Mary Lou McDonald has said that a Sinn Féin-led government will put Irish Unity at the centre of its vision for the future.

Ms McDonald made the comments during her speech at a rally to save Moore Street. She also pledged that Sinn Féin in government would deliver the Moore Street Preservation Trust’s Master Plan for the area.

The Sinn Féin leader said:

“When you walk these streets and laneways of the historic Moore Street and GPO area, you follow in the footsteps of the brave men and women of 1916 who believed with all their hearts in the Ireland that could be.

“That the people of Ireland ‘Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter’ could rise above the divisions of the past and claim a future together in the spirit of fraternity and the dream of nationhood.

“We hold tightly to that dream today. This generation will make it a reality.

“A United Ireland is the very best, most exciting prospect for the future, for nationalists, unionists, and everyone else on our small island. That is why referendums on Irish unity should be held by the end of this decade to allow the people the freedom to choose their future. A Sinn Féin-led government will put preparations for Irish Unity at the very centre of our vision for the future.”

Ms McDonald strongly criticised Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for abandoning the Moore Street and GPO Area to rack and ruin and for backing the plan from private developers that would see the destruction of what she “described as the most important site in modern Irish history”.

She said:

“Not only have Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil abandoned the area to rot, but they also actively support a plan to hand over Moore Street, including the 1916 revolutionary terrace, to private developers who seek to pave over our history for the sake of greed and profit.

“A Sinn Féin government would not allow this to happen. We would support and ensure the delivery of the Moore Street Trust’s Master Plan for the area. A plan that is not only worthy of Moore Street’s standing in our nation’s story but one which will drive much needed regeneration, and an exciting economic and cultural future that creates jobs and a national monument befitting to the republican leaders of 1916.”

Later on Sunday afternoon, Ms McDonald will attend a service to mark Remembrance Sunday at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

She added:

“I have been attending the service for a number of years and always receive a very warm welcome. I attend to extend respect for people who have traditions and perspectives on history that are different from my own, to respect people who gather to remember their dead. I think that this is very important as we continue our journey of national reconciliation and to a new future. Nation building is about bringing people together.”