{"id":664422,"date":"2026-08-31T01:05:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/664422\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T01:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:05:20","slug":"sinn-fein-not-walking-away-from-stormont-michelle-oneill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/664422\/","title":{"rendered":"Sinn F\u00e9in not walking away from Stormont \u2013 Michelle O\u2019Neill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sinn F\u00e9in is \u201cnot walking away\u201d from Stormont and will not be \u201cdeterred\u201d despite the \u201cobstruction\u201d and the \u201canti-Irish sectarianism\u201d from other Executive parties, the First Minister said.<\/p>\n

Michelle O\u2019Neill described the \u201cchallenges\u201d of being in Government with people who are \u201cfundamentally opposed\u201d to power-sharing and to \u201crights and to equality\u201d.<\/p>\n

The comments come following speculation around the stability of the devolved institutions following comments by Sinn F\u00e9in senator Conor\u00a0 Murphy\u00a0at the end of July that powersharing was in a \u201cprecarious place\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also stated that the DUP \u201cdon\u2019t have the political will to make it work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n We are also very clear – the only way to fully deliver rights, equality, respect and inclusion is through a new and a united Ireland<\/p>\n

Michelle O’Neill\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Addressing a national hunger strike commemoration in Ballina, Co Mayo, on Sunday, O\u2019Neill said: \u201cSinn F\u00e9in is not walking away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking away would mean handing control of our public services over to British Government ministers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be disastrous and Sinn F\u00e9in is not going to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, despite the challenges of being in an Executive with people who are fundamentally opposed to power-sharing, to rights and to equality, Sinn F\u00e9in will continue to do all we can to move forward, to overcome the obstruction and deliver for people in the here and now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also very clear \u2013 the only way to fully deliver rights, equality, respect and inclusion is through a new and a united Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery sectarian, partisan or divisive action taken by the DUP, calculated to provoke and annoy, actually becomes another argument for Irish unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Andy Burnham meets with First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill in Belfast (Cathal McNaughton\/PA)<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill was also critical of recent comments by Andy Burnham after he stated that an Irish border poll is \u201coff the table\u201d.<\/p>\n

During his visit to Belfast last week, Burnham said he is \u201chere to listen\u201d but added that the \u201crifts\u201d arising from referendums \u201ctake a long time to heal\u201d, referring to Brexit and the Scottish independence referendum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent comments of the new British Prime Minister that a border poll is off the table were divisive, arrogant and ill-informed,\u201d the Sinn F\u00e9in deputy leader added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right to a referendum on Irish unity is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/p>\n

Ireland<\/p>\n

Car found burnt out is linked to hit-and-run incident<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA unity referendum is not a concession to be gifted to the people of Ireland by any English politician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the Secretary of State can decide to hold a border poll and it also places a duty on the office holder to call one if it appears likely a majority would vote for Irish unification.<\/p>\n

The people of the Republic of\u00a0Ireland\u00a0must also vote in favour to affect constitutional change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sinn F\u00e9in is \u201cnot walking away\u201d from Stormont and will not be \u201cdeterred\u201d despite the \u201cobstruction\u201d and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664423,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-664422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117187441282484856","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}