UNIONISTS have been left fuming after John Swinney used pro-Irish unification language following a meeting with the Irish president.
The First Minister met with Irish president Catherine Connolly in Edinburgh on Wednesday to mark the beginning of her four-day visit to Scotland.
The visit took place just days after Swinney joined Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, Northern Ireland first minister Michelle O'Neill and Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald in Cardiff, where they signed a landmark memorandum of understanding demanding that the UK Government allow them to hold referendums on independence.
Swinney said he was "honoured" to be meeting with Connolly, with the pair holding talks in Bute House on Wednesday morning.
Following the meeting, the First Minister told LBC News that he spoke about the historic Cardiff meeting with the Irish president.
He said: "We did discuss the co-operation agreement that was signed on Monday in Cardiff, and I think it's a reflection of the significance of that moment that we were discussing those issues.
"Because we find ourselves for the first time in history with first ministers in Scotland, Wales and the north of Ireland who believe in the right of their own people to determine their own future.
"And although we have different constitutional journeys to take forward, that agreement around the importance of the principle of self-determination, the right of the people of Scotland – in my case – to decide their own future is absolutely central to the future of our country."
For the first time since Mary McAleese met with Donald Dewar in 1999, an Irish President has visited Scotland’s FM at Bute House. Catherine Connolly is on a 4 day visit to Scotland and met with John Swinney this morning. He told @LBCNews they discussed the Cardiff memorandum 👇 pic.twitter.com/Xp5OjMBc6C
— @GinaDavidson (@ginadavidsonlbc) September 16, 2026
Unionists reacted with fury to the First Minister's use of "the north of Ireland" instead of Northern Ireland.
The phrase is used by those in support of Irish unification, including Sinn Fein, to emphasise the unity of the island of Ireland rather than recognising the partition.
Shadow Scotland secretary Harriet Cross told the Scottish Daily Express: "It seems John Swinney’s friends in Sinn Fein have already been in his ear.
"He should clarify whether these remarks were clumsy or intentional immediately.
"He's exposed how little he knows about different constitutional arrangements, particularly the situation involving Northern Ireland and the republic.
"As he continues to obsess about breaking up the UK, John Swinney should be more careful with his language."
Meanwhile, Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton accused Swinney of wasting "yet more time discussing his independence obsession rather than focusing on what really matters to Scots".
“Instead, Swinney couldn’t wait to tell the Irish President about his separatist summit and how he cosied up to Sinn Fein," she added.
"The fact that this was on Swinney’s agenda for this meeting at all shows how breaking up the United Kingdom will always be his top priority.”
