Her stand has provided a point of attack for unionists, many of whom want to see the Democratic Unionists withdraw from the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont — since that’s the only legal way to force O’Neill and Sinn Féin out of power, too. The government cannot function unless the largest parties on both sides of the divide agree to cooperate.

Sinn Féin and the DUP are girding up for the next assembly elections due by May 2027. Both parties appear to agree that there’s more votes to be won from rekindling winner-takes-all fights over symbols and turf, than in running a government that has struggled to achieve anything concrete.

As Little-Pengelly confronted her executive equal inside the chamber, her own Democratic Unionist boss, Gavin Robinson, told reporters outside that his party would file a formal complaint against O’Neill with Stormont’s Commissioner for Standards — a first step towards seeking her censure or ouster via a vote of no confidence.

That seems next to impossible, given that the core rules of Stormont power-sharing require majority backing on both sides of the house for such moves —and Sinn Féin, the largest party in the chamber, won’t vote to expel its own leader.

Robinson also called on the police commander, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, to confirm he will charge O’Neill and other Sinn Féin politicians who joined the Garvaghy Road protest. The police, he said, must “demonstrate clearly that the law applies equally to everyone, that nobody irrespective of rank has a ‘get out of jail free’ card.”

The Orange Order, likewise, called for the police to crack down on the protesters, particularly the Sinn Féin figures in their ranks.