Reflections on the Centenary of the Government of Ireland Act
Speech 10 December 2020
Queens University Belfast
I welcome very much this opportunity to reflect, together with Brandon and Arlene and Michelle and this panel of eminent historians, on the centenary of the Government of Ireland Act.
History does not come with neat beginnings and endings, but the passage of this Act in 1920, through which the Westminster Parliament gave its approval and legal underpinning to partition and the foundation of Northern Ireland, is clearly a landmark moment in the history of this island, and these islands.
2021 will, I know, see a range of different events to mark that centenary in different ways. And, in light of the different perspectives that people will bring, I think that is a positive thing.