O’Neill: The DUP “yearn for the days of unionist misrule.”

More than 700 delegates filled the ICC hall tonight to hear the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill. In what can only be described as a pre-election warm-up speech, O’Neill attempted to sell to delegates what Sinn Féin has achieved in the Executive, their frustrations with the DUP and even lent support to her nationalist counterparts in Wales and Scotland.

On Sinn Féin’s performance in the Executive;

“Politics works best when people work together with a common purpose.

I believe that all four parties of the Executive should be working together to deliver on the needs and aspiration of workers and families.

Especially with ongoing challenges and the cost-of-living crisis affecting so many people who are just trying to get by.

The common ground should be on delivering what matters most, delivering for workers and families.

And I will never stop trying.”

The First Minister directed criticism at the DUP;

Progress in the Executive has been slower than I would like, and I understand people’s frustration out there, because I feel that frustration too.

However, despite my best efforts, and those of Sinn Féin Ministers, there are quite simply some who do not want to work together.

The DUP want to turn the clock back.

They are attempting to block and delay progress on issues that would make a real difference to people’s lives.

They want to drag society backwards.

They continue to deny people their rights.

They attack everything to do with Irish national identity.

They yearn for the days of unionist misrule.

But here is the thing; those days are gone.

We are not going backwards; we are only going forward.

O’Neill also extended support for the SNP and Plaid Cymru;

That people in Ireland, in Scotland, in Wales, are now more than ever, asserting their desire for independence.

Their union is cracking at the seams.

And I want to extend our support and solidarity to our friends in both the SNP and Plaid Cymru in their election in the coming days.

Analysis

The First Minister fired the starting gun on the Sinn Féin election campaign for the next Assembly Election. Her speech was a departure from the positive tone she had tried to strike since becoming First Minister in February 2024. There is restlessness in the Nationalist community; many signature projects under Sinn Féin ministries are stuck and not progressing at the pace their supporters want or expected when devolution returned. O’Neill’s speech recognised issues around progress and went further in reforming the institutions.

The polls have pointed to a slight dip in the party’s approval ratings. There are issues that are nipping at their support and could become problematic. Some of that support will come home as issues around who will be the First Minister become more prominent during an election campaign.

The next campaign is not likely to come just after a collapse. The party has the added burden of not just defending 27 Assembly Seats but also 144 council seats on the same day. This will be the biggest electoral defensive effort that the party has faced in the North in its history.

For Sinn Féin, their main challenge is not some of their main political rivals; it is apathy. High turnouts have benefited the party in the past as Unionists have stayed home. If Nationalists start adopting the same pattern, there could be trouble ahead.