I don't think I'll hold my breath for Irish reunification. I think it will happen, but not for several more years. I don't quite know where the idea if a border poll being certain in the next UK Parliment session is coming from, or that the result is certain.
The majority of Irish (Republic of) people view the Unionist northerners as fricking annoying insane people. They don't completely understand the Nationalists either. They had their war of Inpendence and won; the Troubles and ongoing political unrest up North meant a lot just stayed away. I met many middle aged Irish people visiting the North for the first time at the Giant's Causeway. They saw it as Ireland, but not quite. Even our dialect, Ulster Irish, is different. They like the idea of a united Ireland, but aren't happy to vote for it when costs come into the equation. Polls show this.
Most people in Northern Ireland, including a large block of nationalist leaning Catholics, wouldn't be that keen unless pensions, healthcare and reamalgination of the education systems was very well laid out.
Dublin doesn't want the headache of a permanently demented angry Loyalist minority in the north east of the country. However, to be the Irish leader to get credit for reunification is a big draw. Name down in history stuff.
London can't wait to be shot of us in the six counties. Last PM that wanted Northern Ireland was Margaret Thatcher. (Maybe Liz Truss, but that dodn't really count.) We are an expensive millstone.
The Loyalists will never accept it, but ultimately they aren't in the majority anymore so can't stop it. Dublin would probably offer better goverance than Dublin, care more about them, even understand them more than London, but they want so much to be accepted as truely British. They hate the English don't care about their fight, their devotion to King and Country, their massive WW1 deaths (all voluntarily signed up too.) They are devoted to the Royal Family who now almost look at them as an embarrassment. But they will be a thorn in everyone's side for quite a while, united Ireland or not.
The place Northern Ireland holds in most English people's minds was made clear during Covid. The number of English visitors who came on holiday, because the couldn't go on a "proper" foreign holiday, and were surprised we took sterling in Belfast was insane. Teenagers looking at their parents saying "Is this still the UK?"
Off to look into who is predicting a border poll. God knows, I could be living in the same town, different country in five years. Berlin Wall came down faster than anyone predicted.