Breaking Barriers: Mary Lou McDonald's Candid Reflection on Her Transgender Sibling
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has called for everyone's rights, including those of transgender people, to be protected as she appeared on The Late Late Show on Friday night.
Ms McDoanld appeared on the show where she opened up on her relationship with her transgender sister and reflected on the UK Supreme Court judgement. The Dublin Central TD also told host Patrick Kielty about her "complicated relationship" with her father, who died last summer.
"This isn't an abstract issue, simply I have a Trans sibling and I love my sister, she's compassionate and clever and accomplished, and she's loved beyond measure and unconditionally, and I want her to live a full, authentic life and I want that for every human being, and I want us to live in a society where that's possible," she said.
"The first thing in discussing any of the issues around this is that we need to have the right atmosphere, and we need to reassure each other that we're starting from a position of respect. If we don't have that, we can't have the conversation to clarify, to reassure and to straighten out the issues that need to be addressed.
"I look across to Britain, you look further afield, and you see a really toxic, divided, divisive approach to issues that can't be solved in a hostile environment they need qualities of calm and respect." The Sinn Féin leader told Paddy Kielty that her party's policies had not changed on Transgender rights.
"The [Supreme Court] decision has to be studied, and it'll have an implication north of the border," she added. "What implications south of the border in terms of court rulings, we don't know at this stage, but certainly the first decision has to be that we work for equality, for inclusion, and, by the way, the rights of everybody can be protected and maintained.
"We shouldn't have to select individuals, women, men, trans women, trans men, everybody has to have their rights respected, and I believe that we can we can get to that point in a fair way, in a balanced way, that brings reassurance to people." For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our politics newsletter here.