SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams has denied he knew his brother, who faces allegations of sexual abuse, was a party member in Co Louth around the time of the 1997 election.
“The party in its statement on this acknowledged that Liam was a member of Sinn Féin,” Mr Adams said yesterday. However, he added: “For my part, I did not know that Liam was a member of Sinn Féin. I did know he was in republican circles.”
Mr Adams admitted he had met his younger brother around this time despite the fact that they were estranged.
“In the interview which I did for the Insight programme [on UTV] I did acknowledge that, although we were estranged, I actually volunteered that we met on a number of occasions.”
Asked about apparent inconsistencies between what he said in the UTV interview and photographs of his brother and Sinn Féin leading figures in a Dundalk newspaper, Mr Adams said: “I don’t think there are any questions to answer. But if there are, put the questions.
“The fact is that he [Liam] should not have been a member of Sinn Féin and I’m totally certain about that,’’ he said.