Right to United Ireland referendum is a matter of law in the Good Friday Agreement and will be delivered
Uachtarán Shinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald, Leas-Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill and North Belfast MP John Finucane today met with the new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham during his first visit to the north.
Mary Lou McDonald said, “The right to a referendum on Irish Unity is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement. It was agreed in referenda and is enshrined in international law.
“It is not a concession in the gift of any British politician and sends a very dangerous message to those within unionism who want to obstruct, delay and attempt to recreate a past based on division and supremacy.
“The British Prime Minister needs to realise that refusing to prepare will not stop change from coming. It is as reckless as what happened with Brexit.”
Mary Lou McDonald continued, “Today we had a robust exchange with the new British Prime Minister. To mark his first visit to Ireland with such divisive and ill-informed comments, that fly in the face of the Good Friday Agreement is totally unacceptable.
“The right to a referendum on Irish Unity is key part of the Good Friday Agreement. It was agreed in referenda and is enshrined in international law.
Pittsburgh Remembers Hunger Strikers at Annual Mass and Memorial Service
By Greg O’Loughlin
More than a hundred people gathered at St. Patrick’s church in Pittsburgh, PA where Friends of Sinn Féin joined the Pittsburgh branch of the Irish American Unity Conference and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ancient Order of Hibernians to mark the 45th Anniversary of the Hunger Strikes.
The organizers said, “Hunger strike has been used by many to demonstrate against injustice. We acknowledge the legacy of those who have made this significant sacrifice in Ireland’s struggle for freedom from oppression.”
Sinn Féin’s Representative to North America Ciarán Quinn offered an address to the crowd, saying, “It is said that a person never dies if their name is spoken.
“Today we remember Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom McElwee and .
“They will never be forgotten; their legacy lives on.
“It is found in homes across Ireland. It is with us here in Pittsburgh.
“Bobby Sands said of the British, ‘They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of one Irish Republican who does not want to be broken.’
“The Hunger Strikes of 1981 reenergised the Republican movement, opened up the potential for electoral politics, and showed the world the true face of British policy in Ireland.”
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