APPEARANCES CAN be deceptive. Martin Ferris seems the epitome of gentleness. He speaks in a soft Kerry accent, while his manner is friendly and modest. It comes as no surprise when he relates a happy childhood spent on a small farm. Ask someone who knows nothing of him to guess his profession, and farmer or fisherman would be high up on the list of possibilities.

Ferris has been both of those things, but is actually best known for very different reasons. In 1984 he was arrested on a boat called the Marita Ann off the coast of Kerry. Also on board were seven tons of weapons from America, bound for the IRA. Ferris served ten years for his part in the operation, having twice previously been convicted of IRA membership. He is alleged to have been the top Provo in the South West for many years, and it has also been claimed that he served on the organisation's army council.

Since his release from Portlaoise Prison in 1994, Ferris has become prominent in Sinn Fiin. His reputation as a hardliner coupled with his close support for the direction in which Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness have taken the Republican movement is thought to have assisted the leadership greatly in their efforts to keep sceptics 'on-message'. He is generally regarded as the most influential Republican figure in the south.

He has also proved an impressive political performer in his own right. His showing in the 1997 General Election surprised many - he received almost 6,000 first preference votes in Kerry North. He has since been elected to both Kerry County Council and Tralee Urban District Council and is one of SF's chief hopes to increase their Dail representation next time around.

He has been particularly active in the anti-drugs movement in Tralee and is revered by many of those who live on the town's bleaker housing estates as a man who 'gets things done'. His apparently ambivalent attitude to vigilantism (which he talks about in this interview) has made many a liberal heart quail, but has not hindered his electoral rise.

In his youth, Martin Ferris was an exceptional gaelic footballer. He played U21 for Kerry and was on the county's senior panel during their heyday in the 1970s. His political activities hindered his availability, however. He once disappeared after a game in 1973 and was not seen again until he was arrested over a year later.

Martin Ferris was born in the townland of Barrow, six miles outside Tralee, in 1952. He is married to Marie, an Australian of Kerry ancestry who first made contact with him by letter when he was on hunger strike in Portlaoise in 1977. They have six children and live in Ardfert.

NIALL STANAGE: Did you come from a Republican family?

MARTIN FERRIS: Well, my mum was a de Valera supporter. Her brothers had bad experiences from the Free State army in the early 20s. My dad had no politics. He just worked hard and lived in America for about twenty years. Then he came back and got married, bought a bit of land. His first cousin, however, spent five years in the Curragh in the 40s. And that would be the only connection I would have had with Republicanism.

NS: So was it events in the north which led you into becoming involved?

MF: There were a number of dimensions. First and foremost, I would have been very conscious of Irish history. It was probably my best subject at school. Then obviously the advent of the Civil Rights Movement in the six counties in '67 and '68. I would have been about 16 or so and I was very influenced by the injustices prevailing at the time and the conscious belief that I wanted to do something about it. The natural way for me to go at that point was to get involved in the wider struggle, which I did.

NS: When were you first imprisoned?

MF: February 1975.

NS: What for?

MF: I was arrested and charged with being a member of the IRA. At that point, we didn't recognise the court and you were convicted on the opinion or belief of a Superintendent. That was the only evidence offered against me.

NS: How long did you serve on that occasion?

MF: I was released in November 1975 after serving nine months of a 12 month sentence. I was re-arrested in February 1976. Again I was convicted of membership of the IRA; again, on the same evidence. This time I got 18 months.

NS: You also went on hunger strike during that sentence.

MF: Yes. During that time, conditions in Portlaoise Prison came to a crisis. They were deplorable conditions. A lot of brutality, strip-searching, indefinite periods of solitary confinement, beatings on a daily basis for prisoners who were on protest or whatever. And that inevitably led to a hunger strike which began in March of 1977. That lasted for 47 days and I was on that.

NS: How did it develop?

MF: Twenty prisoners commenced the hunger strike. There were about 140 prisoners in the IRA wing of Portlaoise at that time and 20 undertook the hunger strike. I think it was 12 that finished it. On the 47th day, the hunger strike was called off after the intervention of the Archbishop of Dublin and a Trade Union Official, Michael Mullan.

NS: Were you beaten yourself?

MF: In prison? Oh yes.

NS: Frequently?

MF: Many times.

NS: And what sort of emotions would be going through your mind when that was going on?

MF: Most of the beatings centred around forced strip-searching which, being such a degrading and inhumane way of treating prisoners who are confined, we resisted, not in an aggressive way, but in a defensive way. At that particular time, within the prison system in Portlaoise, you had what became known as the prison warder 'Heavy Gang', who intimidated prison warders as well as prisoners. It was a very brutal regime which lasted until . . . the first break in it came with the prisoner officers' conference when a prison officer stood up and publicly stated that brutality was prevailing in Portlaoise; that prison officers were intimidated by certain elements of prison management. And one of the prison officers, I think, said that Hitler would have no problem recruiting SS officers from some elements within the prison service in Portlaoise at that time. It was very bad.

