SINN FÉIN Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD and Deputy Leader Michelle O’Neill MLA are travelling to New York and Washington this week.
During the trip they will brief members of the US Administration and senior political leaders on Capitol Hill, and Mary Lou McDonald will address the US Council for Foreign Relations in New York and an Irish unity event in Fordham University.
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD said:
"Michelle O’Neill and I are travelling to the US to attend events hosted by President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, the Congressional Friends of Ireland, and Irish American civic leaders.
"It is now less than two months to the forthcoming Assembly elections and the DUP’s continued blocking of meetings of the Executive, boycotting of the North-South Ministerial Council and refusal to countenance serving alongside a republican First Minister."
She said the approach of the DUP has "been spurred on by the British government of Boris Johnson," and referenced the government not honouring an agreement to implement the Irish Language Act and the pursuance of "unconditional amnesty which is opposed by all-except their own military."
"Our message in the US will be clear," she continue. "Now is the time to assert the primacy of politics and democracy, implement agreements, and commit to abide by conventional democratic norms. That holds true for the Good Friday Agreement, for the Brexit Protocol, for reconciling our past, and for the discussions on our future constitutional future now underway."
"As we discuss the outworking of the Irish peace process we are mindful that the people of Ukraine are fighting for the very survival of their country. It was unthinkable that conflict would return to Europe. Then it happened. We cannot and must not take peace and stability for granted. Its preserve is paramount."
During the visit to New York, the Sinn Féin President will address the US Council for Foreign Relations and both leaders will address an event at Fordham University on ‘Irish Unity in Our Time’.
The Sinn Féin leaders will also meet with Irish American community organisations in New York before traveling to Washington to meet with Congressional leaders and members of the Biden Administration.
The leaders will also attend an number of events to mark St Patrick’s Day and celebrate the contribution of Irish Americans to both the United States and Ireland.
