Casement Park will be built on my watch – O’Neill

14 minutes ago

By Mark Simpson, BBC News NI Community Correspondent

Michelle O’Neill was speaking during an Ireland’s Future event in Belfast

PA Media Blonde woman in white blazer speaking into a microphone — Michelle O’Neill was speaking during an Ireland’s Future event in Belfast

First Minister Michelle O’Neill has insisted that Casement Park will be rebuilt while she is in office.

The Sinn Féin vice-president said her preference was that it would be ready in time for Euro 2028 but she made it clear that even if it was not completed by then, it would still happen.

She told an event in Belfast: “In case there’s any doubt out there, Casement will be built on my watch.”

Northern Ireland is due to host five games in the championships but the stadium site remains derelict and redevelopment work has yet to begin.

Supporters of the project hope the next UK government, after the 4 July election, might provide the necessary funding.

Ms O’Neill is one of the guest speakers at the event in Belfast, which is being attended by more than 2,000 people and is discussing a united Ireland.

Organised by the group Ireland’s Future, the speakers include the former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the GAA president Jarlath Burns.

‘Insecure and besieged’

In a section entitled ‘Protestant Perspectives’, the discussion also includes former loyalist politician David Adams and DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) founder Wallace Thompson.

Last month, Mr Thompson said he felt a united Ireland was inevitable.

At the event, he described himself as a life-long supporter of the Reverend Ian Paisley, a unionist and an evangelical Protestant.

He received a round of applause after admitting he was “out of my comfort zone”.

Nonetheless, he insisted his conscience was clear for attending an event linked to a united Ireland.

Wallace Thompson, a former DUP special adviser, will speak at the event

grey haired man with glasses in shirt and jacket — Wallace Thompson, a former DUP special adviser, will speak at the event

Politicians from both sides of the border have also been lined up to speak including Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald, the SDLP’s Claire Hanna and Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan plus representatives from the Alliance Party, Green Party, Workers Party, Fine Gael, People Before Profit, Aontú, the Social Democrats and the Irish Labour Party.

The Alliance Party leader, Naomi Long, was due to speak at the event but withdrew because of “diary clash”.

One of the slogans of Ireland’s Future is “paving the way to the reunification of the island”.

On its website it states it is “not a political party and are not affiliated to any political party”.