Sinn Féin won’t travel to US for St Patrick’s Day, McDonald confirms

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has confirmed that the party will not be travelling to the United States for Saint Patrick’s Day.

Controversy engulfed the party last year after the party travelled to the United States for fundraising purposes, a decision which was fiercely criticised among the Irish left.

McDonald confirmed that the party will not be making the trip this year over war in Gaza.

She said the decision is a “principled stance against the threat of mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza”.

“Like many other Irish people, I’ve listened in horror to calls from the President of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people in their homes and the seizure of their home.”

“Such an approach is a fundamental breach of international law,” she said.

McDonald acknowledged there are “historic” ties between Ireland and the United States, and more specifically, ties between Sinn Féin and the United States.

“These relationships are valued and enduring,” she noted, citing their role in brokering the Good Friday Agreement.

“St Patrick’s Day each year is an important moment,” and said it was a chance to reinforce the historic ties between Ireland and the United States.

“There is also an onus on us to speak honestly, and to act when we believe a US administration is wrong, catastrophically wrong in the case of Palestine.”

The Dublin Central TD said she would not attend the White House event this year, saying that the Trump administration’s stance on Gaza “demands serious dissent and objection.”

“The only route to peace and security is a permanent ceasefire, followed by a negotiated peace for both Palestinians and Israelis, through a just and sustainable two-state solution, that should be the position of the United States.”

She said that the party would continue to engage with Sinn Féin’s historic roots in the US, such as Friends Of Sinn Féin.

McDonald then threw down the gauntlet to Taoiseach Micheál Martin to “speak on behalf of Ireland” when he meets with President Trump.

“He must use this opportunity to reflect the view of the Irish people in relation to Palestine, and to reject threats of mass expulsion,” she said.