Gerry Adams 'Apologised' to Family for IRA Murder After Secret Van Meeting
The High Court has been told that Gerry Adams 'apologised' to a family for the IRA murder of their father after orchestrating a clandestine meeting with a senior member of the terrorist organisation. Prison officer Brian Stack was shot in the back of the head by an IRA member while attending a boxing event in Dublin in 1983. He was left paralysed and died eighteen months later from his injuries.
Son's Testimony Details Intimidating Encounters
His son, Austin Stack, a former prison officer himself, provided evidence in a civil trial in London examining Adams' alleged leadership role within the IRA. He testified that he held a series of meetings with the veteran Republican in 2013 to seek answers about his father's murder. In one meeting at Dáil Éireann, the Irish parliament, Adams, then president of Sinn Fein, allegedly told Austin and his brother Oliver they were 'very brave men to come and see me.'
In a written witness statement, Austin Stack, 56, said he perceived this as an 'attempt to intimidate me,' adding it was a 'strange opening comment from a man who presented himself as a politician and a man of peace.'
Clandestine Van Journey to 'Bandit Country'
In July 2013, the brothers were informed they would receive an 'admission' from the IRA regarding their father's killing. They met Adams in Dublin and were driven together to Dundalk, near the Irish border. There, they were 'asked to climb into the back of a van with blacked-out windows,' Mr Stack recounted.
He described the vehicle as having been professionally fitted with plywood sheets to block out the back and side windows, with additional wooden sheeting to prevent anyone from seeing into the rear through the windscreen. 'We entered the van and were plunged into darkness. It was evident that the van was a specially modified IRA transport vehicle,' he stated.
The men were driven to County Armagh – an area notoriously known as 'bandit country' during the Troubles due to its strong IRA affiliations. There, they met a leading paramilitary who confirmed the IRA was responsible for Brian Stack's murder. This IRA leader, identifying himself only as 'John', claimed the prison officer was targeted because of his role at Portlaoise Prison in the Republic of Ireland, which housed IRA inmates and was reputed for its harsh regime.
Adams' Expressions of Regret and Denials
In 2013, Adams publicly stated: 'On behalf of Sinn Féin I extend my regret at the killing of Brian.' Later, in a 2016 address to the Dáil, he said the 'shooting of Brian Stack was wrong, it was a grievous loss for his family and should never have happened.'
During his High Court testimony, Austin Stack questioned: 'Why would someone apologise for murders the IRA committed and the IRA expressly denied if you had nothing to do with it?' Adams' legal team argue he merely acted as a 'facilitator' for the meeting in his Sinn Fein capacity.
Mr Stack countered: 'If I wanted answers the only place I could get answers was from someone who was senior in the IRA. Adams said to us he had asked a friend of his to carry out an investigation in relation to my dad’s murder. In my mind someone who asks someone to carry out an investigation is superior to that person.'
He emphasised that one does not simply 'rock up' to a meeting with the IRA, asserting: 'Adams was intimately connected and was a member of and had a deep leading and supervisory role in charge of the IRA for a number of years. He was in a position to influence someone to carry out an investigation. That is what happened in 2013 and led me to believe he was a significant figure in the organisation.'
Broader Allegations of IRA Leadership
Adams is currently being sued for vindicatory damages of £1 by three victims of IRA bombings in England: John Clark (1973 Old Bailey attack), Jonathan Ganesh (1996 Docklands attack), and Barry Laycock (1996 Manchester Arndale attack). They allege Adams was 'directly responsible' for decisions to plant the devices. Adams has consistently denied any IRA membership or involvement in the bombings.
The trial also heard from former Royal Ulster Constabulary head of the Serious Crime Branch, Tim Hanley. He testified that intelligence suggested Adams 'directed' both the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 Docklands bombing. In his statement, Hanley said: 'The fact is, I’ve read thousands of intelligences documents, graded and corroborating, relating to the entire period of the Troubles, and I am completely satisfied that Adams held a senior leadership figure in the PIRA [Provisional IRA] throughout the Troubles. All of those documents cannot be wrong.'
Adams denies all allegations and is expected to give his own evidence next week. The trial continues.
