When citizens of the Irish Republic go to the polls today, they will have the privilege of being able to vote for a pro-life party. Aontú, which means “unity” and is pronounced “ain two”, was formed by Peadar Tóibín, a former Sinn Féin TD (Member of Parliament) from County Meath who quit the party after he was suspended for opposing its whip on the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.

Addressing an audience at the launch of Aontú’s local election manifesto last week, he noted that Sinn Féin had become so pro-abortion its leadership had travelled to Westminster to beg the British Government to introduce abortion on demand in Ulster, an unprecedented moment in the history of the Republican movement.