Sinn Féin’s vice-president says she’s attending Charles’s coronation

Michelle O’Neill, the vice-president of Irish republican party Sinn Féin, has announced she will attend the coronation of King Charles III.

The former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, who would be in line to become first minister if the current impasse at Stormont is resolved, said the move would demonstrate her commitment to good relations.

She previously attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last September, and shook hands with the King alongside other Northern Irish party leaders days after the death of his mother.

Ms O’Neill said: ‘I have accepted an invitation to attend the coronation of King Charles III.

‘We are living in a time of great change. A time to respect our differing and equally legitimate aspirations, a time to firmly focus on the future and the opportunities that the next decade will bring.

‘I am an Irish republican. I also recognise there are many people on our island for whom the coronation is a hugely important occasion.’

She added: ‘I am committed to being a first minister for all, representing the whole community, building good relations between the people of these islands, and advancing peace and reconciliation through respectful and mature engagement.

‘Therefore, as First Minister Designate, I will join President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, international figures, church leaders, other party leaders and the Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey for the coronation in London.’

Ms O’Neill became First Minister Designate of Northern Ireland in May last year, when she led Sinn Féin to a historic result and made it the largest party in Stormont.

It was the first time a republican party won the most seats since the assembly was formed in 1998.

However, the second-placed DUP has continued to refuse to nominate a deputy first minister and form an executive until their issues with the British government’s Northern Ireland Protocol are resolved.

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