SINN FEIN has called for an “incremental and phased” transition to a united Ireland, with national chairman Declan Kearney promising that it will set out “clear practical steps that go beyond the rhetoric of unity.”

On Tuesday, packed meeting of the party’s commission on the future of Ireland in Armagh heard from Mr Kearney and a range of other speakers, including health service worker Sinead Hughes and Ian Marshall, head of business development and policy in the centre for advanced sustainable energy at Queen’s University Belfast. 

Mr Kearney, who represents South Antrim in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that “the level of discussion on constitutional change is remarkable.”