Three out of four voters don't believe Adams' IRA denials
SUZANNE BREEN, Belfast Telegraph, April 20th, 2026
FORMER SINN FEIN PRESIDENT INSISTS HE HAS NEVER BEEN A MEMBER OF PARAMILITARY GROUP
Three quarters of voters in Northern Ireland don't believe Gerry Adams when he says he wasn't in the IRA, according to a new poll.
And fewer than half (49%) of voters who back Sinn Fein — the party Mr Adams led for more than three decades — believe him, according to the LucidTalk survey.
A third (33%) of SF voters don't believe him and 18% don't know.
While almost all unionists (98%) do not accept Mr Adams' claim, nearly half of all nationalists also dismiss it (48%). Just over a third of nationalists (35%) take the former West Belfast MP at his word, while 17% don't know.
However, almost nine in 10 voters (87%) from across the political spectrum said the matter makes no difference to how they'd vote in an election.
The poll comes after a civil case against the former Sinn Fein president by three men injured in IRA bombings in England collapsed last month.
They had claimed Mr Adams was a senior IRA figure who would have been involved in such attacks — which Mr Adams denied.
Ex-IRA chiefs wrote about their wars... while Adams has chosen denials of a role in ours
SUZANNE BREEN POLITICAL EDITOR, Belfast Telegraph
FORMER SINN FEIN PRESIDENT WOULD OPEN HIMSELF UP TO PROSECUTION IF HE ADMITTED BEING IN PROVISIONALS
There is a long tradition of veterans of another IRA putting pen to paper to record their actions.
Three years after the War of Independence ended, Dan Breen wrote My Fight For Irish Freedom.
He provided a graphic, first-hand account of his time as a leader of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade.
In the 1924 book, he chronicled IRA operations in which he was involved, including the Soloheadbeg ambush that killed two RIC officers and is widely regarded as the beginning of the war.
Breen was unapologetic. “Our only regret was that the escort had consisted of two peelers instead of six. If there had to be dead peelers at all, six would have created a better impression than a mere two,” he wrote.
Fourteen years after Breen's book, medical student turned IRA organiser Ernie O'Malley detailed his activities in On Another Man's Wound.
In 1949 came Tom Barry's Guerrilla Days In Ireland, which chronicled his leadership of the 3rd West Cork Brigade and its attacks on the RIC, British Army and Black and Tans.
Gerry Adams is a prolific author. He has penned an autobiography, short stories, reflections on life in west Belfast, Long Kesh and his perspective on the peace process, as well as a recipe collection.
But we have seen nothing of the kind of operational memoir that Breen, Barry and O'Malley produced.
Whereas they took ownership of the conflict and were proud of their IRA membership, he has consistently denied his. Barry didn't flinch from his description as “general”; Adams presents himself as a lifelong “political activist”.
He doesn't disown the IRA and he understands its motivations, but he was never part of it. There are pragmatic reasons for this course of action.
Barry, Breen and O'Malley may have opposed the Treaty with the British, but the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 meant there was no legal or political risk to their IRA admissions.
A different landscape
Adams' life has unfolded against a different landscape.
Admitting IRA membership would mean prosecution and prison even today.
It could also leave him open to being successfully sued by victims and their families.
Yet there is something else going on here.
The former Sinn Fein president would be a fool to criminalise himself, but his strategy has been one of robust and repeated denials rather than just brushing the issue aside or saying he's focusing on the future, not the past.
To this day, many IRA members don't admit things they did for fear of prosecution, but they choose simply not to comment on them.
It has been the vehement approach he's taken to denying the past that so angered former comrades like Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price.
They attributed it to personal ambition: part of a cold calculation to enable his transition into mainstream politics. It allowed him to walk the international stage as a statesman. Without the pretence of never having been involved in armed struggle, he wouldn't have been welcome in the White House and elsewhere.
