Key Points
- Michelle O'Neill is the deputy leader of Sinn Féin, an Irish republican party.
- Her cousin Tony Doris was among those killed by British troops during the Troubles.
- Ms O'Neill is among those attending King Charles III's coronation.
Tony Doris was one of many members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) killed by British troops during the Troubles.
So when his relative Michelle O'Neill announced that she had accepted an invitation to attend , it raised a few eyebrows.
But that's not the only reason some people are surprised she's going to an event celebrating the continuation of the British royal family.
Who is Michelle O'Neill?
Ms O'Neill is the vice president of Sinn Féin, an Irish republican party that states it is "dedicated to the reunification of Ireland and an end to British jurisdiction in the north of Ireland".
was long viewed to be the political wing of the IRA, the republican paramilitary organisation responsible for the deaths of around half of the more than 3,500 people killed during the Troubles.
While complex, at the centre of the 30-year conflict was the issue of whether Northern Ireland should remain a part of the United Kingdom.
Sinn Féin was known to support IRA attacks on members of the British royal family, including the 1979 assassination of King Charles' great-uncle and honorary "grandfather" Lord Louis Mountbatten.
In the intervening years, Sinn Féin has sought to distance itself from the IRA, and last year became the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Just months after the party's election success, Ms O'Neill received backlash for saying there was "no alternative" to the IRA's violence until a peace deal was reached in 1998.
"I don't think any Irish person ever woke up one morning and thought that conflict was a good idea, but the war came to Ireland," .
"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."
What are her family's ties to the IRA?
Tony Doris isn't the only member of Ms O'Neill's family who had links to the IRA.
Her late father Brendan Doris was arrested and briefly jailed for his involvement with the IRA, before later becoming a Sinn Féin councillor.
Another of her cousins, Gareth Malachy Doris, was an IRA volunteer.
Her uncle, Paul Doris, previously served as national president of NORAID, an Irish-American organisation known for raising funds for the IRA during the Troubles.
Why did she accept the invitation to the coronation?
Charles has long been a figure of hate among some supporters of a united Ireland because he was head of the British Army's Parachute Regiment, members of which killed 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings.
While Sinn Féin has stepped up its campaign for a referendum on splitting from the United Kingdom in recent years, it has also sought to build a better relationship with Britain, not least when shook hands with the Queen in Belfast in 2012.
Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O'Neill marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement on April 2023. Credit: Brian Lawless/PA/Alamy
In the spirit of furthering peace and reconciliation in the devolved region, Ms O'Neill announced last month she would attend in London.
"We are living in a time of great change. A time to respect our differing and equally legitimate aspirations, and focus on the opportunities the next decade will bring," she said in a statement.
"I am an Irish republican. I also recognise there are many people on our island for whom the coronation is a hugely important occasion.
"I am committed to being a first minister for all, representing the whole community, and advancing peace and reconciliation through respectful and mature engagement."
Saturday's coronation won't be the first time Ms O'Neill has attended an event involving the British royal family.
She met King Charles , and attended Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in London that same month.
"We have bridges to mend and I look forward to working with King Charles," Ms O'Neill said at the time.
"I'm sure that he will carry on the legacy of building relationships between our two islands."
With Reuters
