Time has come for Adams to go

One of the first signifiers of transition from barbarism to civilisation was the evolution of the belief in the right of those killed in war to a proper burial. The ancestral strength of this concept, first voiced in Ancient Greece, that survived until the new barbarism of the Nazi age, explains why the fate of 'the Disappeared' has haunted the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams more than any of the war crimes committed in the squalid sectarian conflict where Mr Adams played so prominent a role. Sadly, we should not be too surprised the shrouded secrets of the Sinn Fein leader's past have, up to this point, not excessively damaged his quixotic journey into Southern politics. A willingness to bury inconvenient truths for the sake of the peaceful life is the endemic flaw in the DNA of the Irish gene pool. The corrupt age of Haughey was only sustained by the uniquely Irish capacity to believe, when it suited us, that the incongruity our eyes saw when we looked at the Gandon mansion, the island and the yacht apparently purchased on a humble TD's salary was not real.

Mr Haughey was, in fairness, the least of the villains who were able, courtesy of this national defect, to hide in full view – for when it came to the endemic abuse of working class children we preferred to focus on the All Priests Show rather than that which, far from lurking below, was instead on open display for anyone who wished to challenge the naked Emperors of our note-taking Episcopacy.

Now when it comes to Mr Adams, once again we are told that what the eye appears to see, when it comes to the sexual abuse of Aine Dahlstrom, the role played by Mr Adams within the IRA or the crepuscular murder of Jean McConville is a mere spectral fairy tale dreamt up by the imaginary enemies of peace.

There is merit in consigning pasts that are sad to history. But it is a feature of any healthy society that before such happy days occur, there must be atonement. This means that, whilst their decision to sue for peace means we must tolerate Sinn Fein's status as a conventional political party, our response should be one of peace with caution rather than dishonour. If we are, however, intent on avoiding peace with dishonour, the bad news for Mr Adams is that he is somewhat previous in his hope that the wondrous leap has occurred where Sinn Fein's past finally resides in another country. Instead, if Irish democracy is to retain even a sliver of self-respect, it is time to cry halt to the attempt by Mr Adams to tiptoe to respectability over a forest of skulls. The fabric of our State has already been coarsened to the edge of viability by a gallery of rogues who invariably escape from the consequences of their acts. In societies that have not been turned degenerate by moral relativism justice is always accompanied by reparations. When it comes to the sad still ghosts of 'the Disappeared', and even sadder living ghosts of their relatives, the ancient criteria of justice being served even if the heavens fall can only be met by the immediate resignation of the SF leader. The time has come for Mr Adams to 'go in the name of God go' before, outside of this country, you taint a new generation of politicians such as Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou McDonald with the inglorious odours that continue to emanate from the nether regions of Sinn Fein's even more inglorious history.

Sunday Independent