BY CRAIG CARSON CRAIG, EAST BELFAST REPORTER

THE NEWS THAT Sinn Fein leader Michelle O’Neill is to attend the coronation of King Charles in London has caused thousands of hard-line Unionist voters in Northern Ireland to rethink their own loyalties.

“The DUP has done more damage to the Union in recent years than three hundred years of Fenian attacks,” says an old supporter who is thinking of changing his vote at the next election. “With all that’s happening, Unionists are beginning to see Sinn Fein as a better bet for protecting the Union with Britain. I mean, they’re in danger of becoming more British than the British themselves at the rate they’re going. All we need is Gerry Adams accepting a Knighthood. And the way things appear, can that be far off? I suppose it would do him the world of good if he wanted to be President of the Free State, the way we hear he does. They really appreciate that kind of thing down there in Dublin. I thought I was a staunch royalist until I saw them crawl all over the Queen when she visited. Even my Rangers Supporters Club were close to puking. We’re loyal, but even we have our limits.”

A commentator close to Unionist thinking, such as it is, said: “Sinn Fein, isn’t that Fenian language for ‘Ourselves’? Fits Unionists like a glove, doesn’t it? And if the glove fits …”

Political pollster Mark Label says that the Unionist drift to Sinn Fein began around the time of the Boris Johnson deal with the European Union. “Since the death and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, it’s become significant, and now with this acceptance by O’Neill of an invite to the coronation it’s beginning to turn into a dangerous flow, both for the DUP and Sinn Fein. Because this new support base will expect the Republican movement to fully represent its interests. So don’t be surprised if Sinn Fein seats are taken at Westminster and a large number of former IRA men are appointed to the House of Lords. think Lord Kelly of Ardoyne, or Lord McFarlane of Long Kesh. Or even Lord Adams of The Falls. Wouldn’t it be fascinating if he were President of the Irish Republic and a member of the British House of Lords? Not inconceivable. That’s the the genius of the Good Friday Agreement.”

Historian Tomas Causus Belli, who specializes in pragmatic post-revolutionary u-turns, says that the kind of moves Sinn Fein are making are not unusual. “Remember that after the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in 1921, Michael Collins and his supporters turned on old comrades they would gladly have died for a few months earlier, using arms supplied by the British and thousands of soldiers who had served in the British Army. One of the new Free State regime even had his best friend shot without trial. It’s extraordinary how conservative former rebels can become in pursuit of their long-term political ends. It’s all about power. Modern Sinn Fein is no different. It has ambitions for power across the island of Ireland. And for that, the thing they need most right now is respectability in the South. This is what this is all about: showing the chatterati of South Dublin they can be trusted at the dinner table. After all, what is a revolutionary but a social climber with a gun in his pocket?”