PRESIDENT MICHAEL D HIGGINS has found himself at the centre of controversy in recent days after declining an invitation to a church service marking 100 years since the partition of Ireland.

News broke that the President, who is currently in Rome where he met Pope Francis, declined the invitation two days ago. Since then, he has been criticised by unionist parties and had to publicly defend his decision.

The event is set to take place in St Patrick’s Cathedral Armagh on Thursday 21 October.

What is the event?

The Church Leaders Group is an all-island collection of Christian church leaders.

Named “a Service of Reflection and Hope”, the church-led event has been organised by the Church Leaders Group to “mark the centenaries of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland”.

The service is just one of many events taking place this year to observe the centenary of the formation of Northern Ireland.

In a press statement from the Church Leaders Group they describe the service as “part of their wider programme of collective engagement around the 1921 centenaries, with an emphasis on their common Christian commitment to peace, healing and reconciliation.”

The Church Leaders Group said the service would be “offered as a contribution to the work of building community and deepening relationships.”

The Irish Times reported today that the group had been organising the service for over seven months.

The location of Armagh was identified as a result of its position as Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital.

What has the President said about it?

After news broke about the President declining the invitation, he was criticised by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in a statement on Wednesday. The following morning, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson spoke to Morning Ireland and defended the event as an act of reconciliation.

“Well, the event, the service, is being hosted by the four main churches, and I have to say that they will be drawn into politics,” he said.

“It simply reflects the reality of what this moment in our history was about. I know that it is contentious. I understand that there are people on both sides, who take a different view.”

Donaldson said that the event was about “stepping outside of your comfort zone”. 

“When you consider the enormous steps towards reconciliation that were taken by Her Majesty the Queen when she visited Dublin and the boundaries that were broken by that visit, the taboos that were taken apart and the healing and reconciliation that arose and occurred from that event.”

“I think it is regrettable that the head of state of the Republic of Ireland feels that he cannot attend this service because it is not about politics, it’s actually about hope and reconciliation,” he added. 

Higgins later spoke to the Irish Times in Rome on Thursday. He said the title of the event, which states the service will mark the centenaries of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland, is being “politicised”, making it inappropriate for him to attend. 

Higgins also said that the invitation had referred to him as the President of the Republic of Ireland as opposed to the President of Ireland.

Speaking today, the Church Leaders Group said the invitation was sent to the President on 20 May and had been addressed to “The President of Ireland”. 

This afternoon, the President has conceded that the invitation did refer to him as the President of Ireland. 

He defended his decision to decline the invitation and said that marking the centenary of the founding of Northern Ireland is not “a neutral statement politically”.

Higgins challenged the criticism he has received from the DUP.

“It’s a bit much, to be frank with you. I have gone up to Northern Ireland to take part in events,” he said. 

“There often has not been a great deal of traffic down from the DUP people who are criticising me now.”

Higgins said that, on the day of the service, he had already agreed to host the Statistical and Social Inquiry Association of Ireland at Aras an Uachtaráin in Dublin.

Responses to his decision

Political and religious leaders weighed in on the President’s decision.

The Church Leaders Group have called Higgin’s decision not to attend the event “unexpected”.

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald tweeted: “Uachtaráin na hÉireann has made clear his decision not to attend a commemorative event. His decision is the correct one.”

The partition of Ireland was a catastrophe for our people and our country. The partition of Ireland costs us to this day, holds us back, divides us. Uachtarán na hÉireann has made clear his decision not to attend a commemorative event. His decision is the correct one.

— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) September 17, 2021

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was asked about the controversy during a visit to Belfast.

“There was consultation between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Áras (president’s official residence) on this issue and many other issues, but I can assure you President Higgins is the kind of person who makes his own decisions,” he said.

“He listens to all perspectives and then makes a judgment for himself.”

“And, you know, he’s made his decision on this. He’s given an explanation as to the basis for that decision and I think we need to respect that.”

The minister said he is “not going to second-guess the decisions of the President of Ireland”.

“He makes his own decisions and he makes his own judgment calls, and I respect that.”

Also speaking to reporters this morning, Green Party leader and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said that President Higgins was “fully entitled” to make his own decision about his attendance. 

“I have to respect the president’s judgment. It’s his job to make those calls and he’s been an outstanding president for our country. I don’t think anyone in government will question the president, he’s fully entitled to make those judgement calls,” Ryan said. 

Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) said: “I would respectfully ask that those for whom this is disappointing reflect on the honest remarks made by President Higgins last night and understand the views of those for whom partition is not a cause for celebration or commemoration.”

He also urged political leaders across Ireland to “pause and reflect on the weight of their words”.

Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne this morning, former Taoiseach John Bruton rejected the idea that the event would be a commemoration of partition.

“This is not a commemoration, this is simply marking an anniversary, it is to be a prayerful event, and is to be attended by the head of State of the United Kingdom,” he said. 

“I think it is a great opportunity for the two of them to stand together and show that there is a future for Northern Ireland that is both Irish, and also has a dimension that expresses the Unionist sentiment as well.”

Bruton added that he believed the President should reverse his decision and the was in breach of his constitutional obligations.

“We are trying to bring the Unionist community on side to accept the protocol, and to accept a closer relationship with us. It seems to me that gestures towards recognition of their heritage are very important on behalf of the Irish state, if we want to achieve peace and harmony in Northern Ireland.”

Responding to Bruton’s comments after questions from reporters in Rome, President Higgins said that Bruton was “wrong in his interpretation of the Constitution”.

“I’m the President of Ireland, that’s the constitutional position, the legal position,” he said. 

Higgins went on to suggest that Bruton should withdraw his comments.

Is there a precedent for declining centenary commemorations?

In 2016, the then-First Minister of Northern Ireland and DUP leader Arlene Foster declined an invitation to an event in Dublin commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

At the time, she described the Easter Rising as “a violent act that killed many hundreds of Irish people.”

However, she said she acknowledged that everyone who was killed in 1916, including British soldiers and police officers, was recognised at the event, “and at least that was progress”.

In a BBC interview in January 2016, Foster said: “Easter 1916 was a very violent attack on the state. And it wasn’t just an attack on the state. It was an attack against democracy at that time.”

“Anyone that knows me knows that I believe in democracy and I believe in the democratic will, and therefore I just do not believe that it would be right for me to go and to commemorate such an occasion,” she added.

Following her comments, then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny revealed his disappointment at Foster’s decision to decline the invitation and urged her to reconsider.

In response to Kenny’s remarks, Foster said: “I am not going to be involved in anything that is going to attack or denigrate that union. I can’t understand why he is disappointed.”