TULLAMORE is no stranger to hot air causing a bit of chaos.

In 1785, a hot air balloon crashed into the town, sparking a massive fire and destroying more than 100 homes.

This week, hot air of a different origin could create even more heat in the Fianna Fáil camp as the party rolls into town for its annual think-in ahead of the new Dáil term.

It’s coming at an interesting time, when Michéal Martin has been shadowboxing his way through the summer with his own party.

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Patricia Mac Bride: Micheál Martin is fighting the wrong battles over a border poll and Irish neutrality

Andy Burnham’s ill-judged comments about a referendum on Irish reunification being off the table have been well analysed in the pages of this publication and elsewhere.

It’s almost as if he hadn’t read the Good Friday Agreement.

It’s bad enough having to listen to such nonsense from a British prime minister, but when you’re hearing the leader of Fianna Fáil saying similar, it simply beggars belief.

Martin’s recent reaction to even discussion of a border poll was particularly revealing.

In a Fianna Fail podcast, he said he “goes bananas” when the issue is raised, arguing that the focus should instead be on the practical work of the Shared Island initiative.

The problem is that Martin is constructing a caricature of the argument he appears determined to beat down.

Not everyone advocating preparation for Irish unity is demanding an immediate referendum.

Indeed, preparing for the possibility of constitutional change is itself entirely consistent with the practical approach Michéal Martin claims to favour.........

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