The Taoiseach will not be attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen this weekend, it can be revealed.
Simon Harris will instead be deputised by party colleague and Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD has previously laid a laurel wreath on behalf of the Irish government in 2018.
Since 2012, a representative of the Irish Government has participated in Remembrance Sunday wreath laying in Enniskillen. The tradition was started by Enda Kenny when he was Taoiseach and the role is usually carried out by the Irish Prime Minister. A Government spokeswoman said: "The Government of Ireland will be represented at Enniskillen on Remembrance Sunday by Heather Humphreys, TD, Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development.
"Minister Humphreys previously also represented the Government at this event in 2018."
The news comes as Michelle O'Neill has revealed that she will be attending a Remembrance Sunday wreath laying at Belfast City Hall as First Minister.
It is understood that an invitation was sent to the Northern Ireland Executive for the First Minister to attend the Enniskillen ceremony. Instead, Jayne Brady, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, will attend on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Until now, the Sinn Féin leadership has declined to participate in Remembrance Sunday ceremonies in Northern Ireland, previously citing concerns about excessive British military trappings on show at the events.
Remembrance Sunday also holds an added significance in the context of the Troubles, due to the Enniskillen bombing in 1987.
The no-warning blast at the town’s war memorial, as crowds gathered for the annual ceremony, killed 11 people – with a 12th victim dying years later having never woken from a coma.
Speaking to the PA News Agency, she was asked about how IRA victims may respond to her attendance on Sunday, Ms O’Neill said: “I’ve said it now on a few occasions that I regret every single loss of life. There’s nothing poetic or romantic about war. War is horrible. People lost loved ones, and for this weekend in particular, I think it’s important, because this is, for me, about an acknowledgement of all loss.”
She added: “I’m always comfortable in saying that I am sorry that any single person lost their life in conflict. But, for me, this is an opportunity this weekend to demonstrate that commitment to a shared society, that shared understanding of acceptance in terms of remembrance, that acceptance in terms of the fact that we have a contested past in many ways and contested narratives in many ways as well. But for me, this is about leadership.”
Asked about families whose loved ones were killed by British soldiers during the Troubles, and how they might respond to her attendance, the First Minister spoke of a desire to “create space” for everyone to remember their dead.
“We’re 26 years post the Good Friday Agreement and our own peace agreement, and how precious that is to us all,” she said.
“I also contend that everybody has a right to remember their dead, and I think we need to create the space for all of our people out there to remember their dead in a way that they feel is respectful and appropriate to them. Let’s create space for each other.”
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