Adams Faces Eight Day Wait

The brother of Sinn Fein President will have to wait eight days to hear if he can appeal against his extradition to Northern Ireland after being accused of sexual abuse.

Liam Adams last week was told that he would be extradited back to the North of the Island to face 18 alleged offences against his daughter, Aine Tyrell, who has waived her right to anonymity.

Mr Adams set out his stall immediately with plans to appeal against the decision saying that he was not guilty of sexually abusing his daughter.

His barrister Michael O'Higgins has applied for leave to appeal against the ruling to the Supreme Court, on five points and Mr Justice John Edwards will give his decision next Tuesday.

Adams, who was supported in court by another daughter, Claire Smith, was granted continuing bail.

The Background

It is nearly three years ago that the media alleged the 56-year-old had abused his daughter.

In December 2009, a UTV programme claimed that Liam Adams had sexually abused his daughter for a period spanning about a decade.

During 2009–10 there was a significant amount of controversy concerning allegations of child abuse in the family of Gerry Adams, a senior Irish politician and leader of Sinn Fein. The allegations of abuse are against Gerry's brother and father and not against Gerry Adams himself.

In response to the programme, Gerry urged his brother to turn himself in to the police and he also alleged that his deceased father, Gerry Adams, Sr., had subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland issued a European Arrest Warrant for Liam Adams' arrest.

Liam Adams presented himself at a Garda Síochána police station in Sligo in December 2009. However they were not able to arrest him as they did not have the necessary European Arrest Warrant. Adams did not wish to hand himself into police in Northern Ireland, citing unfairness.

On the 3 March 2010, the High Court in Dublin endorsed the European arrest warrant, which was issued in Liam Adams' name by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The following day, 4 March, Adams again handed himself over to the authorities in the Republic. When he was arrested he said, "I just want to say I'm not guilty."

(LB/BMcC)