Former Unionist politician John Taylor, now life peer Baron Kilclooney, maintains that Donegal would be better off as part of Northern Ireland, but struggled to spell the name of the country he feels so strongly about.

Taking to twitter in fury on Monday evening, he wrote: “The speech today by M Barnier, the EU negotiator on BREXIT, proves beyond doubt that the EU is scheming against the pro UK majority in Northern Ireland and is trying to encourage a United Irekabd by stealth.

The DUP, as largest NI party, should be lobbying EU national leaders!”

This Twitter storm castigated not just “Irekabd”, but also “Irekand” and “Southern Urekand” for “scheming” with the EU on unification. Mr Taylor also insisted that the issue of the Northern Ireland border after Brexit is not the UK’s problem to solve: “The Irish created the border by exiting the UK and they must now accept the consequences.”

Following on from this series of tweets, Mr Taylor told Newstalk Breakfast on Wednesday that “Donegal has been ignored by Dublin since 1921, that’s why half its population moved.”

The speech today by M Barnier, the EU negotiator on BREXIT, proves beyond doubt that the EU is scheming against the pro UK majority in Northern Ireland and is trying to encourage a United Irekabd by stealth . The DUP, as largest NI party, should be lobbying EU national leaders! — Lord John Kilclooney (@KilclooneyJohn) November 20, 2017

Wrong! The Irish created the border by exiting the UK and they must now accept the consequences. BREXIT will damage Southern Ireland more than any other EU nation. The Irish must eventually come up with answers and stop pretending there is no problem! — Lord John Kilclooney (@KilclooneyJohn) November 20, 2017

Afraid you do not understand what is happening.Brexit will help to bring Southern Urekand closer to the UK again. Not only in freedom of movement - the Common Travel Area- but also in trading relations. Watch it!! — Lord John Kilclooney (@KilclooneyJohn) November 20, 2017

He also pointed out that Northern Ireland receives a £10 billion block grant every year and some of that could be used in Donegal.

The division of Ulster into Northern Ireland in 1921 was sectarian, he admitted with Donegal being omitted by Edward Carson because it was primarily Catholic.

“The feeling at the time was that Home Rule meant Rome Rule. That’s no longer the case because Rome rule has ceased in the Republic.”

He said the “bare facts” were that the population in Donegal had halved while the population in Derry and Tyrone had increased.

“If Donegal were in Northern Ireland they wouldn’t be suffering.”

He was adamant that people in Northern Ireland would not vote for a United Ireland as their main market is the UK and there was no way they would want to be cut off from that.

“Our number one market is the UK, not the Republic.”