UK union is 'cracking at the seams' - O'Neill

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said the union of the United Kingdom is "cracking at the seams", as she accused Westminster of repeatedly failing Northern Ireland.

The Sinn Féin vice-president was speaking at the party's annual ard fheis (conference), which is being held in Belfast for the first time since 2018.

The party did not hold an ard fheis last year, citing "logistical and strategic" challenges in finding a venue and decided to hold it this spring instead.

O'Neill said the prospect of nationalist parties winning elections to be held in Scotland and Wales next month showed that more people than ever were "asserting their desire for independence".

The first minister also criticised the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which jointly leads the power-sharing executive at Stormont with Sinn Féin.

Northern Ireland's power-sharing institutions were restored in February 2024 after a two-year hiatus.

O'Neill was then installed as the first ever nationalist first minister, with her party having secured the most seats in the 2022 assembly election.

Addressing party members on Friday evening, O'Neill said progress within the executive on issues had been slower than she would like, putting the blame for that at the feet of the DUP.

"Despite my best efforts, and those of Sinn Féin ministers, there are quite simply some who do not want to work together," she said.

"The DUP want to turn the clock back. They are attempting to block and delay progress on issues that would make a real difference to people's lives."

She accused the DUP of attacking "everything to do with Irish national identity".

The Sinn Féin vice-president also told delegates that her party would "work to reform the institutions of the assembly - because they must work for the people".

"I am giving a commitment that we will look at proposals to reform the institutions," she added.

"Sinn Féin will work with all other progressive parties to deliver the change that is needed to end the blockage on progress."

During her speech, O'Neill criticised the UK government and said she rejected its "underfunding and neglect".

"While the name on the desk may change - whether it's Johnson, Truss, Sunak, Starmer or even god forbid… Farage," said O'Neill.

"One constant has and will always remain - their contempt and complete disregard for people and communities here."

In 2024, Sinn Féin became Northern Ireland's largest party at Westminster, although its MPs do not take their seats.

The Irish republican party is also the largest at Stormont and at local council level.

In the Republic of Ireland's general election last year it failed to secure a place in the Irish government, and it remains the main opposition party in the Dáil (Irish parliament).

O'Neill said forthcoming elections in Northern Ireland and Westminster, as well as by-elections in the Republic of Ireland, were a "tipping point" to send a message for constitutional change in Ireland.

In her speech, O'Neill also reaffirmed her party's commitment to the Casement Park GAA stadium project in west Belfast.

She also addressed the issue of legacy and accused the government of making another "selfish political choice".

"They have made a political calculation to give preferential treatment to their state forces rather than deliver for victims," said the first minister.

The last time Sinn Féin held their ard fheis in Belfast, devolution was suspended and the DUP was still the largest party at Stormont.

Much has changed in the eight years since, with Michelle O'Neill now in the driving seat as first minister.

But some things according to O'Neill don't change, as she criticised her power-sharing partners in the DUP, accusing them of holding up delivery in the executive.

It is a tried and tested electoral strategy that has paid off for Sinn Féin in the past, and a reminder that the next assembly election campaign is already well under way.

There is plenty of energy at this year's ard fheis as some 700 people were in the conference hall to hear her speech, but can Sinn Féin show that its promises to deliver for nationalists at Stormont aren't static?

If relations on the hill appear fractured, the Sinn Féin vice-president was even less complimentary about the government in London.

She also pointed to the prospect of nationalist parties winning elections in Scotland and Wales next month as growing evidence that more people are in favour of independence although the government and Sinn Féin's political rivals continue to insist that's far from the case.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald is due to give a keynote speech to close the ard fheis on Saturday.

You can watch and follow McDonald's speech live on the BBC News NI website from 18:30 BST.