SPEAKING in Limerick on Monday, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said “everything” will be up for discussion in order to reach agreement on a potential United Ireland, including concessions to Unionists over the Irish flag and national anthem.
Ms McDonald was asked by the Limerick Post for her reaction to new research which showed many voters in the Republic were unwilling to make concessions to Unionists to accommodate them in a potential united Ireland.
Almost half of all voters said that changes to the anthem and flag would make them less likely to vote for a united Ireland in a referendum in the Republic, according to an Ipsos opinion poll published on Monday.
Ms McDonald initially responded that “the data also shows that the issue of health and economic well-being far outplay any of the legitimate issues around flags or anthems. I think we need to be careful here not always to reach for the old reliables of flag and anthem.”
Amhrán na bhFiann (The Soldier’s Song), the Irish national anthem, was composed in 1907 by Peader Kearney, a grand uncle of the late former three time Mayor of Limerick Jack Bourke.
When pressed further, in the context of the tricolour and national anthem, the Sinn Féin leader replied that, while her preference was for the status quo to remain, “every single thing will be discussed”.
“Of course we need to talk about those things, but people are very sensible and they know in their day-to-day lives that healthcare and health provision, economic well-being, economic opportunities – that’s really where it is at,” Ms McDonald continued.
“Above all else, I think it is now perfectly clear that we need to start the planning for a united Ireland, start the conversation, and engage people.”
“People have lots to say, people have lots of ideas on all of these issues but it has being my personal experience for a long time that when people come to talk to Sinn Fein about reunification, north and south, the number one issue that is raised is health,” she said.
She said concentrating the conversation on the Irish flag and national anthem was “the wrong way to come at the future” because it highlights “that someone wins, someone loses, someone advances, someone concedes”.
“I don’t think that’s how the conversation is going to happen at all, because I think it is in everybody’s interests that we have a properly resourced, accessible health service … that’s the issue.”
“We need to start talking about how do we organise the services that we all rely on, how do we build the best opportunities for all of us – it’s a moment of huge excitement, and I really don’t think we should start from the position of winners and losers.”
