Posted on 03/24/2006 6:20:45 PM PST by Irish_Thatcherite
He is not a criminal, says Adams Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams yesterday stood by alleged former IRA chief Thomas "Slab" Murphy. The businessman, whose farm is at the centre of a police probe into a multi-million pound smuggling operation, has been wrongly demonised, he claimed. Mr Adams said: "Tom Murphy is not a criminal. He is a good republican."
Murphy's sprawling estate, straddling the Irish border, was among 15 properties searched yesterday during police raids planned in Belfast and Dublin.
Around £200,000 in cash, 30,000 cigarettes, 8,000 litres of fuel and weapons were all seized in the offensive against organised crime.
Two men and a woman arrested during swoops in north Louth and south Armagh were questioned and released last night by gardai.
Murphy, the one-time alleged IRA chief of staff, who is already under investigation by the Assets Recovery Agency probing house sales in the greater Manchester area, was not detained.
But police, Customs officials and soldiers were all involved in a major operation on his land at Hackballscross.
Murphy, 62, insists he is a legitimate farmer with no involvement in crime.
And Mr Adams offered his total support following raids which were months in the planning.
"I read his statement after the Manchester raids and I believe what he says," the West Belfast MP said. "He is also a keen supporter of the Sinn Fein peace strategy."
Asked if Murphy was a member of the IRA Army Council, Mr Adams said: "If he denies being a member of the IRA then I accept that."
Mr Adams was critical of the scale of the huge cross-border operation, but backed its objectives.
"We support the pursuit of criminal assets," he said. "Anybody who is involved in criminality should face the full rigours of the law.
"That includes the right to a fair trial and the right not to be vilified in the media."
"Foreign soldier?" Last I looked, Ulster was PART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM! The soldiers (many of whom are Catholic btw) were involved in anti-terrorist actions. If they had probable cause to suspect that said house was a haven for terrorists, YOU BET YOUR A-S I SUPPORT THEM!
That would be like allowing Massachusetts National Guard to search homes in Florida.
What's wrong with this map? Why are monarchists breaking my balls on FReerepublic?
Two people... wow! You really have the inside track!!
I live in the Republic of Ireland, I'm not a Monarchist, I just hate terrorists!!
Why the hell should I be a Monarchist just because I'm against the IRA?
Jeeez, will you IRA trolls go somewhere else!!!
LOL!!
And the rest, by members of the SAS...
Sorry, but even an anglophile should be intellectually honest enough to recognize that both sides have done plenty of wrong.
Terrorists of any political persuasion are shit-bags.
Frank McCourt says:
"It's not just Catholic versus Protestant any more. I read somewhere that in any construction site in Belfast, they have protection rackets. And you have to clear your trucking with the IRA, just like the Mafia here."
So much for the IRA...criminal terrorists.
Any shred of credibility Gerry Adams may have had was blown away when he went to Cuba and praised Fidel Castro.
He is a terrorist, nothing more, nothing less.
The IRA got money from Lybia, has had agents in Colombia and is very friendly with Cuba, the Palestinians and ETA (the Basque sepatists). Others feel free to add to this list.
International terrorists like the IRA are evil.
Does that make any sense to you at all?
I wonder what Paul Hill, Gerry Conlon, Giuseppe Conlon, Patrick (Paddy) Armstrong, Carole Richardson, Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power, John Walker, Annie Maguire, Patrick Maguire, Patrick Maguire Jr., Vincent Maguire, Sean Smyth, and Patrick O'Neill would say about your half-truths...
Terrorism is wrong even when our friends, the Brits, are doing it.
Are all Irish Catholics in the IRA?
I'm not supporting the IRA jackass.
When did I ever write I was pro-IRA jackass?
Yes, except there are still idiots who fall their crap - you even see it in some of the posts here.
Are the British still kicking down the doors of Irish Catholics?
They were actually kicking down the door of a terrorist.
Are you saying that British soldiers have never killed unarmed civilians (Irish Catholics)let say in the last 30 or so years?
So by your own logic...all Irish Catholics are terrorists. Right? Moron.
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