Michelle O'Neill | Michelle O'Neill Latest News

Premium

Leading Brexiteer donates £30,000 to TUV – but DUP silent on claim they got the ‘same amount’ from him

A prominent Brexiteer who wants to see the Northern Ireland Assembly abolished has donated £30,000 to the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party.

Premium

Suzanne Breen Opinion Stormont deadlock – Why a quick return to the polls is very unlikely

Just two months after Northern Ireland went to the polls, speculation is rife that the DUP is intent on another Assembly election.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson. Photo: Liam McBurney

Premium

Sam McBride Opinion A January Stormont election is increasingly hard to avoid – and entails huge risks for DUP

After a visit from Sinn Féin’s vice president last week, Cobh and Harbour Chamber posted online that “First Minister Michelle O’Neill” had visited their offices. It was an easy mistake to make, but the truth is that Ms O’Neill could still be the first minister who never was.

Belfast Lord Mayor Tina Black (left) with Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O'Neill lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in Donegall Square West in Belfast, marking the anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Liam McBurney/PA Wire

I want to be a first minister for all, says Michelle O’Neill after laying Somme wreath

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill and the Lord Mayor of Belfast Tina Black have both laid a wreath at Belfast City Hall to commemorate the Battle of the Somme.

Paul Givan and Michelle O'Neill at a wreath-laying in Dublin last July

Michelle O’Neill set to make history as first Sinn Fein chief to lay Somme wreath in Belfast

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill will today become the first of the party’s leadership to lay a wreath in Belfast in memory of the people who died at the Somme.

Protocol move could damage NI investment, says CBI chief

The United Kingdom and European Union are poised for a bitter legal battle following the publication of the Government’s long-awaited bill to override the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O'Neill. (Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill slams Stormont boycott as ‘utterly contemptible’

Sinn Fein’s vice-president Michelle O’Neill has slammed the DUP’s boycott of Stormont as “utterly contemptible, cruel and self-serving”.

Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O'Neill (Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

Nationalists’ fury at plan to override parts of NI Protocol

The Government’s legislation to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be moved in the House of Commons next week after an apparent administrative oversight meant it can’t go ahead.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donalson with his newly-elected MLAs at Stormont

Premium

exclusive DUP’s return should only be after NI Protocol is resolved, insist three-quarters of unionist voters

Three-quarters of unionist voters believe the DUP shouldn’t return to government at Stormont until there are at least “significant changes” to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

British prime minister Boris Johnson speaks after surviving an attempt by Tory MPs to oust him as party leader. Photo: PA

Boris Johnson won’t be able to survive much longer, warn NI MPs

Boris Johnson has been warned by two Northern Ireland MPs that his days as Prime Minister “are numbered” after he won a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Politicians unite to condemn ‘depraved, shameful and disgusting’ video mocking death of Michaela McAreavey

Sickening footage of a group of men singing a song mocking the murder of Michaela McAreavey has been condemned by all sides of the political spectrum.

Tragic: Michaela McAreavey with her husband John before she was brutally murdered on her honeymoon. Credit: McAreavey Family handout

Premium

Gail Walker Opinion It’s hard to describe how vile the Michaela McAreavey song is or how low the life that would find it acceptable

Eleven years ago, I attended the funeral of Michaela McAreavey in St Malachy’s Church, Ballymacilroy, Co Tyrone. It was an unforgettable day, for many reasons. One of which was that it seemed the universal revulsion at her murder on honeymoon in Mauritius had brought out the best in people here.

The official Platinum Jubilee portrait of the Queen photographed at Windsor Castle

Premium

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill writes to the Queen praising her contribution to peace in Northern Ireland ahead of monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Michelle O’Neill has written to the Queen ahead of the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Tony Blair. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson: Tony Blair’s comments should be a wake up for pro-protocol parties

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that if “even Tony Blair accepts the protocol has failed, it should be a wake-up call for the pro-protocol parties.”

Michelle O Neill (Declan Roughan / Press Eye)

Michelle O’Neill: ‘Our businesses will not be held to ransom by game-playing Brexiteers’

Michelle O’Neill has said that Boris Johnson is pursuing an agenda that “endangers the Belfast Agreement while cynically claiming to protect it”.

Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy, John O’Dowd, Michelle O’Neill and Deirdre Hargey speak to the media at Stormont on Monday. Credit: Liam McBurney/PA

Parties could force the DUP to return to Stormont daily

The DUP could be forced to repeatedly return to the Assembly to defend its decision to block a fully functioning Executive as there is no limit on recall petitions under Stormont rules.

