STORMONT’S First Minister is set to participate in the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Belfast City Hall, marking the first time a senior Sinn Fein figure will take part in such an event in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said her attendance was a demonstration of her determination to fulfil her pledge to be a “First Minister for all”.
It comes as a Field of Remembrance officially opened to the public in Northern Ireland’s capital on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland's First Minister told the PA news agency that she appreciated some republicans would be “uncomfortable” with her being there, but she insisted it was nevertheless the “right thing to do”.
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“Back in February, it was a moment of progress and equality here when I became the first nationalist, republican First Minister and I made very firm pledges at that time that I would represent everybody in society,” O'Neill (below) said.
“So, for me, this is about acknowledgement of loss, but it’s also about being respectful to all those people out there and fulfilling my commitment to be First Minister for all.”
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A total of six Royal British Legion Fields of Remembrance are set to be opened across the UK, with other sites in Westminster, Cardiff, Swindon, Gateshead and the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
More than 30,000 tributes will be planted across the six fields taking the form of a Remembrance Cross, Muslim Crescent, Star of David, Sikh Khanda, Hindu Om or secular tribute.
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