Liam Adams remanded on sex charges

A brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was remanded in custody today to face sex offence charges.

Liam Adams, 56, was extradited to the North from the Republic yesterday.

He appeared at Laganside Magistrates’ Court in Belfast today charged with the abuse of his daughter Aine Tyrell, who has waived her right to anonymity.

Adams, who is originally from west Belfast, denies the charges.

District Judge Fiona Bagnell refused a bail request in line with the concerns of a police officer who told the court there was a risk the defendant might not attend future hearings.

Adams, dressed in a suit and a pale open-necked shirt, was remanded in custody for one week to appear in court again on November 10 by video link.

He faces 18 charges including rape and gross indecency.

He lost a legal battle against being extradited after a court in Dublin last month refused him permission to remain in the Republic.

This came after he handed himself over to police last year when a European Arrest Warrant was issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The detective sergeant told the court that Adams moved to the Republic in the wake of the claims being made against him.

The allegations emerged when Ms Tyrell took part in a television documentary in 2009.

The investigating officer was however challenged by defence solicitor Philip Breen after claiming the authorities had initially sought his client more than 20 years ago over the allegations.

The solicitor contested the claim and said Adams had co-operated with the police on both sides of the border, but he said the case had been accompanied by major publicity given the high profile of the defendant’s brother, the Sinn Féin president.

Mr Breen said his client, who has remarried, was accompanied in court by his wife and a daughter and that both were prepared to give evidence in support of the bail application.

The solicitor said his client’s immediate family had provided a house for his use in Belfast and said he intended to fight the charges.

“It is going to be a long protracted battle,” said the solicitor.

After Adams was denied bail, his wife and daughter waved to him from the public gallery as he was led away.