Sinn Fein defends boycott of US visit for St Patrick’s Day events amid criticism

Sinn Fein has defended its decision to boycott Washington DC for St Patrick’s Day amid criticism from political opponents across the island of Ireland.

The party’s leadership, which normally travels to the US to mark the occasion every year, said it would not participate as part of “a principled stance against the threat of mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza”.

Sinn Fein’s president Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, the party’s vice president, made the announcement on Friday.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump suggested Israel would turn Gaza over to the US for redevelopment into the “Riviera of the Middle East”- involving a mass displacement of Palestinians from the territory.

The proposals were widely condemned and later comments from the administration sought to suggest the displacement would be voluntary and temporary.

Speaking on Friday, Ms McDonald said: “I followed with growing concern what’s happening on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank and, like many other Irish people, have listened in horror to calls from the president of the United States for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and the permanent seizure of Palestinian lands.”

She added: “I’ve made the decision not to attend the event in the White House this year as a principled stance against the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza, something which I believe demands serious dissent and objection.”

Ms O’Neill said she recognises the positive impact that the US has had on the island of Ireland, including the Northern Ireland peace process.

However, she said she was standing “on the side of humanity” by not travelling to the White House.

Speaking at the press conference in Dublin, the First Minister said: “We are all heartbroken whenever we witness the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the recent comments by the US president around the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza is just simply something that I cannot ignore.”

A senior representative of Ireland’s Government has said the boycott will not “help anybody in Palestine” while the DUP branded the boycott as “reckless”.

Irish premier Micheal Martin has yet to receive a formal invitation to a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump at the White House, but the Taoiseach has said he expects the meeting to go ahead.

Ms McDonald insisted that the party was not making any call for the Taoiseach not to attend a bilateral with Mr Trump, instead saying it was important that he uses the opportunity to speak for the people of Ireland and reflect their support for Palestinians.

She said it would be “unforgivable” if Mr Martin did not ask the US president to withdraw his remarks about Gaza.

Ms McDonald added: “I would ask him to reflect the true spirit of Irish people at home and abroad, for justice, for fairness, for freedom, and to articulate that in the clearest possible terms.”

She later said that if she had been elected taoiseach, she would have taken the opportunity to go to the White House.

However, Mr Martin accused Sinn Fein of “engaging in politics” over its boycott.

He said there was a need to continue engagement with the US administration to protect jobs in Ireland as well as trade between the two countries, adding: “It is very important because, first of all, the economic relationship between Europe and the US and between Ireland and the US is an extremely important one, very robust one.”

The Taoiseach said it was also important to keep engagement with the US to offer Ireland’s perspective on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Mr Martin said: “We need a consolidation of the ceasefire, we need a massive surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and we need to create a political pathway to a two-state solution.”

Ms McDonald rejected assertions that her party’s stance would undermine Ireland’s efforts to protect its economic interests in the face of potential new US tariff and tax policies.

She said the party was aware that “Irish jobs and Irish interests need to be protected” but added that Irish political leaders need to state “firm opposition” to the policy of the US administration.

Sinn Fein was also challenged on how it believed it was right for the Taoiseach, as Ireland’s head of government, to go to the White House while Ms O’Neill, as joint leader of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, should boycott the St Patrick’s Day events.

It highlighted that the Taoiseach’s engagement with Mr Trump was “distinct” and “unique”, as he would have a bilateral political meeting with the president – something the Stormont First Minister would not have.

“The Taoiseach is uniquely placed in this scenario,” said Ms O’Neill.

“He will have an opportunity to sit down with the president of the United States and to make his views known.

“So I think that it is right, as Mary Lou has said, it is absolutely right that the Taoiseach goes and he doesn’t miss that opportunity.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the decision “speaks volumes” about where Northern Ireland sits on Sinn Fein’s list of priorities.

Mr Robinson questioned how Ms O’Neill’s decision to stay away from the US capital matched with her oft-repeated pledge to be a “first minister for all”.

He said the party would be represented in Washington DC in March.

Mr Robinson added: “The United States is a key economic partner for Northern Ireland.

“Turning away from that relationship, particularly at a time when we need continued international support, is a reckless move that does nothing to advance the interests of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.”

The boycott comes in stark contrast to last year when Ms O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the DUP, were lauded in Washington as they travelled together to attend St Patrick’s Day events only weeks after the powersharing institutions at Stormont were restored.

Ms O’Neill said she had informed Ms Little-Pengelly of her decision before the announcement.

She said: “I will respect Emma’s view, and she will have to decide and speak for herself in terms of what action she might take and whether or not she will attend the White House.”

The Sinn Fein press conference coincided with a social media post announcing the party’s position.

In response, Irish deputy premier Simon Harris said that posting a video on X “does not help anybody in Palestine”.

He told reporters: “It’s always easier to just not show up, isn’t it?

“What’s actually much more productive is to show up, work hard, and actually engage with people on complex and important issues.”