Another abuse scandal hits Sinn Féin

Only months after it was revealed that he had covered up his brother Liam’s sexual abuse of his own children, Gerry Adams’ leadership at the helm of Sinn Féin has once again taken a knock with a fresh string of allegations. The Sunday Tribune leads with a report that women from two of Ireland's best-known republican families “were sexually abused by republicans”, abuse that “was covered up by Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA.” The Dublin Sunday reveals that a grand-niece of former IRA chief-of-staff Joe Cahill “was repeatedly raped at the age of 16 by a prominent IRA man in west Belfast. The daughter of a now deceased IRA Belfast commander has also told the paper she was “sexually abused by someone who is currently a Sinn Féin elected representative.” The perpetrator “locked her in an attic and also a dog kennel for days, forced her to use a bucket rather than the toilet, beat her mercilessly, held her head under water until she lost consciousness, and sexually abused her.” In both instances, the women were discouraged from seeking legal recourse, while Cahill alleges that Adams told her that, “Sometimes these things happen".