The War of Independence generation of IRA leaders wrote for their role in the conflict to be remembered, Adams wrote to be respectable. He has spent decades repeating the simple mantra: “I was never in the IRA.” It's been dissected by journalists and academics, challenged by former comrades and ridiculed by political opponents.
Zero impact
According to LucidTalk's poll, it's an assertion that the vast majority of the public don't buy.
Three in four voters reject Adams' denial.
At one level, that's staggering. It's a landslide verdict on the credibility of one of the most significant figures in modern Irish history.
Among unionists, the near total disbelief is unsurprising. But look at the nationalist side: even there, the scepticism is heavy. More (48%) don't believe Adams than do (35%).
Most strikingly, a third of Sinn Fein's own voters don't accept the former party president's version of events.
Yet the disbelief is far from the sole story of the data.
It's that whether Adams was or wasn't in the IRA has almost zero impact on how people vote.
It influences one in five SDLP and one in 10 Alliance voters, while Sinn Fein supporters are more, rather than less, inclined to back the party because of it.
The 'was he or wasn't he' debate on Adams is hugely important to IRA victims and remains a matter of historical accuracy, but it's not a defining political fault line today, and hasn't been for years.
Stormont in talks with London over ‘proper financial package’ for North
BY REBECCA BLACK, Irish News, April 20th, 2026
STORMONT is in talks with the Treasury to secure a “proper financial package” for Northern Ireland.
Finance Minister John O’Dowd said the decision by the Stormont Executive last week to allocate money towards helping families struggling with rising energy costs will “place further pressures on the Executive budget”.
He said he has had two meetings with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn over the last week, adding there is a united front from the Executive over the budget.
“I have presented two papers to the Executive in relation to the budget for the next three years, all my Executive colleagues are telling me that they can’t deliver the services that are required within the confines of that budget, we won’t be able to support the economy to the level that the economy needs supported either,” he told the BBC.
“So on behalf of the Executive, I have been engaging with the British government over this week as have my officials,” he added.
“I am satisfied that the British government are now listening to us but we now need to move quickly into the mode of where they are giving the financial whereforall to this Executive to do the job that the Executive needs to do.”
Stormont ministers pledged £19.2 million to go with £17 million already set aside for the scheme from the UK government.
The scheme will see up to 340,000 lower-income households receiving a £100 payment to go towards their heating oil bills.
“We are talking directly to the British government about securing a proper financial package for the Executive to allow us to fund public services, to support our economy and see us through what is going to continue to be a significant cost of living crisis for several months if not longer,” Mr O’Dowd said.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics Northern Ireland, Mr O’Dowd said that despite the financial pressure the Stormont Executive is under, they made the decision that it is “vitally important to support those families on low incomes”.
“We have received a £17 million pot from the British government, and the decision was made collectively at the Executive that given the scale of pressures bearing down on families that we would inject a further, up towards £20 million into that fund,” he said.
“That funding will come directly from our budget allocation, there is no other separate pot where that money can from, it’s about decisions, and politics is about making decisions, and the Executive has made a decision in this instance that given the scale of pressures we will supplement that £17 million.”
Mr O’Dowd went on to say the Executive “deserves recognition” for making the decision to support families in terms of rising energy costs.
“We cannot plug every gap the British government creates, the Executive cannot afford to bail out the British government, that is the reality of the situation, and that’s why I’m involved in discussions with the British government about securing a proper funding package for this place so we can support our community and voluntary sector, so we can support our public services and we can support our economy,” Mr O’Dowd said.
Tyrone fuel price protest back but much smaller
MARK ROBINSON, Irish News, April 20th, 2026
A PROTEST against rising fuel costs took place in a Co Tyrone town for the second weekend in-a-row on Saturday.
Organised by PML Recovery and Transport, around 20 vehicles took part in the slow-moving convoy in Strabane and passed off without incident.
It comes after a similar demonstration was held last weekend in the town and follows a series of protests across the north on Tuesday.
