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| Gerry Adams's family allegations timeline | Gerry Adams's family allegations timeline |
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| Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams pictured with his father Gerry Adams Snr | Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams pictured with his father Gerry Adams Snr |
| Revelations by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams that his late father subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse over many years have caused widespread shock. | Revelations by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams that his late father subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse over many years have caused widespread shock. |
| The 61-year-old said on Sunday the family made the discovery about Gerry Snr in the 1990s. He went public about the abuse after it emerged last week that police wanted Mr Adams's brother Liam to answer allegations of sexual abuse against his daughter. | The 61-year-old said on Sunday the family made the discovery about Gerry Snr in the 1990s. He went public about the abuse after it emerged last week that police wanted Mr Adams's brother Liam to answer allegations of sexual abuse against his daughter. |
| 1978 - 1983: Liam Adams is alleged to have abused his daughter Aine during this time. | 1978 - 1983: Liam Adams is alleged to have abused his daughter Aine during this time. |
| 1987: Aine tells her mother Sally she was abused by her father and they report it to the police. By that stage, Sally and Liam Adams had broken up. That same year, Gerry Adams finds out about the allegations levelled against his brother. He now says he brought Aine, then aged 14, to confront her father. He admitted on Monday that this "could have been handled better". | 1987: Aine tells her mother Sally she was abused by her father and they report it to the police. By that stage, Sally and Liam Adams had broken up. That same year, Gerry Adams finds out about the allegations levelled against his brother. He now says he brought Aine, then aged 14, to confront her father. He admitted on Monday that this "could have been handled better". |
| 1996: Gerry Adams publishes his autobiography. The Sunday Tribune reports he made 11 references to his brother Liam without mentioning any estrangement or hint of wrongdoing. Mr Adams has said that although they were estranged, they nonetheless met on several occasions. | 1996: Gerry Adams publishes his autobiography. The Sunday Tribune reports he made 11 references to his brother Liam without mentioning any estrangement or hint of wrongdoing. Mr Adams has said that although they were estranged, they nonetheless met on several occasions. |
| 1997: Liam Adams is active in Sinn Fein in Dundalk. The Sunday Tribune has claimed he intended to seek the nomination to be a Sinn Fein candidate in the area in the 1997 Irish general election but was defeated by a local hardliner. However, Gerry Adams has said this was not the case. He told RTE's Pat Kenny on Monday that his brother was never put forward as a candidate, adding: "I moved very quickly to get him dumped out of Sinn Fein." Liam Adams also worked on youth projects around this time in Dundalk, the paper reported. | 1997: Liam Adams is active in Sinn Fein in Dundalk. The Sunday Tribune has claimed he intended to seek the nomination to be a Sinn Fein candidate in the area in the 1997 Irish general election but was defeated by a local hardliner. However, Gerry Adams has said this was not the case. He told RTE's Pat Kenny on Monday that his brother was never put forward as a candidate, adding: "I moved very quickly to get him dumped out of Sinn Fein." Liam Adams also worked on youth projects around this time in Dundalk, the paper reported. |
| 1998-2003: Liam Adams works part-time as a youth worker in Clonard Youth Centre in west Belfast, having passed a full police check. The Clonard Youth Centre said there were no concerns arising from his time there. Gerry Adams says he told the authorities at Clonard about the sex abuse allegations made by Aine as soon as he became aware that Liam was working at the youth centre. It is understood that they have no record of Mr Adams giving them this information. | 1998-2003: Liam Adams works part-time as a youth worker in Clonard Youth Centre in west Belfast, having passed a full police check. The Clonard Youth Centre said there were no concerns arising from his time there. Gerry Adams says he told the authorities at Clonard about the sex abuse allegations made by Aine as soon as he became aware that Liam was working at the youth centre. It is understood that they have no record of Mr Adams giving them this information. |
| Gerry Adams speaks about the abuse | Gerry Adams speaks about the abuse |
| 1998: Gerry Adams discovers his father Gerry Snr, subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse over many years. He made the revelation on Sunday in an interview with Irish state broadcaster RTE. He says he was almost 50 years old when he found out. | 1998: Gerry Adams discovers his father Gerry Snr, subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse over many years. He made the revelation on Sunday in an interview with Irish state broadcaster RTE. He says he was almost 50 years old when he found out. |
| October 2003 - November 2004: Liam Adams works at Cox's Demesne Youth and Community Project in Dundalk. He is employed as a youth worker on a project funded by European money to promote peace and reconciliation. He worked with young men aged between 16 and 22 involved in gang warfare in the County Louth town. The project now says it had never heard of any allegations against Liam Adams, adding: "Had we had this information naturally he would never have been employed in any capacity in youth work." | |
| November 2004 - May 2006: Liam Adams worked as a youth development officer at the Beechmount Community Project in west Belfast. It has said that his name and details were submitted to the "relevant authorities, who signed off on his suitability to work with children." | |
| A spokesperson added that it believed social services and the police have "serious questions" to answer about the checks carried out on Liam Adams. | |
| "We have never received any complaint from any child, young person or their parent, or staff member, with respect to Liam Adams and his period of employment here within our project. Nevertheless, we feel that serious lapses by both the social services and the police have inexcusably put children and young people within our project at risk." | |
| 18 December 2009: Gerry Adams says Liam should hand himself over to the authorities to answer allegations of sexual abuse. It is understood that an arrest warrant was issued a year ago for failing to appear at a preliminary court hearing to answer questions about alleged sexual offences against his daughter. | 18 December 2009: Gerry Adams says Liam should hand himself over to the authorities to answer allegations of sexual abuse. It is understood that an arrest warrant was issued a year ago for failing to appear at a preliminary court hearing to answer questions about alleged sexual offences against his daughter. |
| Later that day, Aine Tyrell, now aged 36, tells UTV's Insight programme she decided to go public because she feels let down by police, social services, the Catholic Church and her uncle Gerry. | Later that day, Aine Tyrell, now aged 36, tells UTV's Insight programme she decided to go public because she feels let down by police, social services, the Catholic Church and her uncle Gerry. |
| 20 December 2009: Gerry Adams goes public over his father's abuse. He issues a statement to the media and tells RTE that his father, who died six years ago, was in denial for many years about his actions and he "had died a lonely old man". | 20 December 2009: Gerry Adams goes public over his father's abuse. He issues a statement to the media and tells RTE that his father, who died six years ago, was in denial for many years about his actions and he "had died a lonely old man". |