The IRA was “undefeated” and “defied all attempts to criminalise them”, Gerry Adams told the High Court, as he denied being a member.
Mr Adams, who served as president of the Irish republican party Sinn Féin from 1983 to 2018, is facing a legal challenge from three men who were injured in bombings carried out by the Provisional IRA.
Accused of being a leading member of the group when the bombings happened, he was challenged with a statement which boasted that the militants would follow his orders, spoken by a solicitor who represented him in the 1980s.
Responding, Mr Adams said it was “not accurate”, but added: “They were undefeated, they defied all attempts to criminalise them, to coerce them, they made the right call when they eventually made the call, and they had the maturity and intelligence to choose the right way forwards.”
He was also asked about a statement given by the late Brendan Hughes, who was detained alongside Mr Adams in Long Kesh prison in the early 1970s, which described the Sinn Féin stalwart as a “major, major player in the war”.
The court heard a passage from Mr Hughes’ book, suggesting Adams’ alleged IRA membership was common knowledge, which read: “The British know it. The people on the street know it. The dogs know it on the street.”
The 77-year-old replied: “I was president of Sinn Fein for 35 years, deeply involved in the struggle. I defended the use of armed struggle when I thought it was appropriate.
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“I’m not boasting, but I don’t deny that I was a person of interest, of influence, and I used that influence as best I could to move from war to peace.”
Mr Adams faced further probing about his former Sinn Féin comrade, Martin Ferris, who was described as a “former member of the IRA and convicted IRA gun runner”.
The retired politician said he had “great admiration” for Mr Ferris, and that his party is “replete with histories of IRA people who then went on to embrace politics”.
Another question concerned an internal memo from the British government in 1993, which said “the home secretary has concluded that Mr Adams is at the nerve centre of the PIRA”.
Asked if it was accurate, the defendant said it was “not true”, and accused the British government of demonising people who were trying to end the chaos and guide it “towards a democratic conclusion”.
With regards to the bombings, Mr Adams said he was “stunned by what happened” and had “no involvement whatsoever”.
He added: “The bombings in this case, the killing of three people and the wounding of others, I regret very much, but the folks giving this information have a vested interest.”
Asked about those killed by the Provisional IRA, he said: “I do not stand by everything that they did, but these were my neighbours.”
The claimants in the case are John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London; Jonathan Ganesh, a 1996 London Docklands bombing victim; and Barry Laycock, a victim of the 1996 Arndale shopping centre bombing in Manchester.
All allege that Mr Adams was a leading member of the Provisional IRA, which perpetrated the attacks, and are seeking £1 in damages.
He denies the allegations and says he was never a member.
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He finished giving evidence on Wednesday, after which Edward Craven KC, defending, told the court the evidence against him was “extremely limited” and “bordering on non-existent”.
He added: “There is not a single page in the 6,000-page bundle that implicates Mr Adams in any of the bombings.”
Anne Studd KC, representing the victims, previously told the court that being a member of Sinn Fein or the Provisional IRA was “a distinction without a difference” for some, including Mr Adams.
She said he had “a foot in each camp” of the Irish republican movement – military and political.
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She added that he was “directly responsible for and complicit in those decisions made by that organisation to detonate bombs on the British mainland in 1973 and 1996”.
The trial is expected to conclude later in March.
