An Irish TV host was moved to tears on air as she read out the names of victims of The Troubles who had died on that day in history, in a stark warning about the threat to peace posed by a disordely Brexit.

In a segment of her prime time RTE show, Claire Byrne called on politicians to ensure there is no return to a hard border, which she feared could see a repeat of the dark days of Northern Ireland’s past.

With the UK set to leave the European Union on 29 March, the issue of the backstop and the Irish border are still unresolved.

It is feared that if the UK crashes out of the bloc without a withdrawal deal - despite the commitments of both parties - it will be necessary to reintroduce a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Many across Ireland fear that the return of such a divisive symbol would provoke a return to the violence of The Troubles.

Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced ‘Welcome to Northern Ireland’ sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. ‘I’ve been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again,’ Johnson said laughing. ‘We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that it’s gone, we wouldn't like it back again’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crockett’s Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. ‘At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day,’ said Crockett. ‘If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio – the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. ‘When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village,’ said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. ‘Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. ‘I live in the south but the business is in the North,’ said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if there’s duty, I’ll have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. I’ll have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. ‘I’d be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, you’d have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful,’ said Mullen. ‘All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief’ Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters

At the beginning of Ms Byrne's show, she opened the book Lost Lives, which documents the 3,637 people who were killed during the conflict between 1968 to 1998.

“It’s a reminder, if one is needed, as to why we can never allow a return to violence,” she said. “There’s just 46 days for politicians to come together and to ensure that there is no hard border on this island, and to make sure that there are no more excuses for violence and bloodshed.”

Then, selecting the day’s date, 11 February, she listed the people who were murdered on that day in history: Thomas Donaghy in 1974, Samuel Mein in 1975, Winston Howe in 1980, John McCabe in 1986 and Thomas Molloy in 1993.

The men’s stories left her visibly moved, and she was then seen to hold back tears as she spoke with Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aidan was killed in the Omagh bombing in 1998.

“Your son is in this book, and I read his story today,” she said. “I’m sorry to put you through that, but it’s important for us to have this conversation at this point in time.”

Mr Gallagher spoke of how his younger brother had been killed by the IRA in 1984, at the height of the conflict, while his son was killed in the Omagh bomb which was carried out after the Good Friday Agreement by the Official IRA, who opposed the peace process.

“My family is a victim of The Troubles and also a victim of the peace," he said. "I think it’s important that we are here, and we are recognised.

"Those people who are in that book have died so that we can have the peace that we have, and this very serious situation called Brexit has the possibility of sending us back into those dark days.”

Viewers praised Ms Byrne on social media for the “powerful” show, and for “putting victims front and centre".

During The Troubles, the Northern Ireland border – a meandering line which includes hundreds of crossings across 310 miles – was notoriously difficult to police, with many Royal Ulster Constabulary officers and British soldiers targeted by the IRA as they patrolled it.