MICHELLE O’Neill has defended John Swinney amid attacks from “political Unionism” after he said people should “move on” from Sinn Fein’s historic association with the IRA.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister said she was “not surprised” her Scottish counterpart had come in for criticism over the comments.
Speaking to The National in Stormont, O’Neill said: “I think he was reflecting that we’re 28 years into the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process.
“I lead this party here in the Assembly and the whole of my adult life has been about the Good Friday Agreement, embedding peace, ensuring that we’re building for a brighter and more prosperous future here for people.
“I don’t think that anybody here would be surprised that political Unionism chooses to latch onto something like this as an opportunity to try and attack and to encourage people to look back when the rest of us are trying to look forwards.”
She said that her Unionist critics in the Northern Irish Assembly, including those in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) with whom Sinn Fein share power, were “apprehensive” after election results which put nationalist politicians in power across the UK.
O’Neill, who is Northern Ireland’s first nationalist First Minister, added: “My eyes are focused on the future I think that everybody recognises that we’ve had a very difficult and complex past but in 2026, 28 years into the Good Friday Agreement, people should be planning for the future and not looking backwards.
“I think, unfortunately, political Unionism use every opportunity they can in which to try attack. I think they’re maybe apprehensive is a polite way of describing how they feel about this new development and the recent election results.
“But that doesn’t deter me because what I want is a positive and hopeful future for everybody that lives here and calls this place their home.”
The Sinn Fein politician had earlier in the day laid down a challenge to the DUP to back her plan to end the veto powers for nationalist and Unionist parties, which have resulted in the collapse of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to The Herald earlier this week, Swinney sparked controversy when he insisted that “people have got to move on” from Sinn Fein’s historic links with the Irish Republican Army.
The backlash to Swinney’s comments was met with raised eyebrows by some in Sinn Fein, who pointed out that DUP leader Gavin Robinson had told families whose relatives were killed on Bloody Sunday to “move on” in January.
Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said at the time: “The contemptuous and frankly insulting remarks earlier by the DUP leader on yet another painful and difficult day for the Bloody Sunday families were appalling.”
