The Rest Is Politics: Leading 17: Gerry Adams: The Troubles, Margaret Thatcher, and the IRA
May 8, 2023
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Always Include Opposing Representatives In Talks
- Talk to everyone involved and respect representatives you may dislike; inclusion strengthens negotiations.
- Adams recounts Fr Alec Reid's rule: you can't pre-select who must or must not be in a delegation if talks are to succeed.
Back Channels And The Importance Of Leadership Choice
- Adams revealed Margaret Thatcher engaged in back-channel talks with republicans despite public denouncements, and he credited Tony Blair with making the decisive policy shift toward engagement.
- He said John Major received chances but didn't take them and criticised an English political blindness to Irish needs.
Listening Is Essential When Facing Victims' Grief
- Adams described engaging with victims' families respectfully and empathetically, noting variation: some became peacemakers while others never recovered.
- He referenced personal losses and attacks on his family to explain his sensitivity to funerals and grief.