NS: What did you do between your release and the time you were arrested on the Marita Ann?

MF: I got married and I had a family. I was very active in Republican circles in Kerry from late 1977 right up until 1984.

NS: It has been reported that you were at one time head of the IRA in the south-west.

MF: [smiles wryly] The media have greatly exaggerated my importance as a Republican for a long time.

NS: Do you know how you got caught on the Marita Ann?

MF: Sean O'Callaghan says he informed on me.

NS: How does that make you feel?

MF: Well . . .we were arrested, we got ten years in prison. It's very difficult. At the time I had five children, all under the age of ten, and my wife was pregnant. It was very, very difficult for her and the kids.

NS: There must have been times when you wondered whether maintaining your involvement was worth that personal cost . . .

MF: I think everybody, if they are being absolutely honest, will, momentarily or whatever, question the fact that their involvement imposes hardship on their families and, obviously, hardship on themselves. But if the conviction is strong enough and the motivation is there, we overcome that. We all go through bad periods. You might be in prison, you're going through strip-searches and then going out and meeting your wife trying to put on a face that would not worry her or the kids. Equally you'd know that they were going through difficult times on the outside.

A lot of it is very hard, and it is hard for everybody, but there are over 10,000 people who have gone through the prison system as a result of the British presence in Ireland in the last 30 years. Everybody has been through that pain and we have come through it stronger and more committed than ever. It just goes to show that, despite the pain inflicted, Republicans have the determination to see justice and democracy in our country. No matter what they do, they will never kill that spirit of resistance.

NS: During a ten year prison sentence what do you spend your time doing on a day-to-day basis?

MF: During the seventies and the lead-up to the hunger strike, a lot of it was spent in solitary confinement, just lying on the floor of your cell, just with a mattress and a blanket, nothing else in the cell. You got a half-hour's exercise between 6.30 and 7.30 in the morning in the dark. Then you got strip-searched probably every day and [there was] a lot of brutality. You just got through that. You were lucky if you got a book - no letters, no papers, no communication whatsoever.

When you were out of solitary confinement you obviously had your comrades around you, and the comradeship that generated. In latter years there was an educational program within the prison - our own educational system with the Irish language, lectures and so on. Then you had the opportunity of teachers coming in from outside if you wanted to do economics or social sciences or whatever. And you had the sporting side of it, where there would be games of football and soccer in the yard. You had the gym. And then you had a film if you wanted to go to that, and a workshop if you wanted to learn about crafts.

You always found something to do. Basically, if your mind is strong enough to overcome it, you will overcome anything.

NS: Are there specific IRA operations which you particularly regret?

MF: Oh, obviously anywhere and anytime there were civilians injured or killed. Terrible times. Enniskillen was a tragic time and a very painful time for Republicans. To be quite honest about it, every person who died, whether British soldiers or members of the Crown forces, there is always a sense of pain about that, that some family has got to suffer. All of us felt for their families because we experienced so many casualties in our own movement - you know, 366 IRA Volunteers, dead Sinn Fiin people, voters, family members cut down just because of that connection. Nobody has a monopoly on suffering or pain in this struggle. We've all been through it and it's a reminder for all of us that we have to make this [process] succeed.

NS: Have friends of yours been killed?

MF: Yes.

NS: Were there attempts made on your life?

MF: Yes. I was trying to escape from Portlaoise prison and there was a man shot dead quite close to me - 17th March 1975. Tom Smith, an IRA man, was shot dead. There were others, one shot in the arm and the leg and one grazed on the stomach. And there are obviously other occasions that I don't want to talk about, you know? But certainly we've all seen it; we've all seen the effects of struggle.

NS: Moving on to the present situation and the issue of decommissioning, can you understand why David Trimble and his supporters would be wary of sitting in an executive with Sinn Fiin while the IRA keeps its arsenal?

MF: Well, I have found it impossible to understand David Trimble throughout this whole process. First of all, deadline after deadline - he has gone clean through them as if they didn't exist. I find if difficult to understand how somebody is threatening to bring the whole thing down over silent guns. And if he does do that, it's mind-boggling to say the least.

NS: But there is also the commitment to do everything to achieve total decommissioning by May 2000.

MF: Well, The Good Friday Agreement is quite clear and specific that decommissioning is a voluntary act. All of us - David Trimble, ourselves in Sinn Fiin - everybody has a collective responsibility to bring about a situation where all aspects of the Agreement will be implemented. We have not failed in our responsibility to create these conditions. It's a matter for General DeChastelain and the armed groups to resolve.

NS: There have also been reports of defections to republican groups which don't support the peace process.