On Wednesday night, an additional fuel protest took place at Ballygawley roundabout on the main A5 road.
Saturday’s demonstration in Strabane was registered with the Parades Commission.
The organiser has urged those behind other protests across the north to do the same.
On Friday, the PSNI advised that anyone taking part in such demonstrations must comply with public processions legislation and the Parades Commission code of conduct.
“The right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are fundamental human rights. They are protected in law and allow individuals to engage in peaceful protest,” a PSNI spokesperson said.
“However, these rights are limited by the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime.”
On Tuesday, officers issued nine fixed penalty notices for road traffic offences as a number of protests were held in the afternoon and evening. An additional call for co-ordinated protests has been shared online to take place at various locations on Friday.
‘It is totally unfair’: The silent sufferers of fuel price inflation
KITTY HOLLAND, Irish Times, April 20th, 2026
There is not much in the €505 million fuel support package for non-drivers relying on home heating oil
Wheelchair user Susan Power is still eking out the 200 litres of heating oil she bought in January.
“We almost never put the heating on – just an hour in the evening,” she says.
The social housing that she, her husband and their adult daughter share in Cashel, Co Tipperary, is “not well insulated”.
“Because I am not very mobile I feel the cold all the time. In the mornings the house is freezing. It’s shocking to be stuck in most of the time and it’s cold, but heating has become a luxury.”
Power (46) stopped working in her administration job when her multiple sclerosis made it impossible. Her husband John, who worked in building maintenance, gave up work to care for her.
Their combined weekly income from her disability allowance and his carer’s allowance is €524. Their daughter, who is working part-time, is saving to move out. Their rent is €110 a week
“We buy 200 litres of oil at time. That’s how we manage it,” says Susan. “That costs around €250. We will need to get more soon. I am too scared to inquire about the price, but I am guessing it will be about €400. The way things are looking at the moment we just don’t have that.
“The budget is very tight. I use a power-chair and that has to be charged a lot. Groceries, I swear every week they are getting more expensive. Then you are paying for your bins, your TV, the TV licence, your phone. There is no such thing as having a few bob aside at the end of the week.”
Neither she nor her husband drive. So, other than the deferral of a scheduled increase in carbon tax to October, nothing in the Government’s €505 million fuel support package will benefit them.
The package, following a week of disruptive protests and blockades earlier this month, saw the Government introduce temporary supports including cuts to excise duty on petrol, diesel and agricultural fuel, but not on home-heating oil, domestic gas or electricity.
Power supported the fuel protests but their success was also “frustrating”.
She travelled to Dublin in February to protest against cuts of up to €1,400 a year to disabled people’s welfare entitlements and to call for a €400 emergency winter payment for disabled people and carers.
Organisers said the measure would cost €148 million. Their campaign has been unsuccessful. “Government told us they couldn’t afford it. But then they could find half a billion euro for the farmers and lorry drivers. They pick and choose who to support and it’s whoever is causing the most bother. It is totally unfair,” she says.
The Irish Times has spoken to numerous people in recent days, many of them in household types known to be vulnerable to cost-of-living shocks – such as older people living alone, single parents, disabled people and those with long-term illnesses and struggling renters – but also to those in “good jobs” or double-income homes.
Struggling
All say they are struggling more than ever. All feel “left behind” by the package of supports for agriculture, haulage and fisheries sectors. And all particularly feel the absence of energy credits and additional one-off payments that were available in recent years but absent from last October’s budget.
Patrick Hogan (69), who lives alone in south Dublin, is facing mandatory retirement from his job as a hospital pharmacy attendant at his next birthday, in July. He is “really scared” as he is “struggling” even with a salary. “I live in a small one-bedroom cottage. I have Hap [housing assistance payment] and the rent I pay is €100 a week, so I am blessed in a way.
