Donegal councillor hits out at calls to put Irish unity referendum off the table

Donegal County Councillor Jack Murray has criticised comments from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that a referendum on Irish unity is “off the table”, arguing that no government in Dublin or London has the right to close down the democratic pathway established under the Good Friday Agreement.

The comments come amid renewed debate around the prospect of a future referendum on Irish unity, following remarks from Taoiseach Micheál Martin in which he said discussion of a Border poll makes him “go bananas”.

The South Inishowen representative said the positions taken by both leaders were disappointing and argued that they risk placing them closer to the position traditionally held by unionist and loyalist voices than to those seeking to prepare for the possibility of constitutional change.

The Good Friday Agreement established a fundamental principle that the people of the island of Ireland have the right to determine their constitutional future peacefully, democratically and with consent, the Sinn Féin councillor said

“No Taoiseach, British Prime Minister or government in Dublin or London has the right to shut down that democratic pathway.”

Councillor Murray stressed that calling for preparations for a unity referendum does not mean demanding that a vote take place immediately.

Instead, he said the Government should begin a structured and respectful conversation about what constitutional change could look like, including listening to concerns across all communities.

He pointed to previous Sinn Féin proposals in the Dáil calling for preparations to begin for the possibility of constitutional change, including discussions about what a new Ireland might look like. However, the proposal was voted down by the Government.

The Buncrana representative argued that the debate is already taking place within communities and households across Ireland and said changing attitudes in the North make it increasingly important that the conversation is approached seriously.

“Opinion in the North is changing, and support for unity has grown. So, surely the responsible approach is to allow that discussion to take place in a mature, respectful but organised and structured way.”

He also emphasised that any future debate on constitutional change must respect people of all political and constitutional viewpoints.

“As an Irish republican, I want to help build a new Ireland that brings all our people together in harmony and mutual respect — unionist, nationalist, republican or neither; British, Irish or both.”

Councillor Murray added that those who oppose Irish unity must retain the right to campaign and vote against it.

“That's democracy. But nobody has the right to tell the Irish people that we cannot have that choice, or that the peaceful and democratic pursuit of unity is somehow off the table.”

Councillor Murray concluded by saying that the right to pursue constitutional change through peaceful and democratic means was central to the peace established by the Good Friday Agreement.

More than 28 years later, he said, that principle remains just as important to ensure that “we never go back to the dark days of our past, nor can we ever again allow a situation where legitimate republican objectives are deemed incapable of being pursued through peaceful and democratic means.”