"In an IRA honour guard funeral those would be usually his closest comrades in the IRA who would do him the honour of the send-off. Asked by Studd whether anyone would be wearing a beret, as Adams was in the photograph, if they were not a member of the IRA, O'Doherty replied: Not a chance, in those years, because it would bring the full weight of the authorities [down on you]."
"Asked by the judge, Mr Justice Swift, whether a 1970 newspaper article about the arrest of 17 people in army raids which named Adams as an IRA commander in Belfast was, in his opinion, accurate, O'Doherty replied: Yes."
"He also said it was significant that Adams gave the funeral oration. While in prison O'Doherty wrote a number of letters apologising to his victims, publicly renounced the activities of the IRA and called for a ceasefire."
Gerry Adams, 77, faces a civil lawsuit from three bombing victims—John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh, and Barry Laycock—injured in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 London Docklands and Manchester bombings. They claim Adams was an IRA member and sat on its army council, which he denies. Shane O'Doherty, a convicted IRA bomber who received 30 life sentences in 1976 for letter bombing campaigns, testified that Adams held a senior position in the organization. O'Doherty cited evidence including a photograph of Adams carrying an IRA volunteer's coffin while wearing a beret and delivering a funeral oration, stating such actions indicated IRA membership and leadership. He also confirmed a 1970 newspaper article naming Adams as an IRA commander in Belfast was accurate.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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