Last month's Northern Ireland elections, in which unionists lost their majority in Stormont for the first time, was hailed as a watershed moment by nationalists.
Combined with the possibility of a hard Brexit, it brought the united Ireland debate back into the political mainstream.
Sinn Féin called for a border poll. Fianna Fáil announced it would publish plans for a reunified Ireland. Fine Gael were more cautious, insisting that a vote on Irish unity in the near future would be counterproductive.
In Olivia O'Leary's column for Drivetime this week, she looks at an Ireland pulled between two empires and explains why she is deeply uncomfortable with the rhetoric that has emerged since the election.
To listen back to Drivetime, click here.