LONDON, Mar 17 (BBC): Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has been criticised after she posed with a banner reading 'England get out of Ireland'.
Ms McDonald was photographed with the banner during the New York St Patrick's Day parade on Saturday.
Irish Tánaiste (Deputy PM) Simon Coveney described the banner as "offensive, divisive and an embarrassment".
Sinn Féin said the criticism was "faux outrage" and "political point scoring".
The leaders of the SDLP, Alliance and the UUP also criticised Ms McDonald.
The photo was posted on Twitter by Sinn Féin's official account along with the caption "no explanation needed".
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said: "This banner is not just profoundly stupid (England is not now and never has been or could be in Ireland) but it sends out a hostile and offensive message to anyone English or of English extraction on this island."
Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann called for an explanation, and said the poster was "highly offensive and wrong on so many levels".
DUP MP for East Londonderry, Gregory Campbell, said: "When slogans such as "Brits out" or "England out of Ireland" are used the unionist community are well within their rights to see themselves as the intended focus.
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