The Brexit fantasy, as peddled by the DUP and their fellow-travellers, including the charlatan Boris Johnson, was always going to encounter severe difficulties when it encountered political, economic and social realities.
Energising the united Ireland debate to such a degree that the border poll has firmly become a 'when, not if' question at the heart of our politics can hardly have been an outcome the Brexiteers hoped for.
Nor can the DUP's boycott of government at Stormont have been an example of the 'sunlit uplands' that were promised. This utterly self-serving act of hubris has left people without a functioning executive for almost 18 months simply because the DUP dislike the Brexit border trade arrangements agreed by the EU and UK government.
The majority of voters in Northern Ireland wished to remain in the EU. It remains highly contentious that the north not only had to leave with the rest of the UK but also has to deal with the damaging consequences, exacerbated by the DUP's truculence.
Tellingly, seven years after the referendum support for the EU remains extremely high. As a poll for the Dublin-based European Movement Ireland organisation shows, 88 per cent polled in the Republic and 79 per cent in the north want Ireland to remain in the EU.
Interestingly, in Northern Ireland 71 per cent of leave voters polled support the Republic remaining an EU member.
The figures suggest a measure of 'buyer's regret' from those who backed Brexit. For example, 64 per cent of leave voters believe Northern Ireland is doing worse since Brexit – barely any less than the overall poll finding of 66 per cent.
With enthusiasm remaining high, it is unsurprising that many in the north regard a united Ireland as a route to achieving a return to the benefits of EU membership; 45 per cent believe there will be a united Ireland within the EU in 10 years' time, a proportion which outstrips the 39 per cent who believe it will stay in the UK.
Against this encouragement, there is a note of caution from the poll findings in the Republic. Compared to last year's European Movement Ireland poll, there has been a large jump – up from 43 per cent to 58 per cent – in the proportion of people who don’t believe there will be a united Ireland in the next 10 years.
This shows that much more work needs to be done – on both sides of the border – if the mistakes of Brexit are not to be repeated with a future border poll.