“But I am basically on the breadline. I never have the heating on. I have a small plug-in heater, a tiny fridge and a single ring to cook on. My immersion, I have on a timer for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. I do everything I can to stay ahead of the bills. I don’t drink, don’t smoke, barely go out. I watch every cent.”
He recently received a notice to quit his home, by July, as his landlord needs to move in. “It took me a year to find this place, three years ago. I am terrified I will end up homeless. I am so, so stressed.”
He runs a car so benefited from the cut to duty on petrol but believes it will be “wiped out” quickly. “I agreed with those protesters 100 per cent. The Government is not listening to people. There are people tonight, sitting in homes that are freezing and full of mould, and eating cat food, and the Government is brushing it aside.”
Sarah Oeser and her husband have “good jobs”. They live with two small children, in Bray, Co Wicklow. “We ran out of heating oil three weeks ago. We topped up with a smaller amount in the hope the prices would drop. We’ve just run out again. We can’t afford the current prices.
“We wear extra jumpers. We have big onesies, but trying to keep the house warm is a nightmare. We have electric heaters in the livingroom, the kitchen . . . When I heard about fuel supports I assumed heating oil would be included, that prices would go down. When they didn’t, that was disappointing.”
The latest figures from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities show more than 320,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills and 180,000 in gas arrears. These, the highest rates recorded, do not include households unable to top up their prepay electricity meters or replenish home-heating oil.
Organisations advocating for vulnerable groups say the fuel package will have “minimal impact” on those they represent.
Sean Moynihan, chief executive of older people’s charity Alone, hopes the protests’ aftermath will “be the start of a wider conversation about energy poverty and the affordability crisis”.
Energy poverty
Energy poverty is a “public health issue” for “hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people”, he says.
Both Karen Kiernan, chief executive of one-parent family charity One Family, and Joan Carthy, campaigns manager with the Irish Wheelchair Association, say restoration of the €400 emergency payment to those they represent is critical.
Many households have run up significant arrears through winter, with little hope of clearing them, which means they are facing next winter already in deficit, they say.
All say “growing” deprivation among vulnerable groups must be met with targeted payments, including further extension of the fuel allowance. That €38 weekly payment to 470,000 households, which was due to end this month, has been extended to May 1st.
The Government said the €505 million fuel package was additional to a previously allocated €250 million in “targeted supports to assist those experiencing real and immediate financial pressure”, bringing the new supports to €750 million.
A Government spokesman said there was a “range of protections in place for customers experiencing difficulties in paying their bills”.
Minister for Climate and Energy Darragh O’Brien had contacted the four main energy providers “to ensure that hardship funds and focused measures are in place for any customers in difficulties”, the spokesman said.
“For any person or family having genuine difficulty heating their home, additional-needs payments under the means-tested supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost.
“Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional-needs payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service in the Department of Social Protection.
“In addition, under the SWA scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have special heating needs (for example, in the case of ill health, infirmity or a medical condition).”
DUP slams Finance Minister's 'lack of engagement with communities'
ABDULLAH SABRI, Belfast Telegraph, April 20th, 2026
DUP deputy leader Michelle McIlveen has slammed the Finance Minister over his “extraordinarily low” level of engagement with the public.
It comes after she asked about how many constituency visits Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd has made since assuming office.
In response to the Assembly question, it emerged Mr O'Dowd had made 14 visits to 10 out of the 18 constituencies here since becoming minister in February 2025.
Ms McIlveen said: “Fourteen visits in well over a year is an extraordinarily low level of engagement for a senior minister with responsibility for the entire Northern Ireland budget.
“Most ministers would be carrying out community and constituency visits every week, meeting businesses and local organisations on the ground.
“That simply is not happening here, or at least not happening officially through the department. This role is not just about sitting behind a desk in Stormont. It is about understanding the real-world impact of decisions on families and businesses right across Northern Ireland.
“People will question how the minister can fully grasp the pressures facing communities if he is not regularly getting out to meet them.”
The Department of Finance said: “Ministerial visits are not a proxy for delivery.
