The Sinn Féin ard fheis opens in Athlone this evening – but it may already have been the target of attempted sabotage.
On a trip to Derry with outgoing SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar said all Irish political parties should have a united Ireland as an objective, not just an aspiration. The comments were seen as a subtle effort at trying to undercut Sinn Féin’s unique selling point in the South as the sole party hell-bent on Irish unification.