Claims by 26-County President Mary McAleese during a visit to an Orange Hall in County Cavan that it is possible to be both Irish and British are nonsensical, a spokesperson for Republican Sinn Féin has said.
Claims by 26-County President Mary McAleese during a visit to an Orange Hall in County Cavan that it is possible to be both Irish and British are nonsensical, a spokesperson for Republican Sinn Féin has said.
“It is not possible for someone to give their allegiance both to Ireland and to Britain. Britain represents the denial of Ireland's rights. Orangemen should instead be encouraged to recognise that they are exclusively Irish, and to work for the benefit of the Irish Nation rather than adhering to narrow sectarian Orange ideology.
“To suggest that Unionists are anything other than Irish amounts to a tacit acceptance of Thatcherite claims that the Six Occupied Counties are 'as British as Finchley'.”
ENDS