Far-right agitators interrupt Mary Lou McDonald as Sinn Féin leader reacts to referenda 

Mary Lou McDonald speaking outside Dublin Castle. Picture: Damien Storan/PA Wire

A group of far-right agitators interrupted Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald at Dublin Castle on Saturday, with several people accusing her of being a traitor.

The Sinn Féin leader was reacting to the expected no-no vote in the referenda on family and care when she was interrupted.

Ms McDonald said that the Government had gone on a “solo run” on the referendum wording, saying that the verdict appeared to be “definitive”.

Asked about a previous commitment to run the referenda again should they lose, Ms McDonald said that she would hope to return to the language on the role of women in the home, but said that she would not re-run the same questions.

“I really dislike that language as you know and since it was first written, Republican women have railed against sexist language in respect of women in the Constitution and it’s something that I would hope we would return to,” Ms McDonald said.

“But let me state again, that the referendums as put have failed, so I just want to reassure people that there would be no attempt on our part to re-run the same questions.” 

After she said this, one agitator questioned why Ms McDonald “would re-run it, saying that would be “spitting in the face” of Ireland. However, Ms McDonald rejected this assertion strongly.

“I haven’t actually said that and if you were on this side, you probably would have heard me correctly.” 

At the end of the doorstep, when Ms McDonald was leaving, shouts rang out from the barrier accusing Ms McDonald of being a “traitor to the Irish people”.