As always, it is a great honour to join you here today in this sacred
place – the final resting place of Theobald Wolfe Tone.
We gather to honour the father of Irish republicanism and to recommit
ourselves to the unfinished work of building a united, sovereign Irish
Republic. Wolfe Tone’s vision was very clear – Irish independence,
unity, and equality.
A Republic of equals, built on solidarity between Catholic, Protestant
and Dissenter.
His vision was revolutionary then – and remains so today.
His courage and his optimism continue to inspire us in everything we do
and say as Irish republicans.
So, we gather here not simply to remember the past, but, most
importantly, to shape the future.
Irish unity is our primary objective and it is a tangible and urgent
political project, not just for us as Irish republicans, but,
increasingly, across all sections of the Irish people.
– The debate is underway.
– The momentum is real.
– The responsibility to prepare belongs to us all – and most
particularly for the Irish Government.
Unity is a huge opportunity.
– A new beginning.
– It cannot be approached with wishful thinking.
– It requires planning.
– It requires leadership.
– It requires action.
Sinn Féin is actively and urgently addressing this important work. The
party’s Commission on the Future of Ireland is doing sterling work in
facilitating a structured and national conversation on the future of our
– We are lobbying governments across Europe and beyond to promote the
benefits of and support for Irish unity. – We are engaged in active
outreach with the Irish diaspora in Britain, the United States, Canada
and Australia. – Most importantly, of course, we are working to ensure
there are unity referendums on the island of Ireland in this decade of
opportunity.
In Sinn Féin, we are laser focused on Irish unity. It is who we are, and
it is what we do, day and daily.
But we also do not have a monopoly on this work.
Others have an enormously important role in all of this and we commend
and support their efforts.
Of course, there is a particular responsibility on the Irish Government
to plan, to prepare and then to manage constitutional change on this
That is the sensible and mature approach.
The Irish Government should convene a Citizens’ Assembly on Irish Unity.
– To map out the economic, social and political transition to
reunification.
– To ensure that when a Unity referendum is called – as provided for
under the Good Friday Agreement – people on both sides of the border can
make a fully informed, confident choice about their future.
Change is happening, accelerated by the disaster that is Brexit and the
growing realisation in the north that no British government, Tory,
Labour or any other, will ever act in the interests of the Irish people.
The process of change must be managed sensibly and with tolerance and
Everyone must be included in deciding our collective future together –
and that means listening to and addressing the concerns of the unionist
community in a meaningful and respectful way.
It also means that we need to focus on constitutional change, because we
all have a stake in our future.
In the North, the political landscape has been transformed in recent
I am honoured to serve as First Minister for all, committed to
power-sharing and to progress, and committed to representing all
Sinn Féin is in government in the North to make real change and we are
delivering.
Acht na Gaeilge is now a reality and in the coming months the Irish
Language Commissioner will be appointed.
And in a fair and balanced way Irish language signs such as those in
Grand Central Station must be part of our future.
Additional funding was secured for Casement Park which creates renewed
– The work must now begin.
– This is a vital project not just for West Belfast, not just for the
GAA but for sports more widely in the north and across the island.
A top class sporting stadium is a win for all. Sinn Féin is committed to
investing in all sporting codes. Casement Park will be built.
Things are certainly changing. Last month the Assembly passed a motion
on extending Presidential voting rights to the North, this is something
unthinkable only a short number of years ago.
But it is a sign of confidence in our future. A sign of things changing
for the better.
A similar motion will be debated in the Dáil this coming week.
It is a decade since a Bill was first passed in the Dáil, but it has
been blocked by successive governments.
– Now is the time to act.
– Now is the time to extend voting rights to Irish citizens in the
And alongside this we are fighting and delivering for workers and
Our finance minister John O’Dowd successfully negotiated increased
funding for investing in health, education and all public services.
Our economy minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald is strengthening workers’
rights in the most progressive piece of legislation ever seen.
Liz Kimmins, our Infrastructure Minister, is committed to progressing
key all Ireland transport projects, like the A5, the A1, and the
all-island rail review.
Be assured that we will work, day and night, to make lives better.
The reality is also that it is a battle a day within the Executive.
This is a battle a day with a British Labour government pursuing a Tory
agenda of cuts and austerity.
However, it’s a battle we are up for.
