Sports commentator and political analyst Joe Brolly was disconnected from RTÉs Claire Byrne Live last night, following a series of comments he made about the DUP. Mr Brolly was one of a handful of guests on the show who gave their opinions on what a United Ireland might look like and how it would operate.In his opening remarks, Mr Brolly described Northern Ireland as a dysfunctional entity. 
However, he said the country had become a new place because of the transformations it had undergone since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Brolly said that England and its people had “zero kinship” with Northern Irish Unionists. 
Referring to earlier remarks made by DUP MLA Gregory Campbell, Mr Brolly said Mr Campbell was living in “a fantasy land.” 
“One of the big problems in the North has been the very very poor leadership of the DUP, who have been interested in triumphalism and short-termism,” he said.
Speaking over video chat, Mr Brolly said he himself didnt care whether a united Ireland was achieved, but rather he wanted “a sensible long-term solution” to problems faced by Northern Ireland and Ireland.
He then took aim at the DUP leadership who, he said, often appeared to be publicly “chuckling and guffawing when people are trying to have a serious discussion.” 
He accused the DUP of “laughing at the Irish language, laughing at Gaelic sports” and claimed the party had made homophobic and racist statements. 
At this point, host Claire Byrne said Mr Campbell, who was no longer present on the show, would likely deny some of the charges made by Mr Brolly.
Given Mr Campbells absence and therefore his inability to defend himself from Mr Brollys comments, Ms Byrne moved away from Mr Brolly and back to the guests in-studio.
The link to Mr Brollys video chat was then removed from the screen RTÉ studio screen.
After the show, Mr Brolly wrote on Twitter that he was “taken off air” due to his remarks, and shared screenshots of news stories which, he claimed, backed up his points.
Earlier in the show, Mr Campbell said that a United Ireland was not going to happen.
Were not going to agree to it, so lets get on in the real world,” he said.
“On the island of Ireland we have people who want to be and identify as British, and we have people who want to be and identify as Irish.
“Where are those groups – and a third group who may not be comfortable identifying as either – in which jurisdiction are those identifications more clearly outlined and more comfortable with each other at the moment?
“The answer is within Northern Ireland. People can be Irish, they can British or they can be neither. You cant say that of the Irish republic.”
Mr Campbell said people in Northern Ireland would be better served by politicians working within the concept of what was in place at the moment, rather than going into “cloud cuckoo land to devise mechanisms that wont be agreed with.
A host of contributors spoke on last night’s show, including Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, former Taoiseach John Bruton, former Irish rugby international Andrew Trimble, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and Northern Ireland Alliance Party leader Naomi Long.