MF: Well, I don't think any party could say that all its membership remains in total as a result of the Good Friday Agreement. Certain people left Sinn Fiin and left the Republican Movement at that time. A very small number of people. It's still regrettable that they chose that path. I don't think their leaving Sinn Fiin and the Republican Movement at that time advanced the cause of Irish Republicans. In fact, it could have created a situation whereby Republicanism went in the opposite direction. However, we have brought almost all of our membership with us. That has triggered politicisation and an understanding of political struggle by Republicans.

NS: As someone who would have believed in the past that the armed struggle was justified, do you see any justification for armed action by Republicans at the moment or in the medium term?

MF: I believe firmly that the Good Friday Agreement, if allowed to be implemented with All-Ireland bodies, the equality side, the human rights aspect of it, if all aspects of it are allowed to develop and flourish, then that in my opinion will deliver justice and democracy and that's what our struggle is about.

NS: And if the Real IRA, for example, was to take armed action, you wouldn't believe that was justified?

MF: I don't believe that it is justified in the present circumstances. I think that what has been achieved to date with the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement, and hopefully with its full implementation, will eventually address the Republican objectives and demands.

NS: You're a councillor at the moment, and you're hoping to win a seat at the next general election. What are the pressing issues at the moment in Kerry?

MF: The issues in Kerry at the moment include the roads, which I regard as being without question the worst roads in the country at this time. There are health problems, there are unemployment problems. A massive problem in Kerry would be the decline of the rural population. And the knock-on effect is the urbanisation of communities and that also creates massive problems. There is a big problem with the availability of illegal drugs.

NS: There have been instances where direct action has been taken by the community against people who are thought to have been dealing drugs. Where do you stand on that?

MF: I have given numerous interviews in Kerry on that situation. I think to understand my position on it you have to recognise what was happening. First and foremost you had a superintendent in the Kerry area saying that there was no drugs problem in Kerry. And that was despite the fact that we had a number of very tragic incidents as a result of it.

You also had a well-known family in Cork who were using Tralee, Killarney, Listowel and Castleisland as areas to expand their drug trade and this was ongoing without any real effort being made by the authorities to deal with it. The effect of that was that a group calling itself Concerned Parents decided to take the law into their own hands and they carried out a number of burnings on known drug dealers. I said that I could not condemn people who took the law into their own hands to defend their own kids because of the lack of, let's say, security that they were entitled to. I think that was quite understandable. I would not advocate anybody to do it, I said that publicly.

NS: But don't you not think there is a double standard? Alcohol is regarded as perfectly acceptable while marijuana is unacceptable and illegal. Yet alcohol is far more damaging in almost every respect.

MF: You'd have to go into the communities where it's happening . And there is a debate in the community. There are people who favour the legalisation of certain drugs. But the vast majority of people are absolutely opposed to it.

Every kid who I have spoken to who has progressed onto hard drugs in our areas had come through from smoking marijuana onto doing speed and doing E's and some of them are now gone a bit further, although we don't have a heroin problem in Kerry and I only know of two occasions where it was there.

But there are areas that have been ravaged by drugs, and the kids find it very hard to get out of it. So all we can do in Sinn Fiin is to try to help these people and to try to advise them.

We have had threatening letters pushed through our office in Tralee, and a family in Cork said that they were going to shoot me and shoot another person. And these people, to my knowledge, are quite capable of doing that.

But I think these kids who are caught in it feel like they are in a hopeless situation. And they seem to find that we can help them to find a way out of it. So we have been trying to do that, and we will continue to try to do that.

NS: Politics and Gaelic football aside, do you have any other hobbies?

MF: I play soccer. I played soccer and gaelic football until two years ago when I was 45, and I miss it. That's my biggest regret, that I'm not still playing it. I would be, only for the pressure of work, and I wouldn't be able to train and so on.

NS: Any other sports?

MF: I didn't play hurling, but I love hurling, I think it's the most beautiful game in the world. It's fantastic. I love all sports. I love basketball, rugby. I also like a social night out with my family.

NS: Do you smoke or drink?

MF: I take an odd pint, but I don't smoke. I haven't smoked since 1982 and, touch wood, I will never touch them again.

NS: Do you have any particular taste in music?

MF: I like ballads, republican ballads. A lot of socialising in Kerry has always been around the likes of Celtic Clan, Flight of the Earls - local groups who are all ballad groups. I like Christy Moore, I think he's a beautiful singer. Jennifer Rush - 'The Power Of Love' - I think that's beautiful and that she has a fabulous voice. And The Beatles.

NS: Do you ever get the chance to go to the cinema?

MF: No, not so much now. Very seldom. I might watch a film at home, occasionally. I saw a lot of films in prison. Probably every fifth-rate film ever made was shown there!

NS: Finally, do you have any deep regrets?

MF: I miss the fact that I would like to have played a lot more gaelic football, and I didn't. I have no big regrets, honestly, no. It was all part of my life, it was what I wanted to do, and it's what appeased my inner conscience. And I'm happy with that.