Britain has nothing to offer Ireland – unionist, nationalist or neither
– except economic decline, austerity, and indifference.
Every day as their economy falters, the British government makes
decisions that are bad for our schools, our hospitals, our
infrastructure, that impede our ability to grow our economy.
Here in Ireland, Britain’s only interest is in denying families the
truth and shielding British state forces from due legal process.
The British Government’s Legacy Act is fundamentally flawed and it is a
cynical piece of legislation.
It was designed to protect British forces and British agents and at its
core it will deny truth to grieving families.
The Legacy Act needs to be repealed.
Any approach to legacy must be human rights compliant, victim-centred
and command maximum confidence.
The disrespect of the British government towards the family of Seán
Brown, murdered in 1997, in their pursuit of truth has been disgraceful.
The depth of feeling around this case should not be underestimated –
that was reflected in the thousands of people from across Ireland who
stood in solidarity with the Brown Family in Bellaghy only a few weeks
The Brown family deserve to know the full truth about what happened to
their much loved husband, father and brother.
Today my message is clear:
– The Taoiseach must now make urgent representation to the British Prime
Minister that he directs a public inquiry into the murder of Seán Brown
without further delay.
– It is time for truth.
– It is time for a full public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown.
The refusal to hold a public inquiry into Seán Brown’s murder will have
serious implications for wider legacy discussions involving the Irish
and British governments.
For our part we will continue to stand with victims and families in
their campaigns for truth, justice and acknowledgement.
I also want to speak today about the violence, attacks and intimidation
seen recently in Ballymena Portadown and other areas.
Let me be absolutely clear.
This was raw, unadulterated racism, fuelled by sectarian, supremacist
loyalism, involving, in many cases, paramilitary elements, much of which
was mirroring ultra-right English nationalism.
Families, women, children and babies were targeted, terrified and driven
from their homes.
– That is wrong.
– That is unacceptable.
There is no place for racism in Ireland – not on our streets, not in our
communities, and not in our politics. We say no to racism.
We live in a time of global injustice, inequality and rising militarist
Today, and every day, we stand firmly with the Palestinian people,
especially those in Gaza, who face the horror of ethnic cleansing,
starvation and the most catastrophic humanitarian crisis of our time.
The genocide in Gaza must end, and Israel must be held to account for
their actions, or they will continue to act with impunity.
Their actions are not simply wrong, they are criminal and genocidal.
Here in this state, the Occupied Territories Bill must be passed.
Ireland must be a voice for peace, not war.
We oppose the increasing militarisation of the European Union, and we
reject efforts to dismantle Irish neutrality.
We are absolutely opposed to any attempt to overturn the Triple Lock –
the safeguard that ensures Irish troops can only be deployed.overseas
with UN approval, a government decision, and Dáil support.
The Triple Lock is a democratic protection for our neutrality, and we
will defend it against those who want to drag Ireland into foreign wars.
Wolfe Tone’s first pamphlet, The Spanish War, was published in 1790 and
argued for non-involvement of Ireland in Britain’s wars.
Today the Irish people wish to remain independent and neutral.
We stand against imperial ambitions, and we want this country’s foreign
policy to be firmly anchored in peace building, diplomacy and human
Our neutrality is a proud principle, and we will not allow it to be sold
off or undermined by stealth.
In this state, my friend and our Uachtarán, Mary Lou Mc Donald, leads
the political opposition – working constructively with other parties to
build a combined opposition to the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Lowry
government.
The current government is out of touch and out of steam – on housing and
the cost of living, squandering tax-payers money while failing on a
growing list of health scandals – particularly in respect of children
with chronic health conditions.
A government more interested in defending privilege than delivering for
ordinary people.
The various crises in housing, in healthcare, in the spiralling cost of
living – these are the result of political choices.
And ordinary people, including a locked-out generation – are paying the
We want to send a message to all those people today, to all those
hard-pressed people: Sinn Féin activists are ingrained in our
communities, rural and urban, working with people on the ground. Sinn
Féin is on your side, and we have your back.
Wolfe Tone’s vision is our vision.
It is a path we are walking – with growing strength, growing numbers,
and growing momentum. A united Ireland is within reach.
A new and better future is visible.
Let us move forward with courage and with confidence.
Ar aghaidh linn le chéile – for unity, for equality, for the united,
sovereign and free Irish Republic.
Go raibh mÃle máith agaibh.