Adams knew of sex abuse allegations against his brother for over 20 years

IT has emerged Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams believed his brother to be a serious child sex abuser for over 20 years before informing either the gardaí or Northern Irish police.

In an Ulster television Insight documentary, screened last night, Mr Adams admitted that in early 1987 he became aware of allegations that his brother Liam had repeatedly sexually abused his own daughter since she was four years old.

However despite stating that from “the very beginning” he believed his niece Áine Tyrell’s claims to have been sexually abused by her father, the Sinn Féin president failed to inform gardaí or instigate any other justice proceedings.