Martin insults northerners on eve of election

Mary Lou McDonald has accused Micheál Martin of being ‘delusional and disrespectful’ to northern nationalists after an outburst he made on the eve of last Friday’s general election.

The Fianna Fáil leader was asked about the legacy of the conflict and whether it affected his view of Sinn Féin; Martin claimed Sinn Féin “triumphalise” the conflict and described it as a “war of the Provisional IRA… on its own people.”

Speaking on The Hard Shoulder podcast, Deputy McDonald described the commentary as “absolutely astonishing” from the leader of the party that, in the past, played a major role in the peace process.

She said “in fairness to [former Fianna Fáil leaders] Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds and others [the Fianna Fáil party] was very constructive in terms of the North of Ireland and always recognising and acknowledging the experience of northern nationalists trapped in a sectarian State after partition.

“Micheál Martin, it seems doesn’t believe that happened; absolutely remarkable and it’s commentary that I’m sure will upset and anger many people - especially northern nationalists.”

Deputy McDonald said the outgoing Tánaiste was ‘denying reality’ and that the recent conflict began because of the “systemic discrimination” experienced by Catholic nationalists under the unionist-dominated state.

“As somebody who wishes to be Taoiseach, to hear anybody make commentary as delusional and, frankly, as disrespectful to northern nationalists as that - it was jaw dropping,” she said.

Martin’s comments infuriated many nationalists on social media - s ome condemned it as revisionism by someone who “hates his Irish past”, while others accused him of retraumatising families “just so he can sling dirt on the eve of an election”.

Former Sinn Fein MEP Martin Anderson pointed to the atrocities carried out against the nationalist population before the Provisional IRA ever entered the conflict. She said that people in the North had been “abandoned” by the outgoing coalition parties that have “managed partition” for over a century.

Martin’s surprise return to a reactionary stance came as political parties on the left were strengthening their position on Irish unity. In particular, Sinn Fein had been emphasising their republican credentials in the days before the election, with former president Gerry Adams describing Sinn Féin as “the only relevant all-Ireland party”.

The leader of Fine Gael Simon Harris also emphasised his weaker stance on unity ahead of the election. He said his party’s aspiration was for there to be a united Ireland, but it is not a priority for him.

But the outgoing Taoiseach also said it is “entirely possible” that there will be a united Ireland in his lifetime but that he’s “not yet ready to put deadlines on these things”.

As Sinn Fein’s new team of TDs gathered at Leinster House on Wednesday, Ms McDonald was asked by reporters if the election result was a setback for their Irish unity project.

“No, far from it,” replied Ms McDonald.

“As a matter of fact, it was interesting during the election campaign the number of parties that set out actually very ambitious targets and ideas around reunification, the democratic conversation. So, far from it. I think it’s still very much game on.”

Urgent Appeal