New Irish unity march due to take place this Saturday

THE people of Tyrone and Donegal are being urged to take part in the most recent, ‘Walk for Irish Unity,’ due to take place this weekend.

Starting at the Diamond in Lifford on Saturday and finishing at the Tinnies in Strabane, the event is the second such walk to take place in recent years.

What is believed to have been the first unity walk took place in 2019, organised by the Yes For Unity Movement. But just this week, former deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill was reported as saying that nationalists “are closer than we ever have been” to a united Ireland. She said that if Brexit “has taught us anything”, it’s that the British Government does not prioritise people in Northern Ireland, “whether you be unionist, nationalist, or other”.

Saturday’s gathering is Sinn Féin-led and local councillor Michaela Boyle is calling on the public to come along and their show support for an end to partition.

“This event is part of our ongoing campaign to secure and win a referendum on Irish unification as provided for in the Good Friday Agreement,” she remarked. “The demand for reunification is growing every single day. It has always made economic and logistical sense but Brexit, British Government cuts and their shambolic handling of the pandemic has led to more and more people looking to a better future within a new Ireland.

“Events like the Walk for Unity are an opportunity to demonstrate the demand for reunification that now exists. We are asking people to assemble at the Diamond, Lifford at 11am and the walk will finish at the Tinnies in Strabane.”

She concluded, “There will be similar walks taking place right across Ireland so we would call on as many people as possible to come along and join us.”

2019’s ‘March for Unity’ saw upwards of 1,500 people walk from the Diamond in Lifford to Abercorn Square in Strabane where a number of speakers addressed the crowd on the need to plan for a new, united Ireland.

One of those speakers was Yes for Unity spokesperson, Michael McLaughlin. This week, ahead of the next gathering he stated, “Any and all events that promote the concept of ending partition and uniting the people of Ireland must be welcomed.

“Autumn 2022 will see the release of data by NISRA from the 2021 census specifically dealing with ethnicity, religion and national identity. This data contains evidence of a majority from the traditionally nationalist demographic, especially in the younger age cohorts. We hope this census data is another trigger for beginning the process of setting a date for an Irish unity referendum. An Irish unity referendum transcends party political affiliations. A Border Poll must be confronted with a broad front of all the progressive forces in society. Irish unity must belong to every person; it must be for the many not the few.”