IRA Leader Granted Visa for U.S. Visit : Northern Ireland: Gerry Adams leaves today on a 14-day tour intended to capitalize on group’s Aug. 31 cease-fire.

Gerry Adams, leader of the political arm of the outlawed Irish Republican Army, has been granted a visa by the U.S. Embassy in London for a 14-day visit to the United States, embassy officials announced Friday.

Adams’ Sinn Fein party said he will depart today for Boston, where he is expected to meet with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and then visit eight other U.S. cities.

The visa specified that Adams should not participate in fund-raising activities for Sinn Fein or the IRA while in the United States.

The U.S. tour is part of an international effort by Sinn Fein to capitalize on the IRA cease-fire announced Aug. 31.

Last February, over stiff opposition from the U.S. Embassy here, Adams was granted a visit by the State Department and received heavy media coverage during a 48-hour trip to New York City.

This time, with the current IRA cease-fire in place, the British offered only mild protests against the granting of a visa.

In another development, Prime Minister John Major said Friday that the British government could hold talks with Sinn Fein by Christmas--if the IRA makes it clear that its cease-fire is permanent.

“Sinn Fein is very nearly there,” Major told the British Broadcasting Corp. “They could settle the matter immediately by making it clear that what they have said is meant to convey that they have given up violence for good.

“It isn’t just a semantic matter; it isn’t just a matter of persuading me. I think the people of Northern Ireland want to hear that message as well. Once that has happened, we are on a path where in due course Sinn Fein can join the political talks.”

Last December’s Downing Street Declaration issued by Major and Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds promised Sinn Fein a place at all-party peace talks--designed to end 25 years of sectarian violence--three months after a successful cease-fire.

Major has refused to indicate when that three-month period starts, insisting that the IRA must renounce violence permanently. This has placed him at odds with Reynolds, who believes that the period should date to Aug. 31 if the IRA cease-fire continues to hold.

Pro-British paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland have not observed the cease-fire.

Thus, Adams will arrive in the United States on a wave of political success to conduct his tour, which will include Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Government sources here said they were assured that President Clinton will not receive Adams at the White House, but the Irish republican leader will see other political and business figures.

A Pro-British delegation from Northern Ireland met with Vice President Al Gore and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake on Thursday in an effort to present their case to U.S. leaders before Adams presents his.

Those unionists insist that Northern Ireland should determine its future links to Britain by a vote within the province, where unionists now hold a majority and presumably would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom.

Sinn Fein argues that Northern Ireland’s future should be determined by a vote of the entire island of Ireland--which would probably choose unification.