Member's statement: St Patrick's Day: Washington DC
Member's statement by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 11 March 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- St Patrick's Day: Washington DC
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4269479
Read the official Assembly record
Text
In a few days' time, people will celebrate St Paddy's day with craic and ceol,
but, this year, there is a really sinister edge that needs to be challenged and called out. The man with the biggest arsenal of weapons in human history behind him is trying to use his lineage and family history to give himself a by-ball for the carnage and slaughter that he has supported for the last six months. That man's name is Joe Biden. It is crystal clear that, without the cheques, the tanks and the fighter jets sent by the US, 30,000 Palestinians would still be alive today. I make a final call to all party leaders here but especially to Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O'Neill: do not help to facilitate and rehabilitate "Genocide Joe". Give him the cold shoulder that he deserves this Paddy's day. That man does not deserve a bowl of shamrock; he deserves to be in The Hague and on trial for his support for war crimes and genocide on the Palestinian people. Across the island, people have spoken against Joe Biden and his actions. At least 20,000 people have signed a petition demanding that parties refuse to go to Washington to shake his hand and get a selfie, and I repeat that call today. Tens of thousands have marched across the island to call out "Genocide Joe" and the States' actions. Thousands are likely to be out in Belfast again this weekend. It is worth repeating that the violence did not start on 7 October 2023. Violence has been ongoing since 1948 and even the 1920s under the British mandate. There has been theft of land, ethnic cleansing and daily slaughter. There have been many 7 Octobers every year for the Palestinian people. This Paddy's day, people should refuse to go to the White House and should refuse to shake the hand of Joe Biden; instead, they should say, "Free Palestine" this Paddy's day.
326 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Not flagged on a second assessment, because Jev’s answers did not settle it. The reasons are given below.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.54 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Controversy escalation (0.69).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.58).
- Subject area: Another identity-related subject.
- The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Second assessment
Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works
- Verdict
- Not flagged
- Public interest or divisiveness
- Mainly advances the public interest
Against the published rubric
The statement criticises the US President over support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling him "Genocide Joe" and urging party leaders to boycott the St Patrick's Day White House visit. It takes a strong side on a foreign conflict, but it does not map that conflict onto communities in Northern Ireland or portray any people, faith or nationality as a group in a hostile way. Its target is a foreign government and its leader, and its demand is a political boycott. The rubric treats this kind of advocacy on a foreign conflict as outside culture-war activity.
Public interest or divisiveness
The statement is polemical advocacy on a human rights and foreign policy issue, citing a petition and marches as evidence of public feeling. Its language is combative, with phrases such as "Genocide Joe" and "many 7 Octobers". It invokes St Patrick's Day as the occasion, but it does not set one community here against another, contest any group's place in public life, or promote hostility towards Jewish people or any local group. Its main function is to press a political position on the conflict, not identity-based point-scoring within Northern Ireland.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.41 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.08 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.09 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.29 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.69 | Yes |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.14 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.54 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.58 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.06 |
| Adopts it | 0.36 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.48 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.20 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.08 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.07 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.07 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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