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O'Neill attends Remembrance Sunday event for first time

PA Media Michell O'Neill wearing a blue jacket carrying a green wreath. Behind her some men stand out of focus wearing suits and poppies. To her left behind stone columns some people hold up cameras and phone to take photos.PA Media
The first minister is the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has become the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

O'Neill laid a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall in her role as first minister.

Several Sinn Féin politicians have laid wreaths in previous years, but she is the first to stay for the main Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn attended a service in Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, while junior Northern Ireland Office minister Fleur Anderson was at the service in Belfast.

PA Media Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly standing together, both with their hands crosses in front of them. Michelle O'Neill is wearing blue and Emma Little-Pengelly is wearing black and has a poppy on her lapel. In the foreground a man in military dress who is out of focus.PA Media
Michelle O'Neill attended the Belfast ceremony alongside Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Other ceremonies were held in cities, towns and villages across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK

Belfast's ceremony began at 11:00 GMT and included Lord Mayor Micky Murray laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of the citizens of Belfast.

O'Neill received some criticism for attending the event.

In a letter published in the Irish News, more than 100 relatives of victims of the Troubles from the republican community in County Tyrone hit out at her decision.

The letter said they felt "deeply hurt, frustrated and angry".

Posting on social media ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, O'Neill said she was "committed to representing everyone equally".

"Through my words and actions, I will honour that commitment," she said.

"We each have our own identity, experiences, and perspectives.

"As an Irish republican who believes in a united Ireland, I have my own perspective also.

"As we move towards a better future I am committed as first minister to moving beyond old limits and building bridges."

In a message on the wreath that she laid, O'Neill wrote: "Today I remember all lives lost in the horror of war and conflict - past and present."

PA Media UK party leaders Gavin Robinson, Stephen Flynn, Ed Davy, Kemi Badenoch, and Sir Kier Stammer standing in a line holding poppy wreathes.PA Media
Gavin Robinson (far left) attended the ceremony in London

Speaking after the ceremony in Belfast, Little-Pengelly Remembrance Sunday was about "keeping that focus not on those who are here, but those who are not here because of the sacrifice that they have paid for the defence and freedom of out country".

"It is really important that this is a day that we approach with gratitude in a solemn manner but with a focus on what it is all about and that is remembrance," she said.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson attended the ceremony in London alongside the prime minister and leaders of the other main UK political parties.

The King and Prince of Wales also laid wreaths.

Hilary Benn standing holding a wreath. he is wearing a long black coat with a poppy on it. Beside him a woman in military dress also holding a wrath of poppies. In the foreground a man in military dress holding a rifle facing away from the camera.
Hilary Benn attended the remembrance ceremony in Enniskillen.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris did not attend an event but Irish President Michael D Higgins attended the annual remembrance service at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

Hilary Benn was joined in Enniskillen by Ireland's Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys.

A green wreath among red poppy wreaths. On the wreath a note that reads "In remembrance on behalf of the government of Ireland"
Heather Humphreys laid a wreath in Enniskillen on behalf of the Irish government

Justice Minister Naomi Long unveiled a commemorative ceramic Poppy Wreath at the the Northern Ireland Prison Service annual remembrance ceremony on Friday.

The memorial service to remember 32 officers who lost their lives in the course of duty was held at Hydebank Wood Memorial Garden.

The ceramic wreath, with the King's insignia at the centre, was hand-made by prisoners, a number of whom are ex-servicemen.

Designed by Lucy Turner, from Prison Arts Foundation, the poppy wreath was a collaborative piece of work with armed forces charity SSAFA, Belfast Met and the Prison Service.

Michael Cooper Naomi Long standing at a cenotaph wearing black alongside two others who are also wearing black. The commemorative ceramic Poppy Wreath is sitting in front of them.Michael Cooper
Justice Minister Naomi Long paid tribute to the prison officers who had lost thier lives in service alongside Beverley Wall, Prison Service director general and David Kennedy, Director of Prisons and Chairman of the Central Benevolent Fund

In Ballyclare in County Antrim, South Antrim MP Robin Swann attended alongside fellow Ulster Unionist Party politician Steve Aiken.

Pacemaker Soldiers salute as they march down a road passed a group of people standing under a gazebo.Pacemaker
Robin Swann took part in the Ballyclare ceremony
Pacemaker A line of people including people in military dress, police, firefighters, school children, and members of the Orange Order.Pacemaker
People lined up to lay wreathes in Comber, County Down
Pacemaker People in green and tartan uniforms wearing medals marching.Pacemaker
Former service personnel marched in Newtownards, County Down

Sinn Féin's changing approach

More than 20 years have passed since Alex Maskey became the first Sinn Féin lord mayor to pay his respects to the war dead at the Cenotaph.

On 1 July 2002 he laid a laurel wreath at the monument two hours ahead of the main council ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

Maskey described his gesture as a "major step for republicans and nationalists on this island".

He did not attend the main ceremony that year, refusing to take part in what he called a "military commemoration" of the World War One battle.

Since then, Sinn Féin politicians have always declined to attend Cenotaph wreath laying ceremonies in any official capacity.

In the years that have passed, there have been other firsts and many other gestures in a bid to promote reconciliation and good relations.

In 2016 Martin McGuinness travelled to France and Belgium as part of a two-day trip to World War One battlefields.

He laid wreaths at the sites where the Somme and the Battle of Messines took place a century earlier.

In July 2022 O'Neill laid a laurel wreath at the Belfast Cenotaph to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

However, she declined to be drawn on why she did not attend the wider Somme commemoration event at the same venue that year.