British prime minister Keir Starmer will not “voluntarily offer up” a united Ireland referendum in Northern Ireland, but the next Irish government could force change if it convinces London that it is serious about unity, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
“In the absence of the Taoiseach making it plain that the government of Ireland wishes to pursue and hold the referendums, that the preparations are under way, then Downing Street will revert to the status quo,” she said.
However, the dynamic could be radically different if London were shown a different “attitude and posture” by the next taoiseach, one who made it clear that referendums are required and that planning for unity is under way, the Sinn Féin leader said on Friday at an event in Dublin to highlight how a Sinn Féin-led government would make Irish unity a priority.
In its manifesto, Sinn Féin has promised, if elected, to produce a Green Paper on unity within 100 days, to appoint a Minister of State to lead unity preparations and to establish an Oireachtas committee.
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Referendums on both sides of the Border would be held by “the end of decade”, the party has said, though it emphasised that all colours of opinion – nationalist, unionist, or other – must be involved in the work.
“A century of the partition of our country is long enough. It’s time now to look to the future with ambition and hope and that future points to reunification,” said Ms McDonald.
Under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State controls the timing of when a referendum is held there, but they are obliged to call one if they are convinced that a referendum would be passed if it was put to voters.
However, the lack of clarity in this judgment has long been a cause for complaint.
Speaking in the Teachers’ Club in Dublin, Ms McDonald said there is an obligation on London to clearly lay out how such a decision would be made.
A court challenge to demand such clarity could be taken by individuals, or even by the next Irish government, she said, though she said her preference would be to achieve this through political pressure on London.
“Of course, there would be an option to vindicate or to pressure, or to move things on through the courts, but it by no means would be our first choice. Our first choice is political and diplomatic,” she said.
A global political campaign, involving voices in Washington, including the White House, and the Irish diaspora around the world could force London into agreeing to hold a referendum by 2030, she said.
Meanwhile, the Sinn Féin leader sharply condemned the refusal by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin to support the holding of referendums on both parts of the island by 2030.
Speaking early on Friday, Mr Martin said he could not see referendums taking place within the next five or six years.
He view was described as “astonishing from a leader of Fianna Fáil” by Ms McDonald.
“I understood that Fianna Fáil supported Irish unity. The route to Irish unity is by way of referendum. So, I don’t frankly understand Micheál Martin’s logic or rationale,” she said, at the launch of the party’s proposals on unity.
“We are now 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement. Change is happening. It’s evident that it’s happening. It needs to be managed and planned for. It’s irresponsible of any political leader to refuse to plan for the future,” she said.
Mr Martin’s position was “short-sighted”, she said. “I think it lacks ambition. I think it’s very much out of step with the opportunities that we now have as a country. We should be grasping opportunity, not pushing it away.”
Sinn Féin’s Cavan-Monaghan TD, Matt Carty said: “I have to say I was disgusted to hear the remarks of Micheál Martin this morning where once again he downplayed and diminished the prospects of a united Ireland.
“It is staggering to me that a Fianna Fáil leader would continuously take that approach. My family, or at least certain parts of it, in previous generations would have been your traditional typical Fianna Fáil voters.
“They were united Irelanders and they were very proud to be united Irelanders.”
He said Mr Martin was guilty of “a disservice to Fianna Fáil members of whatever generation who believed passionately that the partition of our country was a historic injustice and that Irish governments should strive to undo it”.
