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Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams Calls On Brother To Turn Himself In, Discusses Father’s Abuses

12/20/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Having a child molester in the family is never easy for anyone, and it often has devastating consequences even for those who are never abused or molested. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams Jr. has publically called for his brother to turn himself in on charges that he molested Aine (Ahnya) Tyrell. Ms Tyrell is Gerry Adam’s niece and the daughter of Liam Adams. Ms Tyrell has waved the right of anonymity in this case, a rare and unusual step. An arrest warrant has been issued for Liam Adams. It was issued after he failed to appear in court for a preliminary hearing regarding these charges. The family took the unusual step of coming forward publicly with regards to this case. Gerry Adams has stated that he would turn his younger brother in should he discover where he is or if he knew where he was.

In the wake of this call, Gerry Adams Jr. let it be known that his father, Gerry Adams Sr., had physically, emotionally, and sexually abused certain members of his own family. None of his victims have been willing to come forward regarding the crimes, and Gerry Adams Sr. has since passed away. The family chose to keep these crimes from public knowledge largely due to the fact that they had happened in the past and it did not appear that he had molested anyone outside the family, and it would have been up to his victims to have pressed charges, which they did not want to. The abuse by Gerry Adams Sr. only came to light within the family as a whole in the late 1990′s, about a decade ago.

While child sexual abuse is commonly seen in the media as being perpetrated by a non-family stranger, a large number of child molesters abuse only their own children or relatives. It is uncommon, and even rare, for a family to come forward regarding the abuse perpetrated upon family members by one of their own. A large part of why stranger perpetrated child molestation is seen in the media has to do with the public’s need to know about an offender in case there are other victims; however, many family based child molestation cases are handled every year. Many child molesters target children irregardless of sex, and often target young boys because they believe that they are less likely to tell. This is not the case with child molestation within a family since the molester often has greater control over their victims than a stranger would. Of late, there has been a tendency to publicly push the idea that gay men are child molesters. This especially comes from quarters which typically wish to retain the second class status of the LGBT community.

Gerry Adams Jr. comes from a long line of Irish Republicans who fought for the creation of the Irish Republic and have continued to fight for the return of Northern Ireland to the rest of the island. Roughly a decade ago, Adams realized that, in effect, there was life to be had after the struggle and worked to create a peace which has held fairly well since the end of the active fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants. One major change in policy had to do with the extension of rights to Catholics within Ireland.

Gerry Adams Jr. states that they were devastated to find out that there were members of the family that his father had molested, and that the family was still struggling with it.

Here in is the full statement of the family:

In the late 1990s we discovered that our father had been sexually, emotionally and physically abusing members of our family. This abuse happened over many years. This discovery and the abuse which preceded it have had a devastating impact on our entire family. We are still struggling to come to terms with what happened. We live with the consequences every single day. We have been dealing with this with the support of a number of professionals who have the expertise to deal with these matters. We thank them for their help. Abuse of any kind is horrendous but sexual abuse, particularly of a child, is indescribably wounding and heartbreaking.

Our family have debated for some time whether we should publicise our father’s abusive behaviour. We do so now in the hope that, in time, this will assist the victims and survivors to come to terms with what happened and help them to move on from these dreadful events. All citizens need to be educated and children need to be listened to, empowered and protected. Many people in other families have suffered from abuse. Our family knows how deeply hurtful and traumatic that can be. No-one should have to deal with abuse or its consequences in isolation.

Victims of abuse in our family are still, years later, recovering from the trauma inflicted on us. Our prayer is that everyone will be healed. Most of us have grown in strength with the help of other family members, partners and friends. We know this will continue. Our family are united. We believe that there is a way out of this awfulness. We hope this knowledge can be of some help to other families who are in the same situation.

Anyone effected by these issues should contact the Samaritans or any appropriate agency. We would ask the media to give us some privacy, particularly over this Christmas period.

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Adams family statement in full
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