US PRESIDENT Donald Trump appears to have irked unionists after claiming a united Ireland 'would be a great thing'.
Trump made the remarks when speaking to reporters on Saturday at the beginning of his two-day visit to Ireland.
The president's comments have been welcomed the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the oldest and largest Irish Catholic organisation in America.
It has now called on British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to clarify how it will be determined if the time is right for a referendum on Irish unity.
Trump made his remarks on a united Ireland while seated alongside Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Farmleigh House shortly after arriving in Ireland.
"Well, I don't want to cause any problems but I will tell you, I'd love to see it unified," he said.
"I have friends on both sides, great people. They're Irish people, how can they be bad, right?
"I'd love to see it unified, I think it would be a great feather in everybody's cap if that happened.
"It's going to happen eventually. The way I look at it, it's going to happen eventually, it might as well happen now.
"We were talking about it and you've got the right man over here to get it moving but I think it would be a fantastic thing.
"Now the UK will have something to say about it, obviously, but I think it would be a great thing. How can it be bad?"
During a later speech at the US Ambassador's residence, he commented: "That's one of those questions where no matter what you say, no matter how well you say it, there's no good answer, right?"
'Not a pawn'
Reacting to the comments, unionist leaders in the North said the issue of a united Ireland was not a matter for the US president to concern himself with.
"Donald Trump is not the first US President to meddle in the affairs which don't concern him," said TUV leader Jim Allister.
"At the 12th July demonstration in 1919, Edward Carson had occasion to observe in relation to the USA: 'You attend to your own affairs and we will attend to ours. We will not brook interference in our affairs.'
"The message over 100 years later from Unionist leaders and indeed the people of Northern Ireland is the same.
"Northern Ireland [is] not a pawn in Trump's fall out with the UK. Our constitutional future does not depend on him or any other foreign dignitary."
That view was echoed by DUP leader Gavin Robinson, who stated: "President Trump knows better than most that elections matter.
"Northern Ireland's constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.
"Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people. I am confident NI will continue to choose the UK and the security it offers.
"As unionists we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic."
UUP chief Jon Burrows hailed America as an 'important ally' but similarly said the issue was a decision for the people of the North, as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.
"President Trump, like anyone else in the world, is entitled to express his view on the constitutional future of another country," he said.
"But the only people whose decision counts are the people of Northern Ireland.
"That is the principle of consent, now enshrined in law through the Belfast Agreement, negotiated and delivered by the Ulster Unionist Party.
"America has been, and remains, an important ally, from the Second World War and the global fight against terrorism to the defence of democracy around the world.
"US businesses increasingly realise that our workforce here is the best in the world and are increasingly investing here.
"But when all is said and done, Northern Ireland's future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland.
"I am confident that we are safer, more secure and more prosperous within the United Kingdom, and that is where we will remain."
Mr Burrows' words recalled those of the Prime Minister, who said last month that a referendum was 'off the table'.
Following that apparently categoric statement, Mr Burnham subsequently alluded to the Good Friday Agreement in parliament this week when quizzed on the matter.
He said: "On that question of a border poll, it is to be considered by the Northern Ireland Secretary when there is a clear consensus in the country, when public opinion has changed to the point where the call has to be considered."
Unionist response 'sadly predictable'
Following the opposition to Trump's comments, the AOH criticised unionists, saying if they truly believed the people of Northern Ireland opposed unification, they would have nothing to fear from a referendum.
The Good Friday Agreement says the Northern Ireland Secretary can hold a border poll if it appears likely that a majority of people in the North would vote for Irish unification.
However, the AOH said Mr Burnham must clarify how the Secretary of State gauges when the time is right for a referendum rather than relying on a 'gut feel'.
It called on Britain to establish and publish a clear and transparent process for assessing when the statutory conditions for a border poll have been met.
"For the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which has long supported Irish reunification through the democratic provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, the President's remarks are welcome," read an AOH statement.
"The response from representatives of Unionist political parties has been sadly predictable: a selective reading of the Good Friday Agreement, an agreement their parties initially opposed, coupled with declarations that the future of Northern Ireland must be decided by the people of Northern Ireland.
"On that last point, we agree.
"If Unionist leaders truly believe that Northern Ireland's future belongs in the hands of its people, they should have nothing to fear from clear criteria, transparent assessment, and an honest democratic process.
"One cannot champion the people's right to decide while simultaneously opposing the democratic mechanism by which they are allowed to do so.
"That is why recent comments from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham deserve closer scrutiny. He has said that he does not 'see' evidence that a border poll would pass.
"The obvious question is: is the British Government even looking?
"Not seeing evidence is not evidence of absence, particularly when the government has never established a transparent process for looking for it.
"The responsibility for determining whether the conditions for a border poll have been met rests with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
"If the Secretary of State concludes that the statutory test has not been met, then the British Government should explain how that conclusion was reached.
"The right to self-determination and the constitutional future of an island of more than 7m people deserve more than a 'gut feel'. They require credible and transparent criteria; criteria Whitehall has not revealed."
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