By Dolores Desch
The LAOH National Irish Unity Committee was front and center volunteering at the Friends of Sinn Féin Commission on the Future of Ireland held in January in Washington DC and Rockland, NY. These events were hosted by the Executive Director of FOSF Greg O’Loughlin and Sinn Féin Representative to America Ciarán Quinn. Delaware LAOH President Kathi Twohig-Hamelin was the Washington DC local contact and volunteer coordinator, and NYS FFAI Chair Joan Moore took on that role in Rockland. Kathi and Joan were instrumental in working with the hosting site in ensuring that there were enough volunteers and that check-in was seamless.
There was a great buzz around the room before during and after the event with attendees energized to learn about the latest efforts and progress towards Irish Unity. Attendees were from several different organizations or none. The cross section of the Irish diaspora led to interesting discussion.
The program included an address by John Finucane MP (Sinn Fein) where he provided the background for the latest efforts and why Irish Unity has become such a popular topic in the past few years. John pointed to Brexit as the catalyst. The Good Friday Agreement provides for a border poll if there appears to be a majority who would vote for Unity. The British Secretary of State would be the person who could set the date of a referendum. We talked about the need to plan for this so that when there is a referendum, voters will be informed, and a plan will be in place when it passes.
There was also a fireside chat featuring discussion and a Q &A component with John Finucane that was led by Kathy Twohig-Hamelin in Washington and Irish Unity Chair Dolores Desch in Rockland. John explained that this program is specifically designed to be held in smaller venues with people who are champions of Irish Unity and can help advance this cause in their own way. The group discussion at tables fostered not only discussion but sharing of ideas and information. The differences in personal experiences and organizational culture of those in attendance was refreshing and led to networking and a need for future discussions such as these.
The ask of all of us is to get involved and keep the discussion going. Whether you live here or in Ireland, continue to bring up the subject of Irish Unity. Follow the news on Irish Unity and get involved. The more it is discussed the bigger the movement becomes.
