Taoiseach Micheal Martin has pushed back against calls in the US for a referendum on Irish unity, instead stressing the importance of reconciliation. Speaking ahead of his meeting with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Mr Martin highlighted the work of the Government’s Shared Island initiative and the need to achieve reconciliation in Northern Ireland. The Fianna Fail leader said that discussions which took place around Irish unity immediately after Brexit were “a mistake,” The Irish Times reports. Mr Martin said: “I think it is divisive and puts people back into trenches too early. My view is that I want to develop a shared dialogue, irrespective of one’s constitutional preferences.”