While one can appreciate why some people are offended, Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein First Minister’s Remembrance Day appearance should be applauded.
Michelle O’Neill has announced that she will be the first senior Sinn Fein minister to take part in a Remembrance Day ceremony, in Belfast, on November 10, 2024.
Her decision has prompted more than 100 relatives of people who died in the so-called Troubles to write to the Irish Times, condemning it.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
This is understandable; Remembrance Day and its events commemorate the contributions of British and Commonwealth military and civilian service men and women in the two World Wars – and subsequent conflicts, and the Troubles should be included among them.
But it is also true that the sacrifices of those servicepeople in wars against common enemies have helped everybody in Northern Ireland – Unionist and Republican alike – to continue to seek to enjoy their own way of life.
Ms O’Neill’s attendance is not an endorsement of any harm done by those people, but recognition that they gave their lives in the name of a better life for everybody currently living as part of the United Kingdom.
As a Republican, she wants to take Northern Ireland out of the UK and re-unify it with the Irish Republic – and it seems likely that public opinion will swing towards that, if she is wise in the timing of a referendum on that issue.
Her participation in a ceremony that commemorates people who died to protect Northern Irish citizens’ rights to such democratic processes should be praised – in This Writer’s opinion.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Sinn Fein First Minister’s Remembrance Day appearance should be applauded
While one can appreciate why some people are offended, Northern Ireland’s Sinn Fein First Minister’s Remembrance Day appearance should be applauded.
Michelle O’Neill has announced that she will be the first senior Sinn Fein minister to take part in a Remembrance Day ceremony, in Belfast, on November 10, 2024.
Her decision has prompted more than 100 relatives of people who died in the so-called Troubles to write to the Irish Times, condemning it.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
This is understandable; Remembrance Day and its events commemorate the contributions of British and Commonwealth military and civilian service men and women in the two World Wars – and subsequent conflicts, and the Troubles should be included among them.
But it is also true that the sacrifices of those servicepeople in wars against common enemies have helped everybody in Northern Ireland – Unionist and Republican alike – to continue to seek to enjoy their own way of life.
Ms O’Neill’s attendance is not an endorsement of any harm done by those people, but recognition that they gave their lives in the name of a better life for everybody currently living as part of the United Kingdom.
As a Republican, she wants to take Northern Ireland out of the UK and re-unify it with the Irish Republic – and it seems likely that public opinion will swing towards that, if she is wise in the timing of a referendum on that issue.
Her participation in a ceremony that commemorates people who died to protect Northern Irish citizens’ rights to such democratic processes should be praised – in This Writer’s opinion.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
What does McGuinness’s resignation mean for Northern Ireland’s future in the UK?
So many different groups say Tory-DUP deal breaches the rules – why don’t they team up?
Theresa May torpedoed her own Brexit deal – by forgetting to tell her DUP partners the details