Sinn Fein relationship with Irish America not damaged by boycott, says McDonald

Sinn Fein’s relationship with Irish America has not been damaged by its St Patrick’s boycott of the White House, Mary Lou McDonald has insisted.

The party president said Sinn Fein’s connections in the US were “deep and enduring”, claiming its “friends in the United States understand why we took this decision”.

Ms McDonald also commented on the visit of mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor to the Oval Office to meet President Donald Trump on St Patrick’s Day on Monday.

The Sinn Fein president said she was “disappointed” that the president did not appear aware that Ireland’s greatest fighter is actually two-weight world champion boxer Katie Taylor.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has since branded the boycott a “big mistake”.

Particularly referencing the absence of Sinn Fein’s Stormont First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Mr Martin said the decision was “not in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland”, pointing out that “huge efforts” were made in the US at the beginning of the peace process to facilitate Sinn Fein.

The SDLP and Alliance Party also stayed away from the White House last week.

Mr Trump said he had not heard about the boycotts when he was asked about the issue during his bilateral engagement with Mr Martin in the Oval Office last week.

The president told reporters: “I haven’t heard that, I really haven’t heard that.”

Ms McDonald was asked about the party’s decision as she spoke to the media at Stormont in Belfast on Friday.

“The relationships that Ireland has and that Sinn Fein has with the United States are a long, long time in the making,” she said.

“They’re very deep and enduring relationships, and I believe that the contact, that those relationships will continue to grow.

“The decision not to go to DC this year was a decision not taken lightly. We felt and feel, given the situation in Palestine and Gaza in particular, that we had to take a stand, and that is what we have done. We’ve been, I think, very upfront about that. We also have been very clear that the relationship with the United States remains a very important one, and that we need to use every lever that we can to encourage the United States to walk a path of peace, of reconciliation and of peace building in the Middle East, the same approach that we have benefited from here In Ireland.

“And I want to recognise again, the contribution of successive US administrations in forming, in nurturing and in the development of the peace process here.

“There are moments in life where you take a decision and you make a stand, and it was such a moment for us. I know that our friends in the United States understand why we took this decision, and I also know that we will continue to work constructively with everybody.

“But anyone who has watched now since the St Patrick’s Day events in the Oval Office, events as they have unfolded in Gaza and also on the West Bank, can be in no doubt that a stance has to be taken as regards Israeli impunity, international law has to be respected, decency and fairness and human rights need to be re-established, and we think the United States can have a really constructive role in that.

“But, for that to happen, they need to stop arming Israeli aggression, and they need to move towards an insistence on compliance with the law.”

His remarks came months after McGregor was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape.

Days after Mr Trump’s comments, the Dublin-born fighter was welcomed into the Oval Office by the president on St Patrick’s Day itself, March 17.

Ms McDonald was asked about McGregor’s appearance at the White House as she spoke to reporters in Parliament Buildings on Friday.

“Well, look, I thought it was astonishing that there was any confusion as to who Ireland’s greatest fighter is, because it’s clearly Katie Taylor,” she replied.

“I think everybody’s jaw dropped and said ‘what are you talking about?’. We know that it is this incredible woman from Bray, County Wicklow, who carries the flag for Irish people everywhere, and whose bravery and prowess and athleticism and physical courage is unmatched by anybody.

“I was kind of disappointed that President Trump hadn’t realised that. But sure as he takes a greater interest in Irish affairs he’ll learn that.

“In fact, she’s fighting in Madison Square (against Amanda Serrano), isn’t she, in July. I think she’s the first woman to sell out a fight there, to lead the card there. So, we’re immensely proud of her.”

The Sinn Fein leader added: “Look, it’s up to the occupant of the White House who they invite. We’re not going to get het up about that. I will say this as an Irish woman, that Irish men are decent and kind. They make great brothers and fathers and husbands and partners, and I know that any kind of negative portrayal of our men or our boys is something that we do not welcome.

“We want Irish people to be portrayed in the most positive way, in the most healthy way, because we’re a young, dynamic country, and we’re very proud of our men and our boys, and certainly we want them to be represented by very, very positive, positive role models. I’m saying that as much as a mother, maybe more as a mother than in any other respect.

“I will leave it to others to judge who those positive, healthy role models would be.”