St Patrick’s Day has passed and a weekend full of celebrations marked the occasion for Cardiff Students: Bingo Lingo, Chepstow Races and £2.50 pints of Guinness at Misfits.
But for Northern Ireland’s newly appointed First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, the day was politically important. They were visiting President Biden in Washington DC, marking their first outing together on the international stage since power-sharing was restored in Northern Ireland.
From the late 1960s to the late 1990s, violent conflict broke out in Northern Ireland and in various parts of the British Isles in what is known as The Troubles, in which Irish Republicans (those who believed Northern Ireland should be part of Ireland) and Protestant Unionists (those who believed Northern Ireland belonged in the United Kingdom) fought over Northern Ireland’s place in the two countries. This led to the introduction of consociationalism to government in Northern Ireland, a form of government that involves a power-sharing agreement between all parties, in a bid to end the violence. This is why the First Minister and Deputy are from different parties. O’Neill from Sinn Féin and Little-Pengelly from the DUP. Through the agreement, if one party chooses not to be part of the government, then the government collapses until a new power-sharing agreement is reached.
The agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin, the two largest parties in Northern Ireland, broke down in 2020 when the DUP protested the changing trading relationship between Great Britain and Northern Ireland because of Brexit. Furthermore, in the 2022 Northern Irish Assembly elections, Sinn Féin won the most seats, marking the first time the biggest party in Northern Ireland was nationalist. This was significant, but the DUP still refused to restore power-sharing meaning Michelle O’Neill had to wait until February 2024 to become the first nationalist First Minister in Northern Ireland. This was when the DUP agreed to return to power, having reached a new agreement with Westminster about Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom called ‘Safeguarding the Union’.
When the Assembly met again at Stormont in February, the new First Minister heralded it as a “historic day” which represented “a new dawn”. A few days later, Sinn Féin leader said to Sky News that Irish unification was within “touching distances” and that there could be an Irish unification referendum by 2030.
This was the backdrop of the pairs’ visit to the White House, where they met the President for a “supportive” conversation for fifteen minutes.
The visit showed how politics in Northern Ireland is changing. Just five years ago, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou Mc- Donald posed in New York with an “England get out of Ireland” banner. All leaders heralded the meeting as positive, with leaders discussing Northern Ireland’s relationship with the United States and potential American investment. The BBC reported that they brought a feel-good factor to Washington DC and managed to “upstage the President in his own home”. The visit marked a new era for Northern Irish politics, after years of hiatus, Stormont is back.