Enda Kenny corrects Dáil record over Gerry Adams claims

Taoiseach had accused Sinn Féin leader of driving Stack brothers in blacked-out van

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has corrected the Dáil record over comments he made in relation to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams.  File photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has corrected the Dáil record over comments he made in relation to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. File photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has corrected the Dáil record over comments he made in relation to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams.

Mr Kenny had said that, in 2013, Mr Adams had driven the sons of prison officer Brian Stack in a blacked-out van to meet a senior IRA figure who had information about Mr Stack's murder.

On Wednesday, Mr Kenny said: “I wish to correct the record of the Dáil to the effect that Deputy Adams did not drive the blacked-out van, but he did travel in it.”

The Taoiseach told the House that he had received a letter from Mr Adams which said that he should correct the record.

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Original statement

In response to a question from Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin in the Dáil on December 6th, Mr Kenny had said: "It's beyond comprehension that a member of the House can drive someone in a van with blacked-out windows to meet another person to talk about who had shot the man's father, and that the names [of people allegedly associated with the killing] be given to the Garda Commissioner, and that the son of the murdered man says he did not supply the names."

In the Dáil on Wednesday, Mr Kenny said he understood from statements made by Mr Adams himself “that [Mr Adams] drove the Stack brothers in his own car to a point where they then travelled in a blacked-out van, in which I assume he was a passenger”.

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times