Adams, Gerard ( Gerry) (b. 6 Oct. 1948). Republican politician in Northern Ireland Born and educated in Belfast, he worked as a bar manager, and joined the Republican movement in 1964. He was imprisoned twice (1971, 1978) on suspicion of being a leader of the IRA , but both times was released on grounds of insufficient evidence. He was successively elected to Parliament for Sinn Fein (1983–92), but never took up his seat in the House of Commons, since he objected in principle to British rule in Northern Ireland . He became President of the party in 1984. In 1988 and 1993, he held meetings with Hume to discuss proposals for talks on the future of Northern Ireland. He came to ...