Catherine Connolly has told a meeting of Sinn Féin members in Dublin she believes a united Ireland is “a foregone conclusion” and “there must be preparations for it on all sides”.
Speaking at an event entitled Building for Unity at the Helix in DCU, the presidential candidate told several hundred members of the party a united Ireland “will happen”. As president, she would “give voice to the firm will of the Irish people in Article 3 of the Constitution in every way I can to promote that objective”, she added.
She denied suggestions she had only identified reunification as a personal priority as she sought the support of Sinn Féin in next month’s election but said it had always been an objective for her and that she had been affected “as a young girl” by the sight of refugees from the North having to be housed temporarily in a diocesan college in Galway.
“That image never left me,” she said.
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Northern Ireland was also a topic for discussion for Heather Humphreys on the campaign trail in Cork on Saturday.
The Fine Gael candidate said she was in favour of Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland being allowed to vote in presidential elections as it would assist in achieving a united Ireland, but she agreed with the late John Hume that unity of territory could only be achieved after a unity of peoples.
“We need to have more conversations about building trust, about breaking down barriers, and about bringing people together and deepening our understanding of the different traditions in Northern Ireland.
“I did see only in recent weeks that there still is a lot of misunderstanding, there’s a lot of misinformation out there, and I truly want to work hard on that, and I believe in a united Ireland but before that, we must have a united people.
“I absolutely commit to working with all traditions, nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland, work together and build on the work of Mary McAleese.”
Ms Humphreys said she believes the fact that she, as someone proud of her Protestant heritage, is contesting the Irish presidential election is proof of how tolerant and inclusive Ireland is as both a state and a society.
She said she never felt discriminated against growing up as a Presbyterian in Co Monaghan and she rejected comments made last week by DUP leader Gavin Robinson about the “institutional intolerance of Protestant culture and heritage” in the Republic.
“This country has given me everything that I have, and it has made me what I am. I went to a coeducational, multidenominational, school. I got a great education, and I got a great opportunity in life.”
She said she had never felt discriminated against because of her Protestant background, and she had always been encouraged to speak up and embrace her Presbyterian heritage.
Asked if she would speak to Mr Robinson’s views on the Republic being an inhospitable place for Protestants if she were to meet him as president of Ireland, Ms Humphreys said she would be happy to talk to him about her experience as a Protestant in the Republic.
And then there were three – the presidential candidates set off on the campaign trail
“I will have that conversation with him, and of course, I will explain to him, and indeed many others, and I will use the opportunity to say to people in Northern Ireland, ‘Just look at me, I’m very proud of my tradition. I’ve never hidden it’.
“This country has given me the opportunity to be who I am today, and I think I am actually living proof that this country is a tolerant country, and this country does respect all traditions, and my tradition has been respected as I have journeyed throughout life,” she said before attending a rally of Fine Gael supporters.
In Dublin, Ms Connolly said she had expressed a desire to see a united Ireland in the wake of the Brexit referendum a decade ago and said: “It will happen, it will happen by consent but there must be preparation for it on all sides.”
The comments were enthusiastically received by the crowd of Sinn Féin members.
Ms Connolly said she had “never tried to use the Irish language as a divisive topic or to highlight those who can’t speak it but what I will say is that Irish is our first official language. It is also a language that I went back to learn, and I would invite all of you to use me as an example and to go and embrace and learn our Irish language, not because it’s the right thing to do but because one, it is our language, and two, it’s absolutely, completely different than the English language. It gives us a perspective on another world.”
Ms Humphreys is not fluent in Irish and has promised she would seek to improve her command of the language if elected, something she previously committed to do in 2014 when minister for the Gaeltacht.
Speaking after the event, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald expressed satisfaction with Ms Connolly’s address and the reception she had received from the party’s members.
“She spoke very fulsomely about her vision for Ireland as a militarily neutral Ireland, as a beacon of hope for democracy, for peace, for conflict resolution. Of course, about Gaza, about Palestine, and again, reiterated the position of not normalising genocide.
“She spoke too about the need for the president to have an independent and distinct voice from the government in calling out the housing crisis and the experiences of people on the ground. She talked about building a full Republic. And all of these sentiments have been very warmly welcomed by Sinn Féin.”
After campaigning in Kerry on Friday, Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin was back in Dublin on Saturday, with Lucan Sarsfields GAA club one of his stopping-off points. Mr Gavin’s official campaign launch takes place on Sunday with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
