On Thursday 21st October, a service at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh marked the centenary of the partition of Ireland and the establishment of Northern Ireland. The “Service of Reflection and Hope”, organised by the leaders of Ireland’s main Protestant and Catholic churches, was tainted with controversy weeks before it took place. Irish President Michael D. Higgins announced he would not attend the service, because “what [had started out as] an invitation to a religious service had in fact become a political statement”. His stance reflects the difficulty of commemorating such a divisive event. Enacted against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, partition divided the island into two entities: Northern Ireland, a semi-devolved region within the UK, and the Irish Free State, a dominion within the Commonwealth (until 1949 when it declared itself a republic). A century later, partition and the ensuing Civil War of 1922 to 1923 remains, for many, a painful chapter in Irish history. The lasting hostilities and divisions were laid bare in the sectarian conflict of more recent decades: the “Troubles”.

“It doesn’t get much more ecumenical than an inter-faith church service”

A tricky centenary, then, for certain. However, it’s unclear what Higgins found so objectionable in the service’s title. This was no celebration of partition. It would be difficult to construct a more carefully-worded pitch than an “opportunity for honest reflection on the past one hundred years, with the acknowledgement of failures and hurts, but also with a clear affirmation of our shared commitment to building a future marked by peace, reconciliation and a commitment to the common good”. It doesn’t get much more ecumenical than an inter-faith church service. The hard-line republican Sinn Féin’s boycott was unsurprising. Higgins’ strong record on reconciliation in the past, however, makes his absence more disappointing. Throughout the “Decade of Commemorations”, his Macnamh 100 initiative has organised seminars reflecting on events including the First World War, the Easter Rising, and the War of Independence. The aims of Macnamh, the Irish phrase for “reflection, contemplation, meditation and thought”, are not at odds with a “Service of Reflection and Hope”.

The service itself was dignified and inclusive. Far from being a celebration of partition, the overall tone was sombre, as when the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, expressed regret at how “partition has polarised people on this island”. The Church of Ireland Primate John McDowell spoke of the lack of cross-community connection growing up in unionist East Belfast: “there was always a sense of them and us”. Archbishop Martin recalled how Troubles-era border checkpoints spoiled childhood holidays south of the border, a timely reminder that the Irish border was a contentious issue long before Brexit. The President of the Methodist Church, Reverend Dr Sahr Yambasu, reflected on the need “to give thanks and, also, lament; to imagine what could be, and to choose the way forward that can be mutually beneficial”. Most notable was Archbishop Martin’s acknowledgement of “the difficult truth that perhaps we in the churches could have done more to deepen our understanding of each other and to bring healing and peace to our divided and wounded communities”. Prayers were read by two victims injured in the Troubles, Professor Mary Hannon-Fletcher and Robert Barfoot, serving as a powerful reminder of the purpose of commemoration and reconciliation.

In fact, the only crass element was Boris Johnson wearing a Union Jack face mask. Which brings us back to the politicians, who unfortunately do not approach reconciliation as sensitively as the church leaders. While Higgins’ absence was disappointing, no one could have been surprised by the Democratic Unionist Party leaping at the opportunity to attack him. Their accusation that he was snubbing the Queen fell a bit flat when it became clear she wasn’t attending either (albeit for medical, not political, reasons). And as Higgins correctly pointed out, their righteous indignation was “a bit much” given that there “often has not been a great deal of traffic down [south] from the DUP”. Most glaringly, the DUP are boycotting the North-South Ministerial Council in opposition to the post-Brexit Northern Irish Protocol. Participation in the cross-border NSMC is a condition of the Troubles-ending Good Friday Agreement of 1998, meaning that the boycott has recently been judged unlawful by the Belfast High Court.

“Sinn Féin, after all, wrote the manual on politics-through-truancy”

Perhaps, then, absence is what defines Northern Irish politicians. Sinn Féin, after all, wrote the manual on politics-through-truancy by refusing to take their seats in Westminster. The attendance at the service of senior Irish government ministers Simon Coveney and Jack Chambers, as well as Colum Eastwood, leader of the moderate nationalist SDLP, shows that some are taking more constructive approaches to commemoration. Still, the service had barely concluded before a new fight began about the Northern Ireland Office’s plans to light up buildings across the UK in green and blue to mark the centenary. Sinn Fein blocked the proposal in both the Stormont Assembly and Belfast City Hall, creating the farcical picture of acknowledgment of Northern Ireland — in everywhere but Northern Ireland. Plus ça change.

A hundred years after partition, the goal of a peaceful and inclusive society seems as challenging as in 1921. Coming to terms with a contested past requires leaders to acknowledge that their opponents have valid perspectives. The church leaders have acknowledged their responsibility. It is time for the politicians to follow their lead.