In the blink of an eye, a united Ireland has transformed from a largely unsayable demand into what feels like a new political reality. This turn in the tide has allowed the Sinn Féin president, Mary Lou McDonald, to recently claim a referendum will happen by 2030. Galvanised by the return of power-sharing to Stormont and the historic resonance of a nationalist becoming the first minister, her party is talking in typically brash style about a united Ireland being “within touching distance”.
But it’s no longer just Sinn Féin arguing that Ireland is “on the path to unification” – those are the words of the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, a conservative politician by nature who once nurtured a hobby for anti-republicanism.
