Former politician tells court the hat worn at a 1971 republican funeral and by TV comedian does not mean he was IRA member “A very happy St Patrick’s Day,” said Gerry Adams, as he took his seat in the stand at court 16 in the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday. Mr Justice Smith hadn’t quite caught what the defendant said, and asked him to repeat himself. “Oh that’s very kind of you,” the judge stammered when he finally worked it out. The green tie and small sprig of shamrock in Adams’s lapel – worn alongside a Palestinian flag pin – ought perhaps to have been a clue. Continue reading...