I was privileged to be elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) by the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the general election last year. As a proud Sinn Féin Representative, I carry on the tradition of those who came before me.
Ours is a border constituency. When Ireland was divided, we and our neighbors in the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan, and Monaghan found ourselves in two different states. An arbitrary line cut through communities, markets, farms, and public services. We have lived with the legacy of this decision for over one hundred years.
In 1981, Bobby Sands, while on a hunger strike, was elected to the position I now hold. He and nine other prisoners would lose their lives that year, and many more would be killed and injured on the streets of the North before the hunger strike would end. Those dark days of conflict are thankfully over.
Writing from his prison cell, Bobby Sands wrote about the cause of Irish Unity: “Everyone, Republican or otherwise, has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small, no one is too old or too young to do something.”
I was reminded of these words when I read the remarks of former Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar given at Ireland’s Future event in Philadelphia. Describing the Irish Unity a the political project of this generation, he added. “As is always the case, the impetus for great change must come from below. It will not come from above.”
It appears the past echoes through today and is heard in many different places.
The building of a new and united Ireland is the project of the current generation. It is an opportunity to define a new Ireland that is a prosperous home for all who share the island.
In his words, Leo Varadkar accepts that there are those in the British and Irish Governments who oppose the unity project, but they can be moved. The Good Friday Agreement provides the pathway.
The Agreement was made possible with the support of Irish America. It has succeeded in delivering a generation of peaceful change because Irish America has acted to protect and ensure its implementation.
The Agreement is not a settlement. It is a set of rules and institutions to manage past, present, and future political differences. It asserts the primacy of democracy, equality, and peace over conflict, discrimination, and exclusion.
The Agreement recognizes the right of the people, North and South, to self-determination. Irish unity can be achieved when the people in both jurisdictions vote to end partition. Both governments can trigger referendums at any time, but the agreement places an obligation on the British Government to hold a referendum when a change is likely.
This provision was designed to prevent the British government from indefinitely refusing a referendum. It is not, as some portray, the minimum level to hold a referendum, but the point at which one can no longer be denied.
The Good Friday Agreement has fundamentally changed the nature of the State. While divisions remain, it is a shared place largely at peace. The government is headed by my colleague Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill. The parliament and government that meet in Stormont no longer have an overall unionist majority. The discussion on Irish unity is building and is now part of academic research and discussion.
July 8, 2024: Sinn Féin's Pat Cullen, Michelle O'Neill, Mary Lou McDonald, and John Finucane at Stormont. (Getty Images)
The Good Friday Agreement provides a peaceful pathway to Irish Unity. Political changes provide the opportunity to travel that pathway.
It was entirely predictable that the British Government would seek to deny the people of the north a vote for the constitution, which is why the Agreement provides a provision for when a referendum must be held.
The current Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheal Martin, refuses to engage in the discussion on Irish unity and continually rules out a referendum. In a recent interview, he said there are no plans for a border poll within five years.
The Irish Constitution makes clear that unity is the “will” of the nation. Yet the government refuses to plan, prepare, or advocate for unity. The Good Friday Agreement enshrines the right to national self-determination, placing the democratic future of the island in the hands of the people.
By refusing to engage in the discussion, the Irish Government is undermining the democratic promise of the agreement and failing to progress the will of the nation. They are exercising a veto on the future.
It would seem that to the Irish Government is hell bent on maintaining the status quo at all costs, including the rights of citizens in the North and the promise of the Good Friday Agreement.
Ireland, north and south, is changing. The role of responsible government is to manage the process of progressive change. The right of the people to determine their future cannot and should not be held back.
That is why I agree with Leo Varadkar, change will have to come from below. That is very I agree with Bobby Sands that everyone has a role to play and that includes diaspora.
I will be traveling to Nashville, Cincinnati, and Chicago next week for a series of Commissions on the Future of Ireland sponsored by Friends of Sinn Féin. These follow other events in the US and Canada and are part of a wider series of citizens' Assemblies hosted by Sinn Féin across Ireland.
These events are an opportunity to learn more about Irish Unity. An opportunity for you to inform the work of Sinn Féin, and most importantly, to identify your role in building a new and united Ireland.
When the British and Irish governments dismissed the potential of the peace process and refused to engage, it was the people of Ireland and our diaspora who acted and brought them to the table.
Together, we can challenge the refusal of the Irish Government to plan for unity. Together, we can build a new and united Ireland.
Bobby Sands, unwashed and naked, except for a blanket wrapped around him, suffered the brutality and deprivation of the prison regimen. It was to the breaker's yard for Irish Republicanism. He would remind his comrade that their cause was historic and just. That victory was possible, and everyone had a role to play. Their revenge would be an Ireland that echoes with the laughter of children.
Irish Republicanism is stronger now than at time.
We have both the path and the opportunity to build a new and united Ireland for all our children. We will face challenges, but with your help, they will be overcome. The Irish Government can no longer hold a veto on Irish Unity and deny the rights enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.