Ireland’s Sinn Féin party leader Mary Lou McDonald to speak at Newsmaker, Dec. 2

Ireland’s Sinn Féin party leader Mary Lou McDonald will speak will speak at a National Press Club’s in-person Headliners newsmaker on Thursday, Dec. 2. McDonald will discuss Brexit’s effect on the island nation’s economic and political stability, the rise of Sinn Féin and the prospects for reunification of Ireland.

To submit a question in advance for the speaker, put MCDONALD on the subject line and email to [email protected]. Register online.

McDonald has said she believes Sinn Féin is on the cusp of winning enough voter support to help make her taoiseach, essentially prime minister of the island nation. At the annual gathering of the party faithful in October, she said that the party has momentum.

At 52, McDonald represents a generational change for the party after 34 years with Gerry Adams at the helm. Under her leadership, the party has emphasized issues such as repealing the Republic of Ireland’s ban on abortion.

“It’s time now for a government for you and your family that puts workers and families first,” McDonald said. ”Sinn Féin will deliver that government for the people. We want to lead that government. And I want to lead as taoiseach if you give us that chance.”

Currently, Sinn Féin is the largest opposition party in the Republic of Ireland and part of a five-party coalition government in Northern Ireland.

McDonald, who is the party’s second woman leader and the first woman to lead the opposition in the Irish parliament, has worked to broaden Sinn Féin’s appeal to the Irish electorate. The party had its best-ever showing at the polls in 2020. 

“I know you have had it with governments giving tax breaks to millionaire executives while homeless children eat dinner off cardboard on the street,” McDonald said in October.

McDonald sees an opportunity to break the hold on political power by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The two major parties have vowed never to form a coalition government with Sinn Féin because of its historical association with the paramilitary Provisional Irish Republic Army and allegations that some top party leaders served on the its council.

If she succeeds, that would be quite the turnaround. McDonald began her political life as a member of Fianna Fáil. Her move to Sinn Féin raised some questions about her commitment, but McDonald has pushed back against suggestions that opportunism motivated her change in political parties. McDonald said political policy differences spurred her decision and she has always supported the reunification of Ireland, a foundational cause for Sinn Féin. The party has even reached out to U.S. allies on the issue, including a March half-page ad in the print and electronic editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post by the fundraising arm of Sinn Féin.

To advance the unity cause, McDonald has called for a people’s conversation on unification to start in January and for a citizen’s assembly to be established for continued exploration on joining the two Ireland’s together. She said earlier this year that the British and Irish governments should prepare for a referendum on unity.

Members, guests, and visitors who wish to attend the Headliners event are required to show proof of vaccination at the entrance to the Club. This can be a physical copy of your vaccination card, or a photo of it on your mobile device. If you cannot show proof of vaccination, you must show a recent negative COVID-19 test (within 48 hours). Upload your vaccination record in advance of the event. Read more about Club safety measures.