FORMER ULSTER Unionist councillor Harvey Bicker, who has confirmed that he has joined Fianna Fáil, is a former British army officer and current member of President Mary McAleese's Council of State.
Mr Bicker, from south Down, was a senior pro-Belfast Agreement member of the UUP's ruling Ulster Unionist Council during the difficult years for former leader David Trimble when there were serious divisions over the agreement.
The Ulster Unionist Party has downplayed his switch of allegiance, arguing that he hasn't been active in the party since he resigned as a councillor on Down Council almost four years ago.
Attracting a unionist to join the party is something of a minor coup for Fianna Fáil, however, which has decided to organise in Northern Ireland. Some SDLP members favour a formal link-up with the party. A strategy committee led by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is due to report on the matter later this year.
Businessman and military historian Mr Bicker wasn't available for contact last night, but he told RTÉ that he felt now was the time to join Fianna Fáil as he was spending a lot of time in the Republic working on issues of reconciliation and military heritage.
He believed it was now opportune to move into that environment and hopefully to represent the views of his unionist community to Fianna Fáil.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warmly welcomed Mr Bicker's decision to join Fianna Fáil.
"Harvey Bickers quietly joined up a few weeks ago. He is one of a number of prominent unionists who have joined the party. He was on the UUP council. I had a fair few crosses with him 10 years ago during the Good Friday agreement," he said.
DUP MLA Peter Weir said the defection proved that Ulster Unionism was incapable of delivering for unionism.
The "progression from the Ulster Unionist Party into a pro-united Ireland party is a natural enough one" for Mr Bicker, he added.
"I am not surprised in the least that some of those who supported that anti-unionist Belfast Agreement project, like Harvey Bicker, should be welcomed into the fold of Fianna Fáil. Let's not forget that this is a party that voted against the Anglo-Irish Agreement in the Dublin parliament because they didn't think it went far enough," said Mr Weir.