United Ireland 'remains a slogan' with few unionists prepared to discuss it, former senior European official says A possible border poll raises many difficult questions, a former European official has said 29 April, 2021 01:00 Geoff Martin, from Bessbrook, Co Armagh, is a former head of the representation of the European Commission in the UK A UNITED Ireland "remains a slogan" with few unionists even prepared to discuss the idea, a former senior European official has said. Geoff Martin, from Bessbrook, Co Armagh, is a former head of the representation of the European Commission in the UK. He was also a policy adviser to the Commonwealth Secretariat for 13 years until his retirement several years ago.