In February 2019, the Offender Database reported that Liam Adams, then 63, died while in custody. The younger brother of former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, Liam Adams, was serving a 16-year sentence at Maghaberry Prison for the prolific sexual abuse and rape of his daughter, Áine Dahlstrom. He died from terminal cancer on February 25, 2019, after being moved to a Belfast hospice for end-of-life care.
The court heard during his 2013 trial at Belfast Crown Court that Adams subjected his daughter to a “horrific catalogue” of abuse between 1977 and 1983, beginning when she was just four years old. The abuse was characterised by a severe breach of trust, including incidents where Adams raped the child while her mother was in the hospital giving birth to her brother. Despite the gravity of the allegations, which were first raised within the family in 1987, Adams remained at large for decades. They even worked in various youth centres across Ireland before the case was brought to trial following a 2009 television documentary.
Liam Adams was convicted of 10 offences, including three counts of rape, three counts of gross indecency, and four counts of indecent assault. His conviction followed a complex legal battle, including a period where he fled to the Republic of Ireland to avoid prosecution before being extradited to Northern Ireland in 2011. During sentencing, Judge Corinne Philpott QC described his actions as the “greatest imaginable breach of trust” and emphasised the long-term psychological damage inflicted upon the victim.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service confirmed that Adams died on Monday morning, February 25, 2019. Following standard procedure for a death in custody, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland were notified to conduct an investigation. The Ombudsman later published a report in 2021 confirming he died of pancreatic cancer and that the clinical care he received while in custody was equivalent to that in the community.
Liam Adams was five years into his 16-year sentence at the time of his death. Because of the nature of his crimes, he had been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. His case remains a significant point of public discussion in Northern Ireland due to the political profile of his family and the questions raised regarding the delay in reporting the abuse to the authorities.
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