Opinion

Jim Gibney: Gerry Adams is the leader of a new generation of republican leaders

Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonald, Aengus O Snodaigh and Maurice Quinlivan outside Leinster House in Dublin
Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonald, Aengus O Snodaigh and Maurice Quinlivan outside Leinster House in Dublin Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonald, Aengus O Snodaigh and Maurice Quinlivan outside Leinster House in Dublin

GERRY Adams was sitting very comfortably in his Dáil seat. He was relaxed, composed, settled. Much like you find him when you call to his home.

And why would he not be, I said to myself, as I looked down from the public gallery, for the first time, on the Dáil proceedings on budget day.

He was surrounded by 22 other TDs - a considerable measure of his personal popularity not to mention the growing popularity of Sinn Féin across the southern state under his leadership.

With his parliamentary team of 23 TDs and 7 Seanadoirí Gerry Adams has carved a niche out in a state whose political elite thought was theirs to run much like a family-business with the profits being doled out accordingly to the owners of the business with little regard for the workers.

Gerry Adams and his team are rattling this cosy consensus not only in terms of providing an alternative to the conservative economic policies of this Fine Gael-Alliance-FiannaFáil government, which benefit the well-off, but they are a constant reminder of the unfinished business of partition and the need for a united Ireland.

Under his leadership Sinn Féin are the only real and credible alternative and that was obvious to all on budget day with Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin nodding approvingly as his front bench team provided Fine Gael ministers with a chorus of support.

Gerry Adams has every reason to be contented. He is the leader of a new generation of republican leaders.

From the gallery I scanned the Sinn Féin benches. Seated to Gerry Adams' right was Caoimhin O Caolain, the `father' of the Dáil, from a Sinn Féin view point. He is Sinn Fein's first and longest serving TD. He ran the campaign in 1981 which elected Kieran Doherty as TD for Cavan-Monaghan. And the people of that area have never forgotten Kieran or his Belfast family.

Marylou McDonald sat next to Caoimhin. I had earlier bumped into her and Gerry Adams `bowling the yard' (as we used to say in jail) in front of the Dáil. I recalled that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness often did that in front of Castle Buildings during the Good Friday Agreement negotiations when they needed distance from the prying eyes and ears of British `spooks'.

Over the next few days Marylou was centre-stage in the budget debate as she cut strips of the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil `basket of economic misery'.

Next to Marylou was the Waterford TD, David Cullinane and to his right was Donegal TD Pearse Doherty.

This was their and Sinn Féin's moment. Their scripts, carefully prepared by a team of young economists, whose economic minds where honed in the wasteland of Irish government austerity.

Between them for an hour they pummelled with economic facts Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. In the gallery I could feel the economic blows landing on the Taosieach Enda Kenny and Michéal Martin. There were occasional sounds from these benches but it was hard to work out if they were winces or heckles.

Watching them I was taken back to another, more foreboding chamber, Court Nos 2 to be more precise circa 1983, Belfast. I was in the dock with eleven others listening to the dismissed testimony of a `supergrass', Kevin McGrady.

To avoid a life sentence I was depending on two barristers: the flamboyant and loquacious Dick Ferguson and the less colourful Michael Nicholson.

The mix was a joy to watch, if more than a little stressful. It also worked. Between them they took McGrady's testimony apart and placed enough doubt in the judge's head about nine-tenths of his testimony. I was nevertheless still sentenced to twelve years instead of life.

Pearse's style reminded me of Dick Ferguson and David's of Michael Nicholson. Between them they took apart the coalition government of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

The economic fluency of their argument was mesmeric. And not just for me. Over the next week four million people visited social media sites to view the debate.

Of course Gerry Adams knew this before they took to their feet. Another very good reason why he was relaxed while waiting for the joust with rapier precision.

Economic illiteracy. How are you.