Dozens gathered in the Irish Heritage Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday, May 29, 2025 for another meeting of the Irish Unity People’s Assembly for the Diaspora.
A community center that serves as a place to congregate for celebrations, meetings, sessions, classes, concerts, and more, the Irish Heritage Center also hosts an impressive collection of Irish art, historic artifacts, and a library. We received a warm welcome from the staff and volunteers who make the place the heart of the community.
Before the event, Pat Cullen MP met with Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller and was welcomed by women business and civic leaders from all over the region. She also visited the The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a museum that promotes social justice for all, building on the principles of the Underground Railroad.
People’s Assembly events in the United States are designed to provide activists and supporters with an update on the political situation around Irish Unity and just as importantly, provide a clear channel for Irish America and Irish Diaspora to provide feedback directly to The Commission on the Future of Ireland.
The event kicked off with a welcome from Friends of Sinn Féin President Mark Guilfoyle who set the tone for the evening by introducing Pat Cullen MP as a political leader whose roots in activism and advocacy provide the perfect example of the purpose of the evening.
Pat addressed the audience and inspired them to get involved and get active. She said:
“Sinn Féin is the largest party. Michelle O’Neill, a United Irelander and Vice President of Sinn Féin now heads the government. In the last number of elections, pro-Irish unity parties have been neck and neck with pro-British parties.
“All has changed.
“The Good Friday Agreement provides the pathway. Political change provides the potential.
“That potential for Irish Unity is recognized. It is a part of academic study. Books have been written. The discussion is live in communities across Ireland. All major political parties except for the Unionists are engaged. Civic society, business, and labor unions are all looking to the future.
“For supporters of Irish unity, the objective is clear. We need to secure and win unity referendums. To ensure that the right of the people to referendums is vindicated and that we persuade the majority in both jurisdictions that Unity is in their best interests.
“We are engaged in a project of nation-building. To demonstrate to the world that a peaceful transition is possible. A united Ireland must be a new Ireland. We want to reconcile past differences and build a home for all.”
Following her remarks and an interview by Mark Guilfoyle, the evening shifted into discussion, planning, and listening mode.
Small groups discussed the specifics of the roles of the Irish Government, the British Government, and the American government before examining the types of activism that can move the needle in all areas. The ideas and plans from the attendees were as dynamic as they were detailed and made to fit the capacity and networks of each person in attendance.
The enthusiasm of the attendees was once again greater than the shape of the event, as tables full of participants carried their conversations on into the night after closing remarks from Sinn Féin’s Representative to North America Ciarán Quinn. He reminded everyone in the room that there would have been no Good Friday Agreement without the support and input of Irish America just as there will be no United Ireland without Irish America.
