Irish unity border poll will be held before 2030, Mary Lou McDonald predicts

Successive UK governments have consistently declined to specify publicly what criteria will be applied when measuring public sentiment on the issue.

Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou McDonald at Stormont (Liam McBurney/PA)

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has predicted a border poll on Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be held before 2030.

Ms McDonald comments expressing confidence of referenda on both sides of the border within six years come amid increased focus on the prospects of the reunification following the appointment of Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister.