“Make no mistake, we are out to fully end British government rule in Ireland.”
Mary Lou MacDonald
By Geoff Bell
“Make no mistake, we are out to fully end British government rule in Ireland.” So declared Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou MacDonald in her speech to the party conference in Belfast on 25 April. This intent, is, of course, not surprising. This has always been the policy of her party, ever since it was established over125 years ago. The difference now is that this prospect seems closer than ever.
This is not just, as speakers at the Ard Fheis remarked, that Sinn Fein is the largest and best supported party in Ireland. It leads opinion polls in both the southern and northern states, and, as far as the north is concerned, is already the leading party in councils, the Assembly and Westminster. But there was also an obvious optimism among Sinn Fein members that Ireland is rapidly reaching what MacDonald called a “tipping point” in Irish and British/Irish politics.
She was referring here not just to Ireland, but to Scotland and Wales. As Michelle O’Neill, the party’s vice president and the north’s First Minister, reported there is now a “new alliance” between Sinn Fein, Plaid, and the SNP. “Our aspirations for self-determination our the same,” she said, and it is clear that there is every expectation that this will lead to a strengthening of ties and co-operation at and outside Westminster.
At the Ard Fheis, the Sinn Fein leadership and delegates endorsed the calls for a referendum on re-unification on or by 2030, a target date that had been previously argued for by Ireland’s Future, the 32 county civic group that, separately from Sinn Fein, has been the leading advocate for a detailed preparation for the referendum. In that respect, as one conference delegate said, “People are no longer asking if constitutional change will happen, they are asking when and how.”
As to how, MacDonald cited the example of the recent election of Catherine Connolly as Irish President, enabled by an alliance of left and republican parties, organisations, and individuals. This, said MacDonald,“ was a blueprint for the future”, which saw “the emergence of a dynamic, democratic movement, and one that especially involved young people” The same spirit, she said was also evident in the movement for the revival of the Irish language and in across Ireland support for Palestine.
Both MacDonald and O’Neill reiterated that a referendum should happen by 2030, and that, as O’Neill put it, “Preparation must happen now, because people cannot wait.” Once again there was a demand for an all-Ireland Citizen Assembly on Irish Unity, something the coalition government in the south has resisted. MacDonald summed all this up: “Irish unity is not just a good idea, it is the idea and we are setting out to achieve that by 2030, That date is real. The days of saying yes to unity, but not now, must end.” Political leaders, she said “must do what is right – lead, prepare for referendums, engage with people, grasp the opportunity of the united Ireland.”
There was much more to the Ard Fheis than the reunification discussion. There were discussions on Ireland’s housing crisis, on public services, human rights, youth, women, the cost of living, and the crisis in health provision, especially in the northern state. There was even a spirited debate on foxhunting (the foxes won). There were speeches from the Cuban ambassador to London, a leader of the ANC, and, winning the loudest round of applause, from Arab Barghouti, the son of a Palestinian detainee.
These contributions underlined Sinn Fein’s policy on internationalism. This debate saw a twin advocacy of defending traditional Irish neutrality – now under threat from the coalition government in the south – and support for self-determination through the world, especially, said MacDonald, in Palestine and the Ukraine.
Not forgotten was the Irish outside Ireland, especially in respect to the debate on preparing for reunification. In a statement distributed to delegates, Rose Conway- Walsh, the Mayo TD (Irish parliament member) said: “When we talk about not wanting to leave anyone behind when it comes to the constitutional change conversation, which has to include our diaspora. As we envision a new future for the Irish people, the voice, perspective, experience, and expertise of our diaspora will be vital. The Irish abroad have a unique opportunity to shape the future of Ireland.”
This was an important invitation to, among others, Irish groups in Britain. It needs to be grasped.
- Geoff Bell was at the Ard Fheis as part of the Labour Movement for Irish Unity international guest list.
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