In a First, Irish Nationalist Takes Top Job in Belfast

When Northern Ireland's lawmakers returned to their jobs Saturday for the first time in two years, only one politician received applause: Michelle O'Neill. The Cork-born official, whose father was imprisoned for being an IRA member and whose party wants Ireland and Northern Ireland to be one nation, became the historic choice for first minister. Until now, the government's highest political office has always been held by a unionist politician who supported staying in the United Kingdom, the New York Times reports. "That such a day would ever come would have been unimaginable to my parents' and grandparents' generation," O'Neill said.

O'Neill had to wait through what one non-boycotting lawmaker called "two years of nonsense" for this moment, per the Washington Post. Her party, Sinn Fein, won the largest share of assembly seats in the May 2022 election, as well as the right to the first minister position under the 1998 power-sharing agreement. O'Neill will have the bigger title but share power equally with deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party, per the AP. During the 730-day boycott, Northern Ireland had no executive or legislature. Civil servants remained at Stormont in Belfast but couldn't make major decisions. Lawmakers nevertheless collected two-thirds of their salaries. And the gift shop and cafeteria were open for business.

Unionists decided to return this week after reaching a deal with the UK government on trade issues. Sinn Fein won't have the power to implement unification; any such change would require voter approval on both sides of the border, per the Post. The Sinn Fein politician expressed her commitment to continuing efforts at reconciliation. "To all of you who are British and unionist: Your national identity, culture and traditions are important to me," O'Neill, 47, said in her initial address. "None of us are being asked or expected to surrender who we are. Our allegiances are equally legitimate. Let's walk this two-way street and meet one another halfway." (More Northern Ireland stories.)