“The Finance Minister's role is concentrated on securing outcomes through engagement with Treasury, other ministers, and Assembly business.
“Minister O'Dowd's focus is on delivery for people and businesses.”
One of Mr O'Dowd's last ministerial visits was to a hotel in Derry in February.
The hotel, part of the Holiday Inn Express, was part-financed by the NI Investment Fund, which is managed by CBRE on behalf of the Department of Finance.
Writer Dennis Kennedy hailed for work that crossed divide
MICHAEL H C MCDOWELL, Belfast Telegraph, April 20th, 2026
FORMER JOURNALIST OF BELFAST TELEGRAPH REMEMBERED AFTER DEATH IN EARLY APRIL
Dennis Kennedy was something of a Renaissance Man, or more comfortably in Dennis's ironic parlance, a latter-day progressive dissenter.
A proud graduate of Wallace High School, Lisburn, Dennis, in his youth and early adulthood, was a strong evangelical Christian, but “evangelical” back in the day did not always mean conservative.
Dennis was a questioner who sought solid evidence for all his ideas. That served him well as a facts-focused journalist, bent on analysis in politics, under the guidance of the greatest Editor of The Belfast Telegraph, John E (Jack) Sayers. Jack Sayers admired Dennis's writing and intellectual rigour in the fraught early days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Jack trusted in the common sense of “The Honest Ulsterman,” while Dennis, Chief Leader Writer, feared the late 60s were not a new dawn in moderate politics, but with the rise of Ian Paisley, and the violent sectarianism of the Provisional IRA, those times presaged a deeply divisive long conflict.
Dennis and his fellow Bel Tel colleague, Southern Catholic Katherine Hickey, fell in love and left the province for Ethiopia, for four years running a Lutheran World Federation radio station in Addis Ababa. They had been to Queen's together, Dennis studying under the famous historian, JC Beckett. Dennis had earlier won a fellowship to the World Press Institute based at Macalester College in Minneapolis, the first of several stints in the USA, to the United Nations in New York, Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, and at the White House during John F Kennedy's funeral.
Irish Times
The Kennedys returned to Ireland, with children, to the south, and to Dublin, where Dennis was hired by Douglas Gageby of The Irish Times, a Northern Protestant nationalist, where, while they had mutual respect for each other's journalism, had almost no agreement on editorial policy on the north.
Eventually becoming a Deputy Editor of the Times, Dennis wrote Cassandra-like opinion pieces which were often sat on by Gageby, with one wit commenting that Dennis's analyses on his native Northern Ireland should be headlined “Hidden Away”.
Dennis was not a unionist in any traditional sense. He was both a Northerner who loved the South but was never quite comfortable in it, nor all that comfortable in the North. He travelled on an Irish passport and saw his role as explaining the Ulster Protestants to Southerners, and Southerners to Northerners. He was, in short, a typical Northern Dissenter who crossed a divide.
A fervent believer in the UN and European Union, Dennis became a very policy-driven and effective EU Representative in Northern Ireland, and was horrified over Brexit. A Trinity PhD, he later joined Queen's University, as a Research Fellow and lecturer on European affairs.
Dennis had been president of the pluralist North-South organisation, The Irish Association for Cultural, Economic, and Social Relations, and head of the historic Belfast and Literary Society.
Dennis had a gentle wit, an often dark view of the future and authored several pithy autobiographical books.
An example of his puckish sense of humour: sent by Sayers to interview a world-renowned psychiatrist at Belfast Airport (called, then, Nutt's Corner) he asked the doctor if it was not ironic to be interviewing him at that location. The humourless man complained, but Jack Sayers was... delighted!
Dennis died earlier this month in Belfast, at 89.
Michael HC McDowell, a former Belfast Telegraph and BBC NI journalist, is a Visiting Scholar at Queen's University's Institute for Global Peace, Security, and Justice. He lives in Chestertown, Maryland, US.
