09/12/2026
The following statement is issued by AOH National President Sean Pender and AOH Political Education Chair Neil F. Cosgrove in response to President Trump's remarks in support of Irish reunification:
The Ancient Order of Hibernians, the largest Irish American organization in the United States, welcomes today’s remarks from President Donald Trump indicating his support for a united Ireland and his observation that “it’s going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now.”
For the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which has long supported Irish reunification through the democratic provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, the President’s remarks are welcome.
The response from representatives of Unionist political parties has been sadly predictable: a selective reading of the Good Friday Agreement, an agreement their parties initially opposed, coupled with declarations that the future of Northern Ireland must be decided by the people of Northern Ireland.
On that last point, we agree.
If Unionist leaders truly believe that Northern Ireland’s future belongs in the hands of its people, they should have nothing to fear from clear criteria, transparent assessment, and an honest democratic process. One cannot champion the people’s right to decide while simultaneously opposing the democratic mechanism by which they are allowed to do so
That is why recent comments from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham deserve closer scrutiny. He has said that he does not “see” evidence that a border poll would pass.
The obvious question is: is the British Government even looking?
Not seeing evidence is not evidence of absence, particularly when the government has never established a transparent process for looking for it.
The responsibility for determining whether the conditions for a border poll have been met rests with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. If the Secretary of State concludes that the statutory test has not been met, then the British Government should explain how that conclusion was reached.
The right to self-determination and the constitutional future of an island of more than seven million people deserve more than a “gut feel.” They require credible and transparent criteria; criteria Whitehall has not revealed.
London should not be able to postpone indefinitely the democratic mechanism through which the people of Ireland can determine their future.
There is also the striking inconsistency of Prime Minister Burnham’s position. His government vigorously defends the right of the people of the Falkland Islands to determine their constitutional status, yet when the constitutional future of Northern Ireland is raised, a referendum is declared “off the table.”
The principle of consent should not depend upon geography.
A border poll should be called when the conditions established by the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act are met, not when doing so is politically convenient for Whitehall.
Nor should the United States simply be dismissed as an outside voice with no legitimate interest in this discussion. American diplomacy was central to the peace process that produced the Good Friday Agreement, and successive administrations have remained engaged in defending that agreement and encouraging peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians therefore calls for President Trump’s welcome remarks to be followed by renewed American engagement, including the appointment of a U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. We further call upon the British Government to establish and publish a clear and transparent process for assessing when the statutory conditions for a border poll have been met.
President Trump has expressed his view. British Prime Minister Burnham and the Northern Ireland Secretary have expressed theirs.
The final decision does not belong to any of them.
It belongs to the Irish people, it is time to give them the mechanism to express it.
