Adams must stay on as leader to keep Sinn Fein out of power

The naked trampolinist is doing a quite magnificent service to democracy in dragging his party down, writes Mairia Cahill

Gerry Adams voting during this year’s general election

Mairia Cahill

Years ago, in the early 2000s, a former senior Sinn Fein election strategist told me he had suggested that Gerry Adams move from his west Belfast constituency to the South, in order to advance electorally. According to him, the idea was shot down - no pun intended - and Adams was keen to remain where he was.

In 2010, after the Aine Adams case and my own had initially hit the public domain, Adams suddenly indicated he was moving south.