Michelle ​O’Neill sticks to line on attending IRA memorials - seemingly drawing a distinction between PIRA and the Easter Rising

In the last in a series of interviews with party leaders on BBC’s The View programme, the Sinn Fein vice president was questioned on her position on issues relating to IRA violence during the Troubles.

In 2022 there was a backlash after Ms O’Neill said there was “no alternative” to the IRA’s terror campaign until the Good Friday Agreement.

“I think at the time there was no alternative, but now, thankfully, we have an alternative to conflict and that’s the Good Friday agreement” she had said.

Challenged on the position by Mark Carruthers on Tuesday night, the first minister did not repeat the words “no alternative”, but her position remained the same.

“I believe that the alternative to the conflict was the Good Friday Agreement and thank God it was brought about. And thank God people had the courage to step forward and ensure that it happened”, she said.

She said all of her adult life had been about cementing the peace process. “And where I am now, as First Minister of Northern Ireland is to build for the future, to build a better future”.

Asked about whether she would attend PIRA commemorations while first minister she repeated her position that she would “be conscious of the office” she holds.

Mary Lou McDonald has suggested she would not attend any if she became Irish PM. Ms O’Neill said that she was at the GPO in Dublin this year for the Easter commemoration, but declined to say she would attend Troubles-era IRA events.

In the past she has said “I have been criticised by unionists, and by the media, for commemorating IRA Volunteers. So let me be clear, I am an Irish Republican, and make no mistake about it, I will always remember and commemorate our patriot dead, every time, and stand alongside you"

Michelle O’Neill also said she was open to conversations about apologies, so long as they involved everyone involved in the Troubles.