DUP leader Arlene Foster's warnings of "dangerous" loyalist alienation bore fruit over the Easter weekend which saw some of the worst rioting since the loyalist flag protests of 2012/13.
Rioters injured 27 police officers in Belfast and Derry on Friday and there were further disturbances in the mainly loyalist area of Rathcoole in Newtownabbey on Saturday night.
A decision by the Public Prosecution Service last week not to prosecute any Sinn Féin members following the funeral of veteran republican Bobby Storey in June last year has been blamed for sparking the weekend's violence.
Although the decision is being reviewed, court proceedings in the case are unlikely.
Given that tensions were already high amongst loyalists over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which has effectively created a border in the Irish Sea, a degree of unrest was predictable.
The geographical spread and the fact that, like the flag protests, the disturbances were organised through social media, point to an element of orchestration.
The PSNI's description of those involved in Newtownabbey as mainly young men with a few masked older men strongly suggest that the young rioters were being directed by senior loyalists.
The UDA's breakaway South East Antrim group has already been blamed for violence in the area.
However, different groups are likely to be involved in other locations including Derry, which saw several days of rioting.
There is understandable concern now over how a severe increase in tensions will affect this summer's marching season.
Last year the north experienced the quietest summer in living memory after loyal orders cancelled Twelfth of July and other main parades due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But with the Orange Order in Belfast saying it is "reviewing" engagement with the PSNI ahead of the July marching season, there are fears of further disturbances as we approach the summer.
Large numbers of pallets have already been collected for Eleventh Night bonfires in July.
Although early collection is not new, a stated lack of confidence in police and justice system could prompt many to take their frustration to the streets.
Questions are already being asked about a lack of leadership from within unionism.
Mrs Foster has defended a meeting she and colleagues held with a representative group for loyalist paramilitaries over the Northern Ireland Protocol last month.
Not all loyalist groups are part of the Loyalist Communities Council.
However, concerns that the DUP has legitimised paramilitaries and undermined the authority of police by calling for the resignation of the Chief Constable over the Storey funeral, while also condemning the rioting, will lead many to question if unionism's political leaders are acting in their community's best interests.
