A NEW republican party being formed by former Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín will be called Aontú - the Irish for unity.
Mr Tóibín left Sinn Féin last year claiming he had been ostracised because of his opposition to abortion.
Since then he has been involved in a series of meetings across Ireland in a bid to set up a new political party.
The Meath West TD was in Belfast last night to take part in the latest public event.
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“Aontú obviously means unity and our major objective is the unity of Irish people north and south,” he said.
“We want to make sure to build an Ireland together with people from different backgrounds.”
Mr Tóibín said Aontú is a party where people from Sinn Féin, SDLP and Fianna Fáil backgrounds will feel comfortable.
“Many, many people have come to the realisation that the political parties are doing damage to their core values and are going in the opposite direction to them.”
Earlier this month The Irish News revealed that former Fermanagh and Omagh councillor Rosemarie Shields had defected to the new party.
