President’s rebuke of DUP over centenary invite ‘damaging’, says Nesbitt

President Michael D Higgins’s rebuke of the DUP over his decision not to attend a church service marking the centenary of Northern Ireland was “very damaging” to cross-border relations, a leading unionist has warned.

Ulster Unionist MLA and former party leader Mike Nesbitt said the remarks by President Higgins “break protocol” and were akin to Queen Elizabeth criticising Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

“Some of the remarks that the President of Ireland made about a political party, which happens to be the DUP, and I hold no torch for the DUP, break protocol,” he said.

Speaking in Rome last week, Mr Higgins took issue with DUP politicians who claimed he had snubbed the church service next month, which will be attended by the queen.

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“It’s a bit much, to be frank with you,” he said at the time. “I have gone up to Northern Ireland to take part in events. There often has not been a great deal of traffic down from the DUP people who are criticising me now.”

Mr Nesbitt suggested the comments should not have been made by a head of State.

‘Any circumstances’

“You could not imagine any circumstances in which the head of State of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty The Queen, would make those sort of comments about a political party, about Labour or Conservative,” he said.

“Or the better analogy would be, could you imagine Queen Elizabeth making critical remarks about Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, and that is very damaging.”

The Strangford MLA said some politicians overplayed their reaction to the President’s controversial decision not to attend the event, but added it could define his legacy for unionists.

“It will not define who Michael D Higgins is, but unfortunately from a unionist perspective, it may define his legacy, it may contribute in a significant way to how unionists view his presidency,” he told BBC’s Sunday Politics.

“That is to me very frustrating , because his decision and explanation I found surprising.

“The President of Ireland I know, An Uachtaráin ... is a man who is steeped in outreach and reconciliation is in his DNA. So that is why I found it so surprising.

“And if the reason that he gave for not attending is to do with language, again I find that very frustrating because I don’t believe for a moment it wouldn’t have been possible for his team using the back channels that must exist to quickly and quietly resolve those issues of language.

Mr Nesbitt said it was “an unnecessary spat” and “deeply regrettable” although he added the “spat will pass” and more pressing was the outworking of Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Defend

SDLP South Belfast MP Claire Hanna defended Mr Higgins’s right to make remarks about the DUP, saying he was “very different” to Queen Elizabeth.

“Michael D Higgins is President of a republic,” she said.

“He is a political person ... while he steers around protocol, he isn’t just a figurehead, he does give leadership on many issues and has for many decades.”

On his decision not to attend the church service, Ms Hanna said she could understand the disappointment of some but that “there have been some very contrived and very cynical responses, particularly from unionist politicians.”

Some unionist politicians who “denigrated north south relations for decades and have said ‘no’ to more things than we would have time to list” were now “impugning Michael D Higgins’s motives,” she said.

“I don’t think Michael D Higgins has to prove himself to anybody,” she added.

“He has walked the walk on reconciliation and on North/South (relations) and on the shared island project during his term.”

Ms Hanna said he was “entitled to weigh up the events he attends”.

Pointing out that the President had pulled out of a civic dinner in Belfast to mark the centenary of 1916 because he “didn’t feel political chemistry was right”, Ms Hanna said his latest decision “has been exploited”.

Less than a decade ago, some of those who were criticising the President would have been protesting at him attending an event in Northern Ireland, she said.

“I don’t think it needs to cast a pall over how we handle other north south, or reconciliation or commemorative events,” Ms Hanna added.