The DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson deserves full credit for going to Dublin, addressing the Institute of European Affairs and setting out his thoughts on the Brexit crisis in considerable detail.
Unfortunately, Mr Donaldson's central claim in subsequent interviews on Friday that the taoiseach had `subcontracted' his northern policy to the European Commission made little sense and reflected the sense of confusion which has surrounded unionism both before and since the 2016 EU referendum.
It is abundantly clear that the DUP backed the withdrawal camp believing that it could not possibly win but feeling that its endorsement would consolidate influential links with the right wing of the governing Conservative Party at Westminster.
When a combination of blatant misinformation and illegal spending arrangements squeezed the leave campaign to a narrow success in England and Wales, but crucially not in Scotland and Northern Ireland, it began to dawn on the DUP that the final break-up of the UK had suddenly become a serious proposition.
As it quickly emerged that the future of the border in Ireland had been propelled to the top of the international political agenda in an entirely unprecedented way, unionist alarm rose steadily.
It was Brexit which forced the rest of Europe to make up its mind on the border, and the way in which all the remaining EU member states lined up unequivocally with Ireland plainly sent shivers down unionist spines.
Rather than Leo Varadkar handing over his responsibilities to Brussels, the EU sent out an unmistakable signal that it agreed completely with the taoiseach's stance and would follow his lead.
There are many compelling reasons for the inclusion of the backstop provision in the UK's withdrawal agreement, but a key aspect is that it is a simple and straightforward insurance which prevents any London prime minister from definitively accepting an outcome and then changing his or her mind in the face of short term pressures.
That is exactly what Theresa May did over her directly related promises and the overwhelming favourite to succeed her, Boris Johnston, has an appalling record of switching track on the EU and other issues for purely opportunistic reasons.
Mr Johnson’s lack of credibility is summed up by his regular claims that he ready to force through a no deal Brexit despite the overwhelming indications that such a move would be rejected by the House of Commons.
Mr Varadkar was fully entitled to stress at the weekend that the backstop provides a legally binding guarantee which prevents the imposition of a hard border against the firmly expressed views of all the people of Ireland, north and south, and it must stay in place.
