Armistice centenary: why Northern Ireland's culture divide is still an obstacle to remembering the past

As city bells chime 11 o'clock on November 11, 2018, Belfast will join much of the world in observing the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I. This will be a solemn, dignified – if not altogether inclusive – affair, affirming at the hallowed ground of the City Hall cenotaph the will to remember the ultimate sacrifice made by so many.

In 2013, Sinn Féin’s Máirtín Ó Muilleoir broke symbolic ground as the first republican lord mayor of Belfast to participate in an Armistice Day event. Previously, November’s remembrance events in Northern Ireland were boycotted due to the association with the British armed forces.