Border poll is a threat to no one, Mary Lou McDonald tells main Belfast 1916 Rising commemoration

‘We must always reaffirm our opposition to sectarianism in all its forms, our commitment to equality and parity of esteem and our respect for people’s chosen identity whether Irish or British’ – Mary Lou McDonald

THE BITTERLY COLD DAY did not deter Belfast republicans from making the main Belfast Easter Rising Commemoration parade on Sunday 31 March one of the biggest seen on the Falls Road in years.

In the week prior to Easter Sunday, days that saw sub-zero temperatures and winds that would skin you alive as well as the snow that refused to melt, republicans were apprehensive.

But we needn’t have worried as with true Belfast republican doggedness thousands came onto the streets to both march and support the National Graves Association parade as they lined the road along the route to Milltown Cemetery.

Parents with babies, teenagers in their finery, and the older people – who remembered the days when they had to literally fight the RUC and unionist governments to assert their right to honour Ireland’s dead – all defied the weather to make their own statement of defiance.

And defiance it was, given the anti-republican onslaught we’ve faced recent months.

According to DUP leader Peter Robinson, republicans are in chaos and on the defensive. Easter Sunday told its own story.

In her address at the Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetery, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald TD told the crowd that Sinn Féin’s call for a Border poll is a logical step in the campaign to end partition by peaceful mean and to build a new democracy. She said a Border poll is a threat to no one. She went on to say:

“The Peace Process and the republican peace strategy have helped to transform our country. They have opened up new possibilities and unlocked the huge potential of our island and its people.

“They are the essential starting point for the next phase of struggle – the move towards a united Ireland, a new Republic.

“We fully recognise that the majority within the unionist community do not share this aim, that many fear such a future and believe their identity will be subsumed and they will become a discriminated-against minority on this island. Words alone from us will not convince them otherwise. That said, we must always reaffirm our opposition to sectarianism in all its forms, our commitment to equality and parity of esteem and our respect for people’s chosen identity whether Irish or British.

“We must above all seek to convince by our actions and Sinn Féin has been involved for some considerable time now in a long-term process of dialogue and engagement with people from the unionist community. That must and will continue.

“Because we believe that a united Ireland is essential, and because we recognise that the agreement of a significant section of unionists is required, we are calling for a Border poll. This is a provision of the Good Friday Agreement which was concluded in this city 15 years ago.

“Such a poll is a threat to no one. It is a logical step and by making this call we are demonstrating our firm resolve to end partition peacefully and to build a new democracy.”

See more pictures »

See more pictures »