UPDATED BELOW
As regular followers of this blog are likely to know, controversy last week raged around the issue of Mairia Cahill’s membership of RNU, the Republican Network for Unity, widely believed to be associated with the paramilitary dissident group, Oglaigh na hEireann.
The immediate motivation for the furore, which at one stage saw Senator David Norris and Catherine McCartney take up cudgels against Cahill, was Mairia Cahill’s attempt to get elected to Seanad Eireann on the Labour party ticket. Despite the attacks, on Friday she was elected and is now a full time Irish politician.
Mairia Cahill – elected to the irish Senate but under pressure over her links to dissidents
Mairia Cahill has, of course, also been a burr under the saddle of Sinn Fein – and a swingeing critic of SF president Gerry Adams – for some time, largely because of her persuasive and damaging allegations of a Sinn Fein/Provisional IRA cover up of her rape by a leading West Belfast Provo.
Not surprisingly the internet was last week humming with anonymous and sometimes not so anonymous allegations detailing Mairia Cahill’s alleged links with RNU and other dissident groups, many of which seemed focussed on trying to undermine her narrative concerning the IRA/Sinn Fein role in concealing her rape.
The Norris/McCartney charge against Cahill was, in contrast, based only on her one-time membership of RNU, a dissident republican group with roots in the McKevitt-led Real IRA that is opposed, inter alia, to the Good Friday Agreement, the Stormont power-sharing government, the PSNI and most of the institutions established as a consequence of the peace process.
After resisting efforts by the media to interview her, Mairia Cahill finally issued a statement saying that she had indeed been a member of RNU in 2010, had served as national secretary but resigned after ‘a few hours’, and offered an apology saying her membership had been ‘the wrong thing to do’.
While Sinn Fein surrogates are suspected of involvement in last week’s internet campaign against Mairia Cahill, the party itself remained largely silent.
Gerry Adams – his niece heads RNU in Belfast
It now seems there may have been a reason for that silence and it lies in the fact that six weeks ago, or so, Gerry Adams’ niece, Sinead Adams was elected Belfast chairperson of RNU.
Sinead is another daughter of Liam Adams, Gerry’s brother who was convicted and jailed for sexually assaulting his other daughter, Aine Dahlstrom. Sinead apparently gave evidence supporting her sister during Liam Adams’ trial. That means that animosity to Gerry for turning against his brother does not seem to have motivated her political journey into RNU.
The news that the party president’s niece was elected to a position of leadership in a dissident group that the party was attempting to link to and smear Mairia Cahill with, was not, one presumes, something that Sinn Fein was all that keen to circulate, or even risk emerging in the media.
The RNU announcement can be found on its West Belfast Facebook page, which is here:
RNU Béal Feirste elects a new Comhairle Ceantair
Last week, Republican Network for Unity in Béal Feirste elected a new Comhairle Ceantair to steer the movement in the City into the 100th anniversary year of the 1916 Easter Rising.
The four members elected have been key personnel in driving forward the party’s strategy in Belfast over the last 12 months and have vowed to step it up a gear to ensure RNU continue to build upon firm ground and strengthen the Republican position.
Belfast Public Relations Officer and Student activist Nathan Stuart commented:
“The newly elected Comhairle Ceantair is a clear indication of RNU’s progressive outlook, its membership reflects the party’s desire for both its youth and female membership to be represented throughout all leadership levels.”
“We seek to further develop working relationships with other progressive groups as we believe that only through a united approach can the major obstacles facing Belfast such as cuts to healthcare and education, racism and sectarianism be tackled in an effective way.”
“Our Belfast activists have elected us to do a job, to spread the Republican message throughout working class communities in the city, firmly making our position relevant. We are determined to converting the young, vibrant and radical energy into fostering Republicanism throughout Belfast.”
Left to right is Nathan Stuart (Belfast Public Relations Officer), Cáit Nic Shomhairle (Belfast Secretary), Sinead Adams (Belfast Chairperson), Freddy Clarke (Belfast Treasurer)
The Broken Elbow 
Pitting a family who suffered greatly because of child sex abuse against a woman who also suffered abuse to justify your own warped political agenda, classy, did you ask either of these women permission to write this ill thought out rant that shows a remarkable lack of empathy and understanding of sensitive issues on your part? It’s hard to believe you were ever a journalist, are there not guidelines when it comes to reporting such issues or do you feel yourself to be above such things?
no-one is forcing you to read this blog gemma, but i notice that you have also subscribed to it. i hope you enjoy your experience.
I have indeed and enjoy would be the wrong word, I see you haven’t addressed my comments or indeed question, did you first seek permission from both a victim and the family of a victim before you used their personal plight for your own end? Can you not see how crass and insensitive this article is?
you really are the limit. if i remember correctly, mairia cahill announced her rape and the sinn fein/ira cover up on a major bbc television documentary and the fact that she is now an irish senator is a direct consequence of the publicity that ensued. her experience also dominated the news this week leading up to her election. as for sinead adams she announced her election, complete with photograph, on RNU’s facebook page and clearly had no problems letting the world know about it. as for her father’s trial and her sister’s allegations of sexual abuse these were widely covered in the media, and in the latter case was also covered in a TV documentary. all very public. and you say i must get their permission to write about these matters! i hesitated before writing all this because i really did not want to embarrass you publicly by exposing your stupidity but since you persist, you leave me no alternative. you are a very, very stupid person.
Gemma /Sinead ?????
who knows? who cares?