{"id":28936,"date":"2024-02-07T19:22:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T00:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=28936"},"modified":"2024-02-09T11:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:25:24","slug":"mary-lou-mcdonald-michelle-will-do-an-outstanding-job-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=28936","title":{"rendered":"Mary Lou McDonald: \u2018Michelle Will Do An Outstanding Job For Everyone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sinn F\u00e9in President Mary Lou McDonald (Peter\u2008Kelly)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BY PETER KELLY AT STORMONT PARLIAMENT, BELFAST<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle O\u2019Neill has made history in becoming Northern Ireland\u2019s first nationalist First Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a special sitting of the Stormont Assembly in Belfast on Saturday the Sinn F\u00e9in vice president was elected by the 90-member chamber to the historic role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power-sharing government in Northern Ireland was restored exactly two years to the day that it collapsed in 2022 with a DUP boycott over Brexit trading rules. Ms O\u2019Neill\u2019s deputy will be Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In emotional language in the chamber, the Co Tyrone politician described the occasion as \u201can historic day\u201d and \u201ca new dawn\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a nationalist first minister leading the North \u201cwould have been unimaginable\u201d to her parents\u2019 generation, Ms O\u2019Neill added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Irish republican party made a decisive breakthrough in the Stormont election in May 2022 when it secured a majority of the North\u2019s electoral seats for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This entitles the party to the First Minister position according to rules laid down by the Good Friday Agreement.
This first historic breakthrough featured as our cover story in our May 11th, 2022 edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Ms O\u2019Neill\u2019s maiden speech as First Minister, she reached out beyond her party\u2019s united Ireland ambition and promised to \u201cserve everyone equally\u201d alongside ministerial colleagues who would \u201cdeliver and work together\u201d as the public \u201crightly demands\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo all of you who are British and unionist: your national identity, culture and traditions are important to me,\u201d she said.
In an exclusive interview with The Irish Examiner USA inside Stormont, Sinn F\u00e9in President Mary Lou McDonald shared Ms O\u2019Neill\u2019s excitement. \u201cIt\u2019s the clearest symbol of just how dramatic the change has been here in the north and across Ireland,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we\u2019re very excited. Michelle is going to do an outstanding job for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy McDonald who represents a Dublin district in D\u00e1il Eireann in Ireland\u2019s capital thanked Irish-Americans and the diaspora for their unstinting support over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said, \u201cWe are so lucky to have our global family across the United States. You have always remembered home, kept faith with home, and wanted the best for all of us here. We\u2019re now going into a really interesting part of our journey and I want all of you to be part of it and to cheer us all on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Peter\u2008Kelly)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson also spoke exclusively to this newspaper. Pledging to increase his party\u2019s engagement with the US, the DUP have nominated Assembly Member David Brooks as their United States spokesman.
Sir Jeffrey told The Irish Examiner USA: \u201cMy message to the rest of the world is that Northern Ireland is open for business. There are many opportunities here and we hope to go out and make the case to attract new investment.\u201d And he revealed, \u201cI will be visiting the United States very soon and I hope to be there for St Patrick\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House echoed the optimism of the occasion as it prepares to host First Minister O\u2019Neill and deputy First Minister Little-Pengelly in Washington next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden said: \u201cI look forward to seeing the renewed stability of a power-sharing government that strengthens the peace dividend, restores public services, and continues building on the immense progress of the last decades.\u201d <\/p>\n

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