Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a few remarks about this word "special". The joint communiqué with Angela Merkel was a very necessary piece of damage limitation, required because of what she had said and the interpretation thereof. Let us not over-egg that though, because it was full of the language of diplomacy, of constructive ambiguity, of fudge. I may be able to help Teachta Boyd Barrett with his question. I was, a number of times in my life, treated in a very special way. I had special status. Now, the problem for me was that I was in a prison ship in Belfast Lough, without charge or trial, held below deck with other internees for a very long time. In another period of my life, I was in the H-Blocks and cages of Long Kesh and in Belfast Prison and again, I had what was defined as special category status, but I was incarcerated without proper charge or trial. I just offer that up as a little light relief in these straitened times.

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