Irish citizens woke up today to learn that a compromise had finally been struck over the border - but what exactly it will mean in practice is still unclear.

The agreement that Theresa May finally signed off with Brussels has a firm commitment that there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic and no customs barrier in the Irish Sea.

It means the Prime Minister is pinning all her hopes of striking a free trade deal.

If she fails, she has committed the UK to remaining in alignment with Brussels even after Brexit, meaning the it could remain in the single market and customs union.

The Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was a clear winner, as his insistence there were no hard borders was honoured.

On the other side of the border, Mrs May's allies in the DUP were less happy, saying they had wanted longer to thrash out the details.

"There are still matters there that we would have liked to have seen clarified," said DUP leader Arlene Foster.

"We ran out of time, essentially."

She said they had called for more talks but Mrs May insisted she must push forward "in the national interest."

There was a cautious welcome to news of the agreement among many in Ireland.

But John Dunne, the managing director of a freight firm, said the latest text revealed that politicians were still trying to kick a final decision on the contentious Irish question down the road.