On April 2nd @WicklowSinnFein tweeted “Queen of England The Commander in chief of the British armed forces occupying the 6 counties is NOT welcome her(e) in Co Wicklow”

Whilst the message may have been sent using modern technology, its clear the SF mindset is still rooted in a dark and almost forgotten past, regrettably proving yet again Baron Gerry Adam’s comment “They haven’t gone away you know” still holds true today.

Have SF in Wicklow forgotten the Good Friday agreement? An agreement their party supported which enshrined the principle of consent by stating  “that it is for the people of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively and without external impediment, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a United Ireland, accepting that this right must be achieved and exercised with and subject to the agreement and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland”.  There is no ‘occupation’ of Northern Ireland, its current status exists because the majority of the people wish it to be like that, and its for the majority of the people to change this if they so desire.

The dangers of this type of mindset were unfortunately tragically demonstrated this weekend when cowardly thugs murdered an innocent young policeman. 

What is clear is that Wicklow Sinn Fein’s views represent a tiny minority, luckily the majority of right thinking people in Co Wicklow want to look to the future and would welcome the visit of the UK’s Head of State to our Garden County, along with the tremendous boost to tourism it would bring.

Mo Mowlan said people should learn from the past, not live in it.  Its time Wicklow Sinn Fein did just that.