Statement from Gerry Adams
on the death of Ted Howell
Former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams spoke of his “deep sense of personal loss and sadness at the death of my good friend of many years Ted Howell.”
Gerry Adams said, “Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbrón a ghabháil le teaghlach Howell.
“Ted Howell was a stalwart in the struggle for Irish freedom for over 50 years. He and his late wife Eileen Duffy were, with others, central figures in the Irish struggle.
“During his many years of activism Ted played a leadership role in the evolution of republican politics. He had a steadfast commitment to anti sectarianism and principled democratic republican values.
“He was part of the core group which managed Sinn Féin’s strategy in the early 1980s, our engagement with the SDLP in 1988 and the emergence of our peace strategy.
“Ted was central to the publication of two key policy documents ‘Scenario for Peace’ in 1987 and the ‘Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland’ in 1992 – and central to all of the engagements with the Irish, British and US governments in the decades that followed. He was a key part of our negotiating team.
“Ted was also deeply involved in Sinn Féin’s international outreach and played an important role in the peace negotiations in the Basque country. He also travelled with me to the Middle East and he was heavily invested in the Palestinian struggle and for peace in the Middle East.
“Despite ill health in more recent years he has been part of the party’s Uniting Ireland Committee working to advance that objective.
“Ted brought a perceptive and sharp mind to republican politics and to the countless projects he was involved with. His contribution to modern republicanism is enormous.
“He was also a very decent and generous person, funny, and modest. Very sociable and good company. A decent cook and a knowledgeable gardener. His death is a great personal loss to me and to all of us who had the honour and pleasure to know him.
“To his sons Eamonn and his wife Nora and Proinsias and his wife Karen, his grandchildren and their wider family and friends, including his sisters Anne and Margaret I want to offer on my own behalf and that of Colette and my family our deepest condolences and solidarity.
“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.”
