Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has told the annual Hunger Strike Commemoration in Belfast that Irish unity is getting closer.
Addressing a gathering at Milltown Cemetery, she said momentum for unification is growing. She also said that whoever is voted in as the next president of Ireland should be a leader for reunification.
“Friends, it is our duty as activists [to] carve the avenue through which we will reach a united Ireland. We are getting there, inch by inch, day by day, year by year,” she said.
“It’s time to get on the pitch, to stop being bystanders as history unfolds, to finally shed the harness of partitionism and become leaders for the reunification of our country.
“That’s what a government with real vision would do. That’s what a patriotic government would do. That’s what Micheál Martin should do. These are the values that the Irish President must advance.
“The day is coming when the people will have their say on unity. Our job is to build the most positive campaigns possible. To win those referendums and to win well. I say we can do it. I say we must do it. I say we will do it.
“As our long walk to nationhood continues, we never forget other peoples who yearn for freedom. We stand in unwavering support of Palestine and the people of Gaza as Israel’s barbaric genocide continues.
“As occupation, apartheid, starvation, bombardment, brutality, Israeli barbarism plays out for all the world to see. As Britain, the United States, the European Union facilitate, enable and finance genocide.”
Republicans gathered for the event to remember the 10 men who died during the 1981 hunger strike.
Ms McDonald said the people of Palestine can count on the people of Ireland and pledged to continue to support them.
“As the powerful turn a blind eye to unimaginable suffering, as they aid and fund this brutal genocide, the people of Ireland will never be silent,” she added.
“With everything we have, we will champion Ireland’s values of freedom, peace and human rights. Together we say sanction Israel, stop the genocide, end the occupation, free Palestine.
“Young people have always been at the forefront of the struggle of equality and justice.
“The hunger strikers were young. The average age of the 10 who died was 28. Thomas McElwee, the youngest, was only 23 when he died. Joe McDonnell, the eldest, was only 30.
“Their story shows us that young people can change history. Our job is to inspire within them the power of activism.
“To instil in them the politics of defiance over despair, the politics of hope over fear. To instil in them the spark to rock the system, to shake things up, to be the living embodiment of Irish republicanism.
“As long as we do that, the cause of Irish freedom and unity is in safe hands.” – PA
