Coveney damages Dublin’s DUP relations further

The Minister for Foreign Affairs appears to have an uncanny habit of winding up and angering the Democratic Unionist Party

DUP members applaud Arlene Foster's speech at their party conference in November. Pic: Getty

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney is one of the most inoffensive and, on a personal level at least, likeable people in the current Fine Gael-led minority government.

This makes it all the more unusual that he appears to have an uncanny habit of winding up and angering the Democratic Unionist Party that continued last weekend. As a self-described constitutional nationalist you’d perhaps expect nothing less from the Fine Gael TD, but it’s becoming a bit of a problem asthe DUP’s importance grows in the midst of Brexit.