Madam, - All this hot air about whether or not Gerry Adams was/is in the IRA surely misses the point. Mr Adams and his fellow leaders of the Republican movement have done the rest of us a service through their exercise of real leadership, a quality sadly lacking in the rest of our politicians.
A key aspect of this was their ability to lead the IRA out of their violent phase and into a (nearly) peaceful phase. Now, more than ever, we need Adams & Co. to lead the IRA the rest of the way. This is unlikely to succeed unless Adams & Co. are represented in the top echelons of the IRA.
Therefore we should hope that Gerry Adams is a member of the IRA and its Army Council or, if not, that some of his like-minded Sinn Féin colleages are. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL STUART, Malahide, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Is Gerry Adams's denial of being a member of the IRA a poor imitation of Groucho Marx's statement that he wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have him as a member? - Yours, etc.,
EITHNE Mac FADDEN, Church Road, Carrigart, Co Donegal.