An anti-Protocol rally at an Orange hall in a rural market town may not have gained much attention had the First Minister still been in post.
But the DUP's decision to pull Paul Givan out of the Stormont Executive last week has heightened focus on unionist protests against the post-Brexit Irish Sea border.
With senior political figures in attendance, many will be assessing the turnout for this event in Dromore, Co Down, to consider whether it gives a reliable gauge of unionist opposition.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and TUV leader Jim Allister were on the billing for the rally, alongside Baroness Kate Hoey and former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib.
While the two Stormont party leaders may share a platform, their messages against the Protocol seem poles apart.
Mr Allister vehemently wants to scrap the Irish Sea trading arrangements in their entirety, warning his supporters: "Unionists either kill the Protocol or it will kill the Union."
Sir Jeffrey however speaks not of ridding Northern Ireland of the Protocol but in more vague terms of removing the "Irish Sea border".
"Unionism has stood together against the Irish Sea border," he said. Whether they all agree on what constitutes an Irish Sea border remains unclear.
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie meanwhile has appeared to walk a more pragmatic line.
He has previously called for a cross-border body to manage Protocol issues, saying the Irish Sea border was "here to stay" but should be invisible like the land border.
Earlier he welcomed into the Ulster Unionist Party the former PUP deputy leader John Kyle, who has previously argued the Protocol potentially offers "significant opportunities" if fundamental changes are made.
"I know we share the same vision for Northern Ireland and a forward-looking, confident unionism," Mr Beattie declared as the Belfast councillor joined the UUP.
Unionist figures who attended the anti-Protocol rally will be hoping it puts pressure on the UK and European Union to make significant changes to the trading arrangements.
But for unionist parties this is also transparently about May's Stormont election.
Speaking after the event, Sir Jeffrey said opposition to the Irish Sea border must be shown in how people vote.
He said: "We need to ensure this translates to the ballot box, to transfers between unionist candidates in order to maximise unionist representation in the next Assembly."
With more anti-Protocol rallies expected in the coming weeks, unionist parties will be hoping these events can also rally their voters to the polling booths.
