The Boston College Library in the US is home to a collection of Bobbie Hanvey photographs taken to record the historic moment in 2002 when the first Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast, Alex Maskey, led his party colleagues to the British cenotaph in the grounds of city hall to lay a wreath to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
On that occasion, Maskey commented that: “My initiative is equally in recognition of the sorrow, hurt and suffering left behind for their relatives, friends and comrades. My objective beyond this is to seek to identify common ground for all of us in this generation.”
For the next 20 years, Sinn Féin took care to mark occasions of significance relating to Irishmen who fought in the two world wars in British uniforms, whilst drawing a clear line at partaking in Remembrance Sunday ceremonies, for reasons that are self-evident.
On that date, the British forces being remembered annually include the Parachute Regiment who caused mayhem and murder in Derry and Ballymurphy; the RUC, who murdered many people in the summer of 1969 and beyond; and the UDR, who terrorised nationalists in villages and dark lanes across the north.
Remembrance in a divided society is something that should be handled sensitively, both with regard to respecting other people’s right to remember but also in being mindful of the victims created by those being remembered.
So it is a two-way issue, and should be viewed as such, in November and at Easter.
The difficulty for Sinn Féin is that, by virtue of changing their policy on being involved in a British remembrance event paying tribute to British forces who left victims in their wake within living memory, the party will undoubtedly have caused offence and hurt many within their own community.
That is unavoidable. Therefore it is something they need to handle very carefully.
The manner in which the decision to attend the Remembrance Sunday event was announced illustrates the challenges Sinn Féin continues to experience with regard to its media strategy in the north since the McMonagle scandal erupted.
Michelle O’Neill should have been ever-present on the airwaves and in studios in the week leading up to the service, articulating the reasons for her decision, providing clarity and reassurance to nationalists, including relatives of victims of the British state, taken aback by the party’s sudden volte face.
Such was the level of confusion within republican ranks that some party members I spoke to were not even sure if she intended on wearing a poppy and laying a poppy wreath, as every preceding First Minister had done in the post-Good Friday Agreement era.
In the event, she laid a laurel wreath, maintaining the tradition established by Alex Maskey and in keeping with Irish government protocol, a subtle but necessary distinction.
Only a matter of months ago, in June 2024, Michelle O’Neill was evasive when asked about whether she would attend republican commemorations in the north, replying that she would “be conscious of the office” she holds.
At face value, it is understandable that some within the republican community would feel insulted as her actions and words suggest Sinn Féin believe a First Minister is obliged to ignore republican remembrance but fully participate in British remembrance events, including those honouring British forces who killed and terrorised nationalist communities since 1969.
I suspect Michelle O’Neill and her advisors are very aware of the validity of these concerns, and would anticipate her now indicating that being conscious of her office entails being obliged to participate in republican remembrance events in her capacity as First Minister.
We have a historical problem in this part of Ireland relating to the media framing of British Remembrance as an issue deemed non-contentious and to which everyone should respect and be involved with, something that is in and of itself deeply offensive to nationalists well beyond the republican community.
Attendance at republican commemorations regularly prompts questions to Sinn Féin representatives about specific atrocities from a half century ago, with the idea of victims being re-traumatised being raised. Those republicans being commemorated will even be dismissed as victim makers.
Of course, every one of those charges could equally be applied to those honoured at British Remembrance events.
The legacy of British violence and power as applied in Ireland has ensured unionists prominently commemorate in the middle of the civic space, with republicans commemorating on the margins.
Sinn Féin has struggled to move the dial in any significant manner with regard to using its enhanced position of power and authority to redress this historic imbalance.
We have a historical problem in this part of Ireland relating to the media framing of British Remembrance as an issue deemed non-contentious
That absence of reciprocity should not dictate republican outreach, but requires acknowledgement to avoid fuelling disillusionment and alienation.
After Michelle O’Neill’s participation in Remembrance Sunday, the focus will rightly be on political and civic unionism to finally demonstrate a capacity to reciprocate – not simply partaking in republican commemorations, but also ending the manufactured outrage when Irish republicans hold remembrance events.
The common ground Alex Maskey spoke of 20 years ago is a place where we respectfully carve out space for each to solemnly remember.
It is long past time unionists had the courage to join their neighbours on that ground.