IN 2020, TAOISEACH Micheál Martin declared there would be no border poll on the reunification of Ireland in the lifetime of his newly formed government. Five years on, after having been returned to power for a second run as Taoiseach, Martin has reaffirmed his commitment to remain a firewall against advancing the debate on our constitutional future, announcing last month that there would now be no border poll before 2030.

Successive governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have declared that there will be no unity referendum during their lifetime.

During October’s remarks, Martin also suggested Sinn Fein had “invented” the border poll debate after Brexit, despite all evidence demonstrating that Brexit fundamentally shifted the debate on unification, most likely ushering constitutional change forward by decades.

Since the 2016 Brexit referendum, political unionism in Northern Ireland has lost its majority in local government, the Northern Ireland Assembly and at Westminster. The office of First Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are now held by nationalist parties calling for the unification of Ireland.

Personal identity has changed alongside political allegiances, with the 2021 census demonstrating a marked decline in British self-identification. Polls consistently show that people, North and South, believe Brexit has made a border poll more likely.

This isn’t an artificial debate; it’s a live issue. Pro-unity campaign groups like Ireland’s Future and pro-UK groups like Arlene Foster’s Together UK are already tilling the ground in preparation for a vote.

Academic institutions are leading the way in research across Ireland and the UK, political parties have launched their own initiatives such as the SDLP’s New Ireland Commission, there is a growing composition of books, podcasts, and bylines.

Martin uses the term ‘reconciliation’ as a fig leaf to conceal his abandonment of Northern Ireland; during his tenure there have been no........

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