Gerry Adams: IRA does not control Sinn Fein

His comments come after a report found the main republican and unionist groups in Northern Ireland, including the IRA still existed, raising questions over their continuing role

Dublin, Oct. 22: Irish political party Sinn Fein is not run by its former paramilitary wing the Irish Republican Army despite allegations the terrorist group was still operating in secret, party leader Gerry Adams said on Wednesday.

His comments come after a report found the main republican and unionist groups in Northern Ireland, including the IRA still existed, raising questions over their continuing role.

“No one can control Sinn Fein but the Sinn Fein membership,” said Mr Adams in a televised interview on Wednesday evening. “There is a suggestion Sinn Fein is controlled by some outside body or group. We are not,” he told national broadcaster RTE.

Sinn Fein was the political wing of the IRA during The Troubles, 30 years of violence in which 3,500 people died, and which was largely ended by a 1998 deal.

The report, conducted by the police and the British domestic security service MI5, suggested the IRA’s leadership, known as the Army Council, still oversaw both the IRA and Sinn Fein.

“There is no space for armed groups. There is no space for anything other than peaceful and democratic ways of advancing political and democratic objectives,” Mr Adams added.

Mr Adams rejected the findings of the report and said the IRA no longer exists, describing elements of the report as “mischief- making” being exploited by political opponents.

Sinn Fein is currently in a power- sharing government in Northern Ireland with Unionists, loyal to Britain. It is also a leading Opposition party in the Republic of Ireland.