Irish unity to be at centre of a Sinn Féin-led government programme, party pledges

Irish unity would be at the centre of a Sinn Féin-led government programme, the party has said.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said on Sunday that referendums on Irish unity “must be held this decade”.
In a statement, the party said that if it led in government, it would put Irish unity “at the centre of its vision for the future”.
Ms McDonald, who was attending a Save Moore Street rally in Dublin city centre, said a united Ireland was “the very best, most exciting prospect for the future”.
“Reunification presents the single greatest opportunity to unlock the potential of our island and we friends are living in a time when history will be made by the people,” she said. “That is why referendums on Irish unity must be held this decade. Let the people have their say.”
The Dublin Central TD also said Moore Street had been “let to go to rack and ruin disgracefully by successive governments”.
She said a decision by An Bord Pleanála had allowed “a consortium to essentially take a wrecking ball to this place”. “We will resist that entirely. As a matter of fact, the State should have intervened on this matter much, much earlier,” she added.
“This election is an opportunity for people to come out now and vote for Sinn Féin to change the government and to have a government that actually appreciates and remembers our history, our tradition, how our freedom was won, but also a government that realises the real value of Irish culture, Irish historical sites as part of the modern economy and building a really vibrant capital city.”
Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, Ms McDonald’s running mate Janice Boylan and Sinn Féin TDs Dessie Ellis and David Cullinane also attended the event.
Separately, Ms McDonald defended her party’s attendance at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Northern Ireland.
Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister and vice-president of Sinn Féin, participated in the ceremony at Belfast City Hall earlier, becoming the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in such an event in Northern Ireland.
Earlier this week, more than 100 relatives of victims from the Troubles in Co Tyrone signed a statement voicing their “devastation” at Ms O’Neill’s decision to attend.
Ms McDonald also attended the National Service of Remembrance at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin as did President Michael D Higgins, Fine Gael Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill and Fianna Fáil Minister Darragh O’Brien.
Ms McDonald said that Ms O’Neill had pledged to “be a First Minister for all” and that is what she was demonstrating every day.
“We’re Irish republicans, we believe in an end to partition, the reunification of our country, but also a party that’s been instrumental in the growth and development of the Irish peace process,” she said.
“So we will always walk with great confidence and pride in our own tradition, but also reach out a hand of recognition to others who have a different view and a different perspective, and everybody has to have the right to remember their dead.”
Ms McDonald added that she had been attending the service for a number of years and always received a “very warm welcome”.
In a statement, Ms O’Neill said: “I am committed to representing everyone equally. Through my words and actions, I will honour that commitment.”