- Attractive mother of two marks a shift from the Republican Party’s old conservative wing
- But her family history shows well-known IRA roots and plenty of controversy
Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill was sworn into office today in a landmark moment, making Northern Ireland’s first ever nationalist minister.
Her election sent shockwaves across Northern Ireland as it was the first time a nationalist had held the post since it was created during Partition in 1921.
In his first speech, Mr O’Neill said he was from a “different background” to DUP MLA Deputy First Minister Emma Littlepengelly, but worked “tirelessly” to serve everyone in Northern Ireland. promised.
Although the top two positions have equal powers and responsibilities, the elevation of a republican to the premiership was a symbolic moment as Sinn Féin became the region’s largest party in the 2022 parliamentary elections. .
But in more ways than one, the 47-year-old, with her shiny blonde hair, bright lipstick, curled eyelashes and painted nails, signals a change in direction for Northern Ireland.
Here’s everything we know about Northern Ireland’s first ever nationalist Prime Minister, Michelle O’Neill.
When Michelle O’Neill succeeded Martin McGuinness as the new face of Sinn Féin, she was hailed as having completely broken away from the bloodstained old guard of the republican movement.
With her flashy costumes and dedication to the peace process, the mother of two has emerged as a modern-day leader of the post-ceasefire generation.
In the words of Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, she represents a “new generation” of the party. In other words, she appears to be free of the IRA baggage that tainted Sinn Féin under her predecessor.
Ms O’Neill was not born until five years after Bloody Sunday and was only 17 at the time of the IRA ceasefire in 1994. Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that she grew up in an IRA household.
She grew up in rural County Tyrone, became pregnant at the age of 16, and married a local man, Paddy O’Neill, at 18. The two have two children, Saoirse and Ryan, who are now adults.
Although the two separated in 2014, they reportedly remain friends.
She previously spoke about how becoming a young mother made her a “stronger person” by learning to take responsibility from an early age.
Although her children are now adults, she told The Irish Times in 2021 that they “still need their mommy”.
Behind her much-publicized liberal credentials (advocating for “equality, autism, disability and mental health issues”) and behind the make-up and stylish clothes, a fascinating look at Miss O’Neill’s family history. A figure emerges.
Simply put, she was born into a highly political IRA family. Her father and uncle were IRA prisoners of war, and at least two of her cousins were shot and one died while on “active” service with the IRA.
She admires her late father, Brendan Doris, as a “great man” and “a man who was involved in politics and someone I followed.”
“He was a great man,” O’Neal said of her father in a promotional video posted online in 2017. “He definitely played a big role in shaping me into the person I am today.”
Brendan Doris is fondly remembered in the area. His achievements include serving Dungannon City and South Tyrone Borough Council from 1989 to 2001, as well as his role in the IRA East Tyrone Brigade in the 70s.
Known locally as the ‘A Team’, this notorious unit killed dozens of British soldiers and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in bombing campaigns against army bases and police stations, and was one of the IRA’s most professional and capable units. It became one of the best troops.
Friends said he was “popular” but had a “bad temper” and regularly clashed with prison guards.
Brendan Doris suddenly died of a heart attack in 2006 at the age of 54. Gerry Adams gave his eulogy at his graveside at his funeral, and his obituary was published in the republican newspaper An Fobracht.
Her cousin, Tony Doris, 21, was part of a brigade known as the “assassination squad” that prepared to assassinate senior security forces officials who were ambushed by the SAS in 1991. His tombstone says he was “killed on active duty.”
Mr. O’Neill quickly attracted attention as having the qualities of a Republican leader like his father.
She joined Sinn Féin in 1998 at the age of 21 following the Good Friday Agreement.
Her first experience of politics was as a councilor for Dungannon City Council in South Tyrone from 2005 to 2010.
She was then elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007, heralding big things and quickly establishing herself as a new generation’s ‘poster girl’.
As Minister of Health, she enhanced her liberal credentials by lifting the ban on gay men donating blood in Northern Ireland.
In 2010, she became the region’s first female mayor.
During her time in Sinn Féin, she has engaged with positions on the socialist left, campaigning on issues of equality, autism, disability, mental health and rural rights.
Mr O’Neill was also a vocal opponent of leaving the EU, claiming it would “undermine” the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
But she also believes Brexit could create the possibility of a united Ireland, predicting in 2017 that it would lead to the first Irish union in a decade.
Mr O’Neill burst into the mainstream in 2017 when he became leader of Northern Ireland’s new Sinn Féin party after Deputy Prime Minister Martin McGuinness resigned in the wake of the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal.
Her election meant she was the first leader of Northern Ireland’s Sinn Féin party without an IRA past.
In 2017, she outlined her busy daily schedule in a newspaper interview. “I wake up at 6 a.m. and try a gym class, maybe spin or body pump,” she said. “I’m always checking my email, social media, and turning on the radio to hear the headlines.”
In February 2018, Mr O’Neill became vice-president of Sinn Féin, replacing Mary Lou McDonald, who took over as party president following the resignation of long-time leader Gerry Adams.
Ms O’Neill, who led Sinn Féin, made a rare public relations gaffe when she expressed sympathy for four IRA men who were shot dead by British troops in their home village of Clonoe, County Tyrone, in the early 1990s.
Critics derided the photo of a “miniature” Ms. O’Neill in Gerry Adams’ pocket. Mr Adams, who has always denied being a senior IRA commander, and Mr McGuinness, who was second-in-command of the IRA in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday in 1972, were among Mr O’Neill’s political mentors. Ta.
Mr O’Neill was appointed Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in January 2020 and served as Minister of Health for Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017, playing a key role in the response to the pandemic.
But O’Neill is no stranger to controversy and has consistently made headlines during his time on the political front.
She was heavily criticized in June 2020 for attending the funeral of veteran IRA terrorist Bobby Storey, despite social distancing regulations.
Mr O’Neill also claimed that the pandemic had increased the chances of a united Ireland.
In 2022, she came under fire for saying there was “no alternative” to IRA violence during the unrest.
Then, in September of the same year, she broke with republican tradition and attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
She also attended King Charles’ coronation in May 2023, saying at the time that she “wanted to be there”.
“We live in changing times and it was to honor and honor all the people back home who said I would be the first pastor of all people. Here. “To be present is to honor it and fulfill a commitment,” she said.
But Ms O’Neill remains steadfast in her belief that a united Ireland is closer than ever, and has made a number of visits to SNP leaders in Scotland.
In February 2022, she said in an interview that the nationalists were “closer than ever, and I think now is the time to plan.”