Mary Lou McDonald vows Sinn Féin will ‘absolutely’ put out proposals on what a United Ireland would look like

Exclusive: In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Mirror, the Sinn Féin leader said she doesn’t regret saying there will be a border poll by 2030.Mary Lou McDonald TD in her office at Leinster House, Dublin. Photo SAM BOAL/Collins Photos(Image: SAM BOAL/COLLINS)

Sinn Féin will “absolutely” put out policy proposals on what a United Ireland would ideally look like for the party, Mary Lou McDonald has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Mirror, the Sinn Féin leader said she doesn’t regret saying there will be a border poll by 2030. This is despite Taoiseach Micheál Martin being adamant that the island is not close to the position of holding a referendum on Irish unity this decade.

As 2025 draws to a close and Ms McDonald’s deadline is just four years away, the leader said there are still many questions about how a United Ireland would work that need to be looked at. She did not detail what would be a red line for the party, such as changing the Irish flag, the need for the Irish language to be taught in Northern schools, or having Unionist MPs in the Dáil.

The Dublin Central TD said “all of those questions” need to be looked at, adding: “We need to look at the issues of governance. We need to look at the issues around Stormont itself. Does it stay? Does it go? Do we have it just as an intermediate, short-term measure?”

Ms McDonald said her party would “absolutely” draft policy proposals on these issues in the future on what an ideal United Ireland would look like for the party, but didn’t give a timeline for this. She said: “Of course we will, we will absolutely do that. But we will also acknowledge that it is not just for us to determine those things. This isn’t simply a Sinn Féin project.

“This is an Irish project, and I think every Irish political party, every Irish citizen, needs to have a view, because it’s everybody’s future. You know that we are all in this together. So of course, we will bring forward our ideas, our proposals. But you know what? We’ll also listen to the ideas and proposals of other people, because we want to hear that as well.”

The Sinn Féin leader said the Taoiseach is “not credible” if he continues to “bury his head in the sand” on preparing for a border poll. She said: “Despite what they might say, look at all of the evidence beyond Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, all of the pronouncements that are being made.

Mary Lou McDonald TD on the plinth at Leinster House, Dublin ahead of an interview with the Irish Mirror. Photo SAM BOAL/Collins Photos(Image: SAM BOAL/COLLINS)

“Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has conceded that the time has moved on, and that we need to start preparing for these referendums. The demographics have changed all across the island.

“You have this huge opportunity to actually manage this thing well and to start getting things right on our island, and Micheál Martin and Simon Harris, if they are at all responsible, have to start the work of preparation. They’re not going to get away with saying, no, no, no, nay, never forever.”

Asked if she believes four years is enough time to get Unionists on board, Ms McDonald said: “Unionists will argue for the union and the status quo, so nobody should be surprised by that, they are free to make that argument. But you can’t advance that as a reason not to make the preparations that are necessary, there are going to be referendums. Not because I say so, but because the Good Friday Agreement says so.”

She said a “responsible Government” would set about work of producing a green paper on a United Ireland, and unionism needs to be part of that conversation, adding: “They will bring their own ideas, and that’s fine, but no section of the population can stand in the way of the common want.”

The Sinn Féin leader said there was excitement about the prospect of a Government without Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael before the last general election. When this didn’t transpire, she said there was “a bit of cynicism and apathy”, especially among young people.

The lesson Ms McDonald has taken after the general election is that the party “has to have some sense of what the alternative might be, and who the alternative might be.” She added: “So I think we learned that and I take that one on the chin 100%.

Mary Lou McDonald TD in her office at Leinster House, Dublin, speaking to Irish Mirror Political Correspondent Ciara O’Loughlin. Photo SAM BOAL/Collins Photos(Image: SAM BOAL/COLLINS)

“I think in fairness, we have worked to turn that around and to really consciously develop those relationships with other parties, mindful of the fact that we are not all the same. We’re a much bigger party and we don’t agree on every single issue.”

Ms McDonald believes that Catherine Connolly’s resounding win in the presidential election has shown that Sinn Féin and the smaller parties can unite, with a left-leaning Government closer than ever. But even after the landslide win, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said her party would not go into Government with “any of the three biggest parties”.

On how she could get parties like Labour on board, the Sinn Féin leader said: “I think we’ve actually demonstrated that, we’ve been doing that, and it’s been done more so in this Dáil term than ever before.”

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.