Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
activist and former politician. He was instrumental in bringing about the loyalist ceasefire of 1994 and played a leading role in the early stages of the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...
.
Emergence in politics
A native of
Lisburn
Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...
, Adams was a member of the
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
(UDA) although he did not hold any position of importance within the movement and was never imprisoned. From early on, Adams was much more involved in the political side of loyalism rather than the paramilitary side. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the UDA, Adams was
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
educated and gained a reputation as an articulate speaker.McDonald & Cusack, ''UDA'', p. 269 Adams, who lived near the
Maze Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...
and served as a community worker in the area, joined the
Ulster Democratic Party
The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulster Political Res ...
(UDP) after being encouraged to do so by
Ray Smallwoods
Raymond "Ray" Smallwoods (c. 1949 – 11 July 1994) was a Northern Ireland politician and sometime leader of the Ulster Democratic Party. A leading member of John McMichael's South Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Smallwoo ...
.
Towards ceasefire
Adams was, along with
Gary McMichael
Gary McMichael (born 1969) is a Northern Ireland community activist, and retired politician. He was the leader of the short-lived Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) during the Northern Ireland peace process, and was instrumental in organizing the Loy ...
, involved in negotiations between the UDP and the UDA during the early 1990s in which the possibility of a move towards a peace settlement was discussed. The main figure in these talks however was Ray Smallwoods. Adams became a representative to the Combined Loyalist Political Alliance, a semi-clandestine group established around sometime in late 1992 to early 1993 and made up of leading members of the UDP and the
Progressive Unionist Party
The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...
(PUP), when this initiative was established. This group was central to delivering the loyalist ceasefires.
Adams was close to Ray Smallwoods personally and described himself as "really devastated" following Smallwoods' killing by the
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
in July 1994. He identified Smallwoods as his mentor in heping to bring him to politics. Nonetheless Adams continued to work towards delivering a ceasefire and was described by Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack as "one of the moderate voices advising the UDA, even in the darkest days".
Ceasefire aftermath
The
Combined Loyalist Military Command
The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee.
Bringing t ...
(CLMC) ceasefire was announced on 13 October 1994 at Fernhill House, Glencairn when
Gusty Spence
Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933 . ''
John White of the UDP and Jim McDonald and William "Plum" Smith of the PUP. Although the speech had largely been written by Spence, he credits Adams with including a clause stating that they expected the status of Northern Ireland as part of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
to be safeguarded as part of any settlement. A few days after the announcement Adams joined Spence, McMichael, Joe English and the PUP's
David Ervine
David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007, and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belf ...
and
Billy Hutchinson
Billy "Hutchie" Hutchinson (born 1955) is an Ulster Loyalist politician serving as the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) since 2011. He was elected to Belfast City Council in the 1997 elections. Hutchinson was a Member of the North ...
on a tour of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where amongst their engagements was one as guests of honour of the
National Committee on American Foreign Policy
The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan activist organization dedicated to the resolution of conflicts that threaten United States interests.
Founded in 1974 by Hans Morgenthau, the orga ...
.
In the late 1990s Adams also represented the UDP on Lisburn Borough Council. He had been a candidate in the 1993 elections in the Downshire area but had finished bottom of the poll. However, in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
as candidate in Lisburn Town North Adams was elected.Lisburn City Council Elections 1993 - 2005 /ref> In the meantime, he had been an unsuccessful candidate in the
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...
On 7 January 1998 Adams travelled with McMichael to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
where the two held a hastily arranged meeting with
Northern Ireland Secretary
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ...
Mo Mowlam
Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minis ...
. The recent killing of
Loyalist Volunteer Force
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) after breaking its ceasefire. Most of ...
leader Billy Wright, who had a lot of support amongst elements of the UDA made the ceasefire shaky. As a result of the meeting Mowlam was convinced to go onto the UDA wings of the
Maze prison
Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...
in an attempt to regain support for the peace process. Disarray had set in however and by this point the UDA had two wings, those loyal to the ceasefire and the McMichael-Adams UDP leadership and those such as
Stephen McKeag
Stephen McKeag (1 April 1970 – 24 September 2000), nicknamed ''Top Gun'', was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and a Commander of the Ulster Defence Association's (UDA) 'C' Company in the 1990s. He is responsible for many killings of Ca ...
who were continuing to kill despite the ceasefire, with John White falling somewhere between both wings due to his close relationship with
Johnny Adair
John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is an Ulster loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). This was a ...
.
Nonetheless Adams campaigned heavily on behalf of the UDP for the 1998 Assembly elections and described himself as "dejected and rejected" when the party failed to win any seats. Even an unidentified figure known only as "the Craftsman", who was at the time the
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...
(UVF)'s second-in-command, stated that "I was gutted for wee Davy. Not only was he a gentleman but he had a good political brain. He could have kept the UDA on the straight and narrow if he had won an Assembly seat". Adams had been the party's sole candidate in the South Belfast constituency.
As the UDA ceasefire fell apart and the UDP passed from existence, Adams left politics and instead headed up a number of community projects in his native Lisburn. His last election was the 2001 local government vote in which Adams was unsuccessful in defending his council seat, albeit as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
Adams joined the Lisburn District Policing Partnership in 2003 although this decision rankled with some in the local UDA who wanted nothing to do with the
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...
, which caused him to become a target for attack. Threats were issued against Adams and both his car and house came under attack. By this point Adams, along with Gary McMichael, had disavowed any connection to the UDA and the pair were targeted for intimidation as a consequence, with his car vandalised and hate mail sent to his home.
Adams works for GOAL, an international aid agency.Irish Times Columnist biography /ref>