DUP’s Gordon Lyons advises Sinn Fein to focus on NI Protocol rather than ‘recall stunt’

DUP MLA Gordon Lyons has said the Sinn Fein recall of the NI Assembly is a stunt and distracts from the “real problem” which is the NI Protocol.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Credit: Jonathan Porter / Press Eye

Premium

Suzanne Breen Opinion The parties and reasons may have changed, but it’s the same old story over recalling Assembly

Oh how the tables have turned. Stormont’s top two parties are now playing exactly the reverse roles to the ones they had the last time our devolved institutions weren’t functioning.

Recall: Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill and Conor Murphy speaking after talks with the US delegation. Credit: Jonathan Porter / Press Eye

DUP urged to restore power-sharing in order to unlock crucial cost-of-living funds

Pressure is mounting on the DUP to form an Executive after it emerged that vital hardship funds may not be released to the public in Northern Ireland without a devolved government in place.

Visit: Micheal Martin speaks to media in Belfast yesterday. Credit: Brian Lawless/PA

Taoiseach: UK Troubles amnesty proposals are ‘get-out-of-jail’ legislation for ex-paramilitaries

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has claimed UK plans to address the legacy of the Troubles amount to “get-out-of-jail” legislation for ex-paramilitaries.

The deadlock at Stormont could hit MLAs in the pocket if the DUP doesn’t return to the Assembly soon

Premium

Jon Tonge Opinion The Stormont impasse might get so bad MLAs may lose pay – but don’t bet on it

Slow return to Stormont? This week’s efforts to coax the DUP back into the political institutions were unlikely to pay immediate dividends. All bets for a full Executive are off for a while.

Senior sources within the DUP have said the party will not facilitate the restoration of the institutions at Stormont unless there are changes to the post-Brexit trading agreement.

DUP ‘not nominating a speaker’ this week even if protocol legislation announced in House of Commons

The DUP will not nominate an Assembly Speaker this week even if Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announces legislation around the Northern Ireland Protocol on Tuesday, according to reports.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire.

Northern Ireland would be in a ‘very dangerous place’ if protocol is scrapped claims Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill

Any move to unilaterally override parts of the protocol would put Northern Ireland in a “very dangerous place” due to potential retaliation from the EU.

Prime Minster Boris Johnson arrives at Hillsborough Castle ahead of meeting local political parties to discuss the Northern Ireland Protocol. Credit: Jonathan Porter/PressEye

What they said: Politicians react to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Belfast Telegraph protocol article

In a lengthy article in the Belfast Telegraph, Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out his stall on the current issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol. He stressed that it needs to be fixed – not ditched entirely. Here's how politicians reacted:

'Let me lie down and recover': Ian Paisley Jr reacts to Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill saying 'Northern Ireland' for first time

Ian Paisley MP has sarcastically quipped that he needs to “lie down and recover from the shock” of Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill using the term ‘Northern Ireland’ for the first time on record.

Mary Lou McDonald, Vice-president Michelle O'Neill, John Finucane and Conor Murphy pictured during a press conference at Parliament Buildings in Belfast last Monday. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.

Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald accuses UK government of ‘choreography’ with DUP over lack of Stormont Assembly

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has accused the UK government of choreography with the DUP over the latest crisis at Stormont.

Premium

exclusive Let’s change the protocol, not scrap it, says Johnson ahead of NI visit

The Northern Ireland Protocol will not be scrapped, Boris Johnson has indicated to unionists, but it must be fundamentally altered, regardless of whether the EU agrees.

Return: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is approached by a visitor at Stormont yesterday. Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Premium

Donaldson defiant over DUP’s ‘shameful’ block on Stormont

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has insisted there is strong support among unionist grassroots for the DUP’s position on not nominating a Stormont Speaker, leaving the Assembly unable to function.

Way forward: Our politicians could learn something from Conversations with Friends

Premium

Gail Walker Opinion What my Conversations with Friends reveal about NI politics and why Stormont doesn’t work

The eagerly anticipated BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends starts tomorrow. It might seem unlikely but this novel by a thirtysomething bestselling writer has much to teach the crusty veterans of political conflict in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O’Neill and president Mary Lou McDonald

Premium

Jon Tonge Opinion Mary Lou McDonald as Taoiseach and Michelle O’Neill as First Minister looks very probable

So how will we fill this weekend then? Now that candidates, counting staff and commentators have reintroduced themselves to their families, here are 10 random reflections on where we go after an election both dramatic and seismic. Who knows, one day it might even produce an Executive.