ban was imposed by the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher on 19 October 1988, the reason given being to "starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend"^[33] after the BBC interviewed Martin McGuinness and Adams had been the focus of a row over an edition of After Dark, an intended Channel 4 discussion programme which was never made.^[34][35]

A similar ban, known as Section 31, had been law in the Republic of Ireland since the 1970s. However, media outlets soon found ways around the ban, initially by the use of subtitles, but later and more commonly by the use of an actor reading his words over the images of him speaking. One actor who voiced Adams was Paul Loughran.^[36]

This ban was lampooned in cartoons and satirical TV shows, such as Spitting Image, and in The Day Today and was criticised by freedom of speech organisations and British media personalities, including BBC Director General John Birt and BBC foreign editor John Simpson. The ban was lifted by British Prime Minister John Major on 17 September 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Moving into mainstream politics[link]

Sinn Féin continued its policy of refusing to sit in the Westminster Parliament even after Adams won the Belfast West constituency. He lost his seat to Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the 1992 general election, regaining it at the following 1997 election.

Under Adams, Sinn Féin appeared to move away from being a political voice of the Provisional IRA to becoming a professionally organised political party in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

SDLP leader John Hume, MP, identified the possibility that a negotiated settlement might be possible and began secret talks with Adams in 1988. These discussions led to unofficial contacts with the British Northern Ireland Office under the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Brooke, and with the government of the Republic under Charles Haughey – although both governments maintained in public that they would not negotiate with "terrorists".

These talks provided the groundwork for what was later to be the Belfast Agreement, as well as the milestone Downing Street Declaration and the Joint Framework Document.

These negotiations led to the IRA ceasefire in August 1994. Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, who had replaced Haughey and who had played a key role in the Hume/Adams dialogue through his Special Advisor Martin Mansergh, regarded the ceasefire as permanent. However, the slow pace of developments contributed in part to the (wider) political difficulties of the British government of John Major and the consequent reliance on Ulster Unionist Party votes in the House of Commons, led the IRA to end its ceasefire and resume the campaign.^{[citation needed]}

A re-instituted ceasefire later followed as part of the negotiations strategy, which saw teams from the British and Irish governments, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP, Sinn Féin and representatives of loyalist paramilitary organizations, under the chairmanship of former United States Senator George Mitchell, produced the Belfast Agreement (also called the Good Friday Agreement as it was signed on Good Friday, 1998). Under the agreement, structures were created reflecting the Irish and British identities of the people of Ireland, with a British-Irish Council and a Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly created.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Republic's constitution, which claimed sovereignty over all of Ireland, were reworded, and a power-sharing Executive Committee was provided for. As part of their deal, Sinn Féin agreed to abandon its abstentionist policy regarding a "six-county parliament", as a result taking seats in the new Stormont-based Assembly and running the education and health and social services ministries in the power-sharing government.

On 15 August 1998, four months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the Real IRA exploded a car bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone, killing 31 people and injuring 220, from many communities. Breaking with tradition, Adams said in reaction to the bombing "I am totally horrified by this action. I condemn it without any equivocation whatsoever."^[37] Prior to this, Adams had maintained a policy of refusing to condemn IRA or their splinter groups' actions.

Opponents in Republican Sinn Féin accused Sinn Féin of "selling out" by agreeing to participate in what it called "partitionist assemblies" in the Republic and Northern Ireland. However, Gerry Adams insisted that the Belfast Agreement provided a mechanism to deliver a united Ireland by non-violent and constitutional means, much as Michael Collins had said of the Anglo-Irish Treaty nearly 80 years earlier.

When Sinn Féin came to nominate its two ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive, for tactical reasons the party, like the SDLP and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), chose not to include its leader among its ministers. (When later the SDLP chose a new leader, it selected one of its ministers, Mark Durkan, who then opted to remain in the Committee.)

Adams remains the President of Sinn Féin. In 2011 he succeeded Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin as Sinn Féin parliamentary leader in Dáil Éireann. Daithí McKay is the head of the Sinn Féin group in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Adams was re-elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 March 2007,^[38] and on 26 March 2007, he met with DUP leader Ian Paisley face-to-face for the first time, and the two came to an agreement regarding the return of the power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland.^[39]

In January 2009, Adams attended the United States presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama as a guest of US Congressman Richard Neal.^[40]

On 6 May 2010, Adams was re-elected as MP for West Belfast garnering 71.1% of the vote.^[41] In 2011 the Chancellor appointed Adams to the British title of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead to allow him to resign from the House of Commons and to stand for election in the Dáil.^[42] Initially it was claimed by David Cameron that Adams had accepted the title but Downing Street has since apologized for this and Adams has publicly rejected the title stating, "I have had no truck whatsoever with these antiquated and quite bizarre aspects of the British parliamentary system".^[43][44]

Dáil Éireann Election[link]

In 2010, Adams announced that he would be seeking election as a TD (member of Irish Parliament) for the constituency of Louth at the 2011 Irish general election.^[45] He subsequently resigned his West Belfast Assembly seat on 7 December 2010.^[46]

Following the announcement of the Irish general election, 2011, Adams wrote to the House of Commons to resign his seat.^[47][48] This was treated as an application for the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, an office of profit under the Crown, the traditional method of leaving Westminster as plain resignation is not possible, and granted as such even though Adams had not explicitly made the request.^{[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]}

He was elected to the Dáil, topping the Louth constituency poll with 15,072 (21.7%) first preference votes.^[57]

Gerry Adams in film and fiction[link]

The character of Gerry Adams has been portrayed in a number of films, TV programmes or in fiction:

• 2004 film Omagh by actor Jonathan Ryan. It is a dramatisation of the 1998 Omagh bombing and its aftermath.
• 2010 TV film Mo by actor John Lynch; the story of Mo Mowlam and the Good Friday Agreement.
• Novel The Marching Season; a spy fiction novel by Daniel Silva.
• 1996 Novel Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson, as the character Jimmy Eve.

Published works[link]

• Falls Memories, 1982
• The Politics of Irish Freedom, 1986
• A Pathway to Peace, 1988
• An Irish Voice
• Cage Eleven, 1990, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-114-9
• The Street and Other Stories, 1993, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-293-1
• Free Ireland: Towards a Lasting Peace, 1995
• Before the Dawn, 1996, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-434-00341-9
• Selected Writings
• Who Fears to Speak...?, 2001(Original Edition 1991), Beyond the Pale Publications, ISBN 978-1-900960-13-7
• An Irish Journal, 2001, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-282-5
• Hope and History, 2003, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-330-3
• A Farther Shore, 2005, Random House
• "The New Ireland: A Vision For The Future", 2005, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-344-0
• An Irish Eye, 2007, Brandon Books, ISBN 978-0-86322-370-9

Further reading[link]

• Allen Randolph, Jody. "Gerry Adams, August 2009." Close to the Next Moment: Interviews from a Changing Ireland. Manchester: Carcanet, 2010.
• Keena, Colm. Biography of Gerry Adams. Cork: Mercier Press, 1990

See also[link]

• Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland v. Liam Adams
• Resignation from the British House of Commons

References[link]

External links[link]

• Léargas blog by Gerry Adams MP
• Column archive at The Guardian
• Gerry Adams Sinn Féin profile
• Gerry Adams TD Louth election candidate
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Gerry Adams at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Gerry Adams in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Gerry Adams collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Gerry Adams collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Gerry Adams Man Of War and Man Of Peace? Anthony McIntyre, The Blanket, 28 April 2004
• Interview with Gerry Adams February 2006
• Gerry Adams Profile at New Statesman