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The DUP’s Christopher Stalford has hit back at Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald after she called Northern Ireland a “wee statelet”.
In an interview with the Irish Times, party president Mrs McDonald was reflecting on the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland.
Saying it was important everyone was “very thoughtful in terms of what we say and how we comport ourselves for that particular occasion”, Mrs McDonald said her party would not be celebrating “the establishment of the Northern state or partition”.
“Obviously, for unionists, that was the moment where they secured their ‘wee statelet’; and for Irish nationalism it is the moment when people woke up one morning and said: ‘What happened there?’” Mrs McDonald said.
The centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland will be marked in 2021, with the DUP calling for a public holiday.
DUP MLA for South Belfast Christopher Stalford said Mrs McDonald has “once again demonstrated that the talk of respect is just that”.
“Her words relating to Northern Ireland belie a viciousness that many unionists have come to recognise from Sinn Fein over recent times,” he said.
“Long gone it seems are the days of the Sinn Fein president referring to her “unionist brothers and sisters”. Instead we are back to Sinn Fein demanding respect from everyone, but affording it to no one.
“I am pleased to say that after Mrs McDonald is long gone from the political scene, Northern Ireland will still be here, despite her party’s best efforts to ensure that all our people are poorer and denied the public services that they need.”
At the time Mrs McDonald became Sinn Fein’s president elect in January of this year, she described Irish unity as the “best solution for all of our people, including our unionist brothers and sisters”.
Plans to mark Northern Ireland’s centenary have been underway since last year, with officials drawing up proposals for what has been dubbed ‘Expo 100’.
Belfast Telegraph Digital
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