Michelle O'Neill, the daughter of the IRA prisoner who took political action
Michelle O’Neill (Fermoy, Ireland, 1977) was born on the opposite side of the border but grew up in County Tyrone, in the shadow of Derry/Londonderry and during the peak of the conflict in Ulster that resulted in over 3,500 casualties. As the daughter of a Provisional IRA prisoner, Brendan Doris, she decided to follow in his footsteps and join Sinn Féin, starting off as a councilor and later becoming the mayor of Dugannon. Eventually, she made history by becoming the first republican chief minister of Northern Ireland, succeeding the legendary leader Martin McGuinness who was also a former IRA militant.
“I don’t believe any Irish person woke up one morning and thought that conflict was a good idea, but war came to Ireland and there were no alternatives to armed struggle,” Michelle O’Neill herself declared two years ago. “Now, we do have an alternative, and that is the Good Friday Agreement.”
For a long time, O’Neill was haunted by the shadow of the IRA. Her uncle, Paul Doris, was the president of the Northern Irish Aid Committee (NORAID), an organization that financed the Republican Army for years. Her cousin Tony was killed along with two other IRA members in a special forces operation conducted by SAS. Another cousin, Gareth, was injured in an attack on a police station in 1997.
In 2020, during the critical moments of the pandemic, Michelle O’Neill reignited controversy by attending the funeral of Bobby Storey, an IRA militant. This event sparked riots in Belfast that same year, exacerbated by tensions caused by Brexit.
However, O’Neill has since rectified her position and significantly moderated her rhetoric during the 2022 regional elections. She presented herself as “the chief minister of all Northern Irish people” in contrast to the fragmentation and sectarianism of the unionists. Her message resonated, resulting in a historic victory for Sinn Féin. However, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) boycotted the formation of a “power-sharing” government as stipulated in the Good Friday Agreement, preventing Sinn Féin from taking office.
“One year ago, in an interview with El Mundo, I stated that we cannot return to the times of exclusion,” O’Neill declared. “We have experienced periods of instability, and there are forces that have sought to exploit it and look back to the past. We must focus on the future, and that means embracing greater inclusion.”
Over the past two years, while awaiting her role as the “chief minister,” Michelle O’Neill has worked to project Sinn Féin’s new image of inclusivity. The party has now become the majority force on both sides of the border and forms an inseparable tandem with party president Mary Lou McDonald, who succeeded Gerry Adams.
O’Neill’s attendance at the funerals of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles in 2023 served as a significant mark of this calculated transition. “We live in changing times, and it is a way to show respect to all the people of Northern Ireland,” emphasized the vice president of Sinn Féin when justifying her presence at the events in London.
Her personal journey towards inclusion, with the assistance of nationalist Francie Molloy, took place in 1998, the iconic year for peace in Northern Ireland. It also marked her own personal reconciliation, having faced exclusion as a single mother at the age of 16 under the strictest form of Catholicism, an experience that shaped her determined attitude.
As a grandmother at the age of 47, Michelle O’Neill also draws on her own experiences to bring a strong social focus to her political agenda (she previously served as Secretary of Health). Her aspirational dream is for her grandchildren to grow up in a reunified Ireland, firmly believing that the opportunity is within reach. “We believe that constitutional change will happen, and the referendum should be held in this decade. However, we want a large majority and maximum consensus,” she stated.