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Sinn Fein's US fundraising arm has caused a row by calling for a referendum on Irish unity in adverts in the New York Times, Washington Post and other US publications.

The half-page ads were paid for by Friends of Sinn Fein and ran on Wednesday urging support for unity referendums in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is time to agree on a date," it said. Let the people have their say."

They're ads from Irish American organisations whose view on reunification is well known and held for a very long time and they take out ads every year. So, the focus now needs to be on getting back to work [at Stormont].