PHOTOCALL Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams sits with the sisters of Robert McCartney, who was murdered by republicans in Belfast, at the party's ard fheis at the RDS in Dublin.

The names of the seven members, who have been suspended from Sinn Fein membership, have now been passed to the police. Most, if not all, however, are understood to have already voluntarily given statements.

McCartney, a 33-year-old father of two young boys, was stabbed to death after a barroom brawl in Belfast city center on Jan. 30. A friend, Brendan Devine, was seriously injured, his stomach and throat slashed. What pushed the tragedy to the top of the political agenda, however, was a widespread belief that the IRA was protecting his killers.

Adams also took the risky move of inviting the dead man's five sisters to the party ard fheis at the RDS in Dublin, where they were given a standing ovation. He dedicated the opening section of his presidential speech to the murder.

He has also warned that any members of Sinn Fein who were material witnesses to the killing, and who failed to provide full statements on the matter, will be expelled from the party.

Speaking to the ard fheis, Adams demanded those involved in the stabbing admit their guilt in court. In a later interview, he blamed the attack on alcohol-fueled machismo and called for a halt to any intimidation.

The McCartney sisters sat and listened intently to Adams's address, denying later that they were sending out "mixed messages" and saying they remained to see the result of events on the ground in the Short Strand neighborhood of Belfast where they live.

Some in the ard fheis crowd, while publicly welcoming the sisters, had concerns about the invitation.

Feeling in the Short Strand area are running high. The mood has changed after weeks of unremittingly hostile press coverage, describing its population as political delinquents who live in fear from IRA "godfathers."

Although the McCartney sisters themselves have never criticized people in the area, the attended press coverage has been lurid, describing IRA "gangs" involved in, among other things, pedophilia, rape and domestic violence.

At the ard fheis, one woman, whose husband was murdered by loyalists, allegedly in collusion with British military intelligence, expressed her hurt. "These woman have done all they could to damage this party, yet they are welcomed by the leadership and applauded," she said. Other delegates, some of them senior party members, also expressed doubts.

One of the sisters earlier said she would vote for Sinn Fein again if the row over her brother's murder was resolved. Catherine McCartney said she had voted Sinn Fein in the past because she believed "they were the ones who had the best interests of nationalists at heart."

In his presidential address, Adams said the British and Irish governments were seeking to reduce all of the issues to one, the IRA, even though it knows that the IRA is not the only issue.

"The IRA has demonstrated time and again its willingness to support genuine efforts to secure Irish freedom by peaceful means," he said. "Sinn Féin has used our influence with the IRA in a positive way.

"I believe there is merit in us continuing to do this. Inevitably that will mean more hard choices, more hard decisions for Irish republicans as we push ahead."

On the wider peace process, he said he would not allow anyone to criminalize republicanism. Neither, he said, would he "allow anyone within republican ranks to criminalize this party or this struggle.

"There is no place in republicanism for anyone involved in criminality," Adams said. "Our detractors will say we have a particular view of what criminality is. We have not.

"We know that breaking the law is a crime. But we refuse to criminalize those who break the law in pursuit of legitimate political objectives."