TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR believes there will be a united Ireland in his lifetime.

He also urged people to consider those in Northern Ireland who identify as British, and what actions could be construed by them as “deeply offensive”.

Varadkar made the comments after being asked about the Wolfe Tones, who drew the largest ever crowd to a tent at Electric Picnic last weekend.

The group subsequently announced their 60th anniversary concert on 12 October at Dublin’s 3Arena, which has a capacity of 13,000.

The band regularly spark debate over their song Celtic Symphony, which contains the words: “Ooh, ahh, up the Ra.”

Asked about the popularity of the band, Varadkar said he was at the music festival at the weekend but “didn’t get a chance” to see the Wolfe Tones.

“I probably have a more sanguine view of this than maybe other people,” he told RTÉ Radio’s News at One programme.

“People like ballads and they like songs that they can sing along to. I think some people maybe read too much into the politics of this.

“But there is one thing that I would say: I believe we are on the path to unification.

“I believe that there will be a united Ireland in my lifetime, and in that united Ireland there is going to be a minority, roughly a million people who are British.”

The Taoiseach said that the success of a country can be judged by the way it treats minorities, which is something Irish people have to consider.

“Because what is, you know, a Republican ballad – a nice song to sing, easy words to learn for some people – can be deeply offensive to other people,” he continued.

“Bear in mind in the southern (US) states, for example, when people sing about the confederacy and Robert E Lee, they think it’s an expression of their culture and so on, and that’s what they say.

“But that is deeply offensive to the minority, the black community in America and if we’re going to unite this country and unite the people of this country, a bit like [Co Down comedian and incoming Late Late Show host] Patrick Kielty says, we just need to have a think about how our words and how the songs we sing might be heard by other people.”

Varadkar faced some criticism for stating in 2021 that Irish reunification could happen in his lifetime.

In January this year, he declined to answer whether he thought there would be a united Ireland in his lifetime during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

He said at the time that EU-UK talks on renegotiating the Northern Ireland Protocol – arrangements that outline post-Brexit trade arrangements for the region – had reached a sensitive stage.

Sinn Fein has repeatedly called on the Irish government to set up a Citizens Assembly on Irish unity, which would see 100 citizens discuss issues around how unification would work in practice.

However, Tánaiste Micheál Martin echoed Varadkar’s comments about the Wolfe Tones when considering minority viewpoints in discussions around a potential united Ireland.

“I think young people follow various ballads like that and so on,” he said.

“I do think we need to end triumphalism over guns and violence. I think the younger generations of today and the future generations of Irish people don’t really need the celebration and triumphalism around violence [...]

“We all listen to ballads when we’re young. We all emerge and change our views and minds, and I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime politically about Northern Ireland.

“To me, I’ve always said unity is about unity of people. It’s about reconciliation of people. And that’s something that you’ve to keep working at throughout your lifetime.”

Contains reporting by Stephen McDermott.