Mary Lou McDonald: Way to peaceful united Ireland was closed to us before

Speaking as she joined other political leaders in Dublin in paying tribute to the members of the inaugural 1919 Dail on Monday, she was applauded by her predecessor Gerry Adams and others when she spoke of the need for a new push for Irish unity.

On Saturday, she had spoken at Soloheadbeg in Co Tipperary, marking what is widely believed to have been the first act of the Irish 1919-1921 War of Independence at which she condemned the Irish “political establishment” for ignoring or failing to understand the reasons for the 1919 uprising.

Ms McDonald, who now leads a party which is the third-largest bloc in the Dail and the narrow second-biggest bloc in the Stormont Assembly, said: “We have before us the opportunity to build a new united Ireland in which all can find a home...

“A free and sovereign nation amongst the nations of the world.”

She added: “Let’s not wait another 100 years. Let the government convene an all-Ireland forum to build for unity, to plan for unity, because we now have a peaceful and democratic pathway to a new and united Ireland – an opportunity that was not afforded to the first Dail or to generations since. And I believe, cheann choimhairle, that now is the time to start the last leg of the journey.”

She was followed by the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin, who said that, in order not to split the 1918 general election vote, Labour had not stood – paving the way for the SF landslide.

He said “with the achievement of a democratic and independent Irish parliament, Labour rejected the path of violent nationalism.”