A 1-pound lawsuit puts Gerry Adams’ alleged IRA role on trial in London

LONDON (AP) — Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was accused in a London court Monday of being a leader in the Irish Republican Army responsible for three of the paramilitary group’s suspected bombings in England.

Adams is being sued in London's High Court for allegedly being directly responsible and complicit for decisions by the Provisional IRA to detonate bombs in England in 1973 and 1996.

“The defendant carefully draws a distinction between being a member of ‘the Army’ and being a member of Sinn Féin," attorney Anne Studd said. “That was a distinction without a difference.”

Studd represents three men wounded in the bombings.

The allegation against Adams is an old one, but this is the first time a court is being asked to decide if it's true.

Adams is one of the most influential figures of Northern Ireland ’s decades of conflict. He led the IRA-linked political party Sinn Féin between 1983 and 2018 and helped broker the 1998 Good Friday peace accord. He has always denied being an IRA member, though some former colleagues have said he was one of its leaders.

“The only thing that I am guilty of is being an Irish republican committed to ending British rule in our country and seeking to unite the people of Ireland on the basis of freedom, equality, peace and solidarity,” Adams said after the opening day of the trial.

The claimants are seeking vindication — not money. Adams is being sued for the nominal sum of 1 pound ($1.33).

The trio claims Adams was a member of the IRA's decision-making Army Council and was as responsible as the men who planted the explosives during “the Troubles,” the three decades of violence involving Irish republican and British loyalist militants and U.K. soldiers. Some 3,600 people were killed, most in Northern Ireland, though the IRA also set off bombs in England.

John Clark, a police officer, had shrapnel lodged in his head and hand from the 1973 Old Bailey courthouse bombing in London. Jonathan Ganesh suffered psychologically from the 1996 London Docklands bombing. Barry Laycock was left 50% disabled, suffered emotionally and struggled financially from the 1996 Arndale shopping center bombing in Manchester.

“There is no doubt that the defendant contributed to the peace in Northern Ireland, but the claimants say that on the evidence, he also contributed to the war,” Studd said.

Adams, who is expected to testify in his defense during the nonjury trial due to conclude next week, “emphatically, unequivocally and categorically denies that he was ever a member of the IRA,” attorney Edward Craven said.

Adams was never charged with the bombings or even arrested on suspicion of being connected to them, Craven said.

The 77-year-old was charged with being an IRA member in 1978, but the case was later dropped because of a lack of evidence.

Adams won a 100,000 ($116,000) libel verdict last year against the BBC over a claim in a television documentary that he authorized the killing of an informant inside the Irish republican movement.

Craven said the claimants had a mountain to climb to prove their case and they had not even arrived at the foothills.

He said that Adams sympathized with and shared the IRA’s goals and sought to justify their actions, though he didn't support all those acts.

“That makes him, in the eyes of some people, a deeply controversial figure,” Craven said. "It does not mean he was factually responsible for the bombings.”

Claimant Barry Laycock poses for a photo outside the Royal Courts of Justice, where a civil claim is being brought against former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams by three men who were injured in Provisional IRA bombings on the UK mainland in the 1970s and 1990s, in London, Monday March 9, 2026. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, center, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, where a civil claim is being brought against him, in London, Monday March 9, 2026. ( James Manning/PA via AP)

Claimant Barry Laycock poses for a photo outside the Royal Courts of Justice, where a civil claim is being brought against former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams by three men who were injured in Provisional IRA bombings on the UK mainland in the 1970s and 1990s, in London, Monday March 9, 2026. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, where a civil claim is being brought against him, in London, Monday March 9, 2026. ( James Manning/PA via AP)

Minkah Fitzpatrick is coming home and filling a major need for the New York Jets.

Demario Davis also is returning — for a third stint with the team — to help lead a suddenly revamped defense.

Fitzpatrick, a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl safety who is from New Jersey, is being acquired from the Miami Dolphins, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday. One of the people said New York will sign Fitzpatrick to a three-year, $40 million contract extension.

The Jets will send a seventh-round pick in this year's draft to the Dolphins in the deal, according to the people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade can’t become official until the start of the NFL’s new league year on Wednesday.

The deal, first reported by ESPN, should immediately help the Jets, who became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without an interception.

The Jets further bolstered their defense, which ranked 31st in points allowed this past season, by agreeing to deals with Davis and edge rushers Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare.

The 37-year-old Davis, a third-round pick of the Jets in 2012, is back on a two-year contract worth $22 million, with $15 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told the AP. He spent the last eight seasons in New Orleans.

Ossai agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract, with $22.5 million guaranteed, his agency, Athletes First, said on social media.

Enagbare joined the Jets on a one-year deal worth $10 million, a person with knowledge of the contract told the AP.

The 29-year-old Fitzpatrick, who had one year left on his contract with the Dolphins worth a non-guaranteed $15.6 million, was born in Old Bridge, New Jersey, and went to high school in Jersey City — about 25 miles from the Jets' training facility in Florham Park and less than 10 from MetLife Stadium, his new playing home.

It's the second major trade this offseason for the Jets, who are looking to upgrade their defense in coach Aaron Glenn's second season. New York acquired nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat from Tennessee for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson last month.

Glenn fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks with three games left in the season and hired Brian Duker in January to oversee the defense, but he said he would call the plays this coming season. Duker and new safeties coach Ryan Slowik both came from Miami's staff and have familiarity with Fitzpatrick.

Safety was an area the Jets were expected to address in free agency, with Malachi Moore — who was solid in 14 starts as a rookie — the only player on the roster with significant playing time. Andre Cisco and Tony Adams, both of whom have been starters, are set to be free agents.

Fitzpatrick has 21 career interceptions, although he had only one in 14 games this past season for the Dolphins.

He was the 11th overall pick by the Dolphins in 2018 out of Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide win two national titles. He was traded by Miami two games into his second season to Pittsburgh, where he became one of the top players in the league at his position.

Fitzpatrick spent most of six seasons with the Steelers, making the All-Pro team three times while picking off 18 passes during that time. He became the NFL's highest-paid safety in 2022, when he signed a four-year, $73.6 million extension with the Steelers.

Fitzpatrick was traded back to the Dolphins last June in a blockbuster deal, going to Miami along with a 2027 fifth-round pick for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith and a 2027 seventh-rounder.

Davis, who is entering his 15th NFL season, played his four seasons for the Jets before signing with Cleveland in 2016. He returned to New York the following season before signing with New Orleans in 2018 and playing eight seasons for the Saints — including five with Glenn as the defensive backs coach.

Davis, who will assume a much-needed leadership role on New York’s defense, has more than 1,500 career tackles and 45 sacks. He was an All-Pro pick in 2019 and has been selected for two Pro Bowls.

Ossai, who had five sacks in each of the last two seasons for Cincinnati, was a third-round pick of the Bengals out of Texas in 2021.

Enagbare was a fifth-rounder out of South Carolina in 2022. He started 21 of the 68 games in which he played for the Packers and had 11 1/2 sacks, including a career-high 4 1/2 in 2024.

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds and Alanis Thames contributed to this report.

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FILE - Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai (58) in action during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Nov. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, file)

FILE - New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis works during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, file)

FILE - Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick runs onto the field during player introductions before an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Nov. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray)