States in 1984 for illegal entry (see Provisional IRA arms importation). He served on the IRA Army Council as late as the 1990s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he argued against proposals for Sinn Féin to stand in elections. However, in 1985, he spoke at the party's Ard Fheis in favour of republicans contesting elections and taking seats in the Dublin parliament, the Dáil. Peace process In his later years as honorary life vice-president of Sinn Féin, Cahill was a strong supporter of Gerry Adams and the Good Friday Agreement. In 1994, a controversial but central aspect of the IRA's ceasefire was the granting of a limited visa by then United States President Bill Clinton to Cahill, in the face of opposition by John Major's government, for the purpose of trying to win support for the new Sinn Féin peace strategy from Irish American IRA supporters. In 1998 he stood in North Antrim in the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, but was unsuccessful. Death Cahill died at age 84 in Belfast. He had been diagnosed with asbestosis, which he probably developed while working at the Harland & Wolff shipyards in his twenties. He and several other former shipyard workers later sued the company for their exposure to the dangerous substances but only won minimal compensation. An Irish republican flute band in Glasgow is named after Cahill. References Bibliography Richard English, Armed Struggle – A History of the IRA, MacMillan, London 2003; Ed Moloney, The Secret History of the IRA:Published by Allen Lane (2002), Hardcover: /Published Penguin Books Ltd (2003), Paperback: / Eamonn Mallie and Patrick Bishop, The Provisional IRA, Corgi, London 1988; Brendan O'Brien, The Long War – The IRA and Sinn Féin. O'Brien Press, Dublin 1995; 1920 births 2004 deaths Irish anti-communists Irish people convicted of murdering police officers Irish prisoners sentenced to death Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish republicans Irish republicans imprisoned by non-jury courts Irish republicans interned without trial People convicted of murder by Northern Ireland People deported from the United States Politicians from Belfast Prisoners sentenced to death by Northern Ireland Provisional Irish Republican Army members Sinn Féin politicians