Sinn Féin's Mr Martin McGuinness was pelted by eggs in Belfast today after he urged unionists to have the imagination to become part of a united Ireland.
No one was hurt when up to 15 DUP supporters ambushed Mr McGuinness on his way out of the meeting with around 250 students at Queen’s University.
Dismissing the egg-throwing incident by supporters of the Democratic Unionist Party(DUP), he said: "Once again the DUP, vastly outnumbered and insecure in their arguments, have resorted to these sorts of tactics."
Mr McGuinness called on republicans to help persuade Protestants their future lies in reunification.
He said: "For many unionists this is a terrifying prospect.
"Change can be seen as a threat. Change is always difficult, even in our personal lives, even when it is for the better."
But despite the trauma such a massive move would cause, the Mid-Ulster MP insisted a united Ireland was the best option for both communities.
Earlier he had accepted the huge step it would be for unionists to cut their ties with Britain.
With a majority consent needed on the constitutional question it was up to republicans to convince them where their true future lies, he argued.
"We have to quietly, persuasively, and as friends and neighbours persuade unionists that they should not be afraid of taking a leap of imagination," he said.
"A united Ireland cannot by definition be a cold house for unionists.
"It must guarantee their rights and entitlements so that they have their own place, their own stake in and a sense of security and ownership."
Mr McGuinness's call came after Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid warned against allowing unionists to feel ostracised.
He said: "All of us will have failed if we arrive at a situation where we have replaced an alienated group of people on one side of the community with a group on the other side who feel alienated."
PA