Public Record Office: Gerry Adams seen as 'man of peace'

The Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was described as a man of peace who was tired of life on the run with the IRA after a secret meeting with government officials in 1972.

The meeting between Mr Adams, then aged 23, and Daithi O'Conaill, an IRA leader now dead, and the government official, Philip Woodfield, took place near the Donegal border on 21 June, the day before the IRA announced a ceasefire.

Mr Woodfield was authorised to speak for William Whitelaw, who was Northern Ireland Secretary, and they discussed the conditions under which the IRA would announce a halt to hostilities. After the meeting, Mr Woodfield, the deputy under- secretary of state for Northern Ireland, recorded his favourable impressions of the men in a note that is declassified by the Public Record Office today.

"There is no doubt whatever that these two at least genuinely want a ceasefire and a permanent end to violence," he said. "They let drop several remarks showing that the life of the Provisional IRA man on the run is not a pleasant one. Their appearance and manner was respectable and respectful – they referred to Mr Whitelaw as the Secretary of State and they addressed me as 'sir'.

"Their response to every argument was reasonable and moderate. Their behaviour appeared to bear no relation to the indiscriminate campaigns of bombing and shooting in which they have both been prominent leaders."