Brexit would leave North of Ireland tied closer to Tory England

THE TAOISEACH will be speaking in Belfast on Monday against Brexit at a conference on the EU referendum, the Irish Government has revealed after a call by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams for Enda Kenny to campaign in the North as well as among Irish citizens in Britain.

An Irish Government spokesperson added that further plans were “being considered” ahead of voting on 23 June.

Earlier, speaking at a meeting of the Sinn Féin leadership at its monthly Ard Chomhairle meeting in Dublin on Saturday, deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald and Martina Anderson MEP reaffirmed Sinn Féin’s “critical engagement” with the EU.

They said the party was opposing a Brexit that is being driven by “Tory reactionaries”, UKIP and right-wing newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Express and which would copper-fasten partition.

A Brexit, Mary Lou tweeted, would leave “the North of Ireland on the outside [of the EU but] tied closer to Tory Britain”.

Derry-based Irish MEP Martina Anderson replied to Fianna Fáil TD and Health spokesperson Billy Kelleher on Twitter:

“SF puts Ireland first – always – and critically engages with Europe.

“We want EU reform,” MEP Martina Anderson insisted. “We want a social Europe, a more democratic Europe and a better Europe.”

At the Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle, Gerry Adams urged Irish citizens eligible to vote in the EU referendum to “Put Ireland first.” 

The Sinn Féin leader said:

“This referendum is nothing to do with changing the EU and is rather all about the British Tory Party seeking to erode human and workers’ rights.

“The North being pulled out of the EU is bad for all Ireland. 

“There are enough difficulties created by partition. Sinn Féin wants an end to British Government involvement in Irish affairs. Britain’s involvement in Ireland has had a lasting and damaging impact on our economies and on our communities.

“Sinn Féin are for an all-Ireland approach to the EU. We are for a social and prosperous EU, one that respects the rights of citizens and nations. That is why we are calling for the people in the North to vote to remain in Europe.”

The TD for Louth and former MP for West Belfast added:

“If the British vote to leave the EU there would then be a democratic imperative for an immediate Border poll to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote for an end to partition and for an all-Ireland approach to the EU.”