Jack Chambers

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among 150 guests attending a church service to mark the centenary of partition and the formation of Northern Ireland .

Politicians from both sides of the Irish border are taking part in the cross-community event in Armagh.

The Queen had been due to attend but was.

Irish president Michael D Higgins, as he felt The Service was " not politically neutral".

He Said he felt The Event

The Armagh church service has been organised to " mark the centenaries of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland ".

President Higgins said the title of The Service made it " inappropriate" for him to attend as head of state.

Sinn Féin also decided not to attend.

However, Colum Eastwood , the leader of Northern Ireland 's other nationalist party, the SDLP, is present.

The Event was organised by the leaders of the main Protestant and Catholic Churches. They have called it " A Service of Reflection and Hope".

St Patrick's Church of Ireland cathedral has room for 500 but numbers have been restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among those present are Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan , DUP; DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson ; Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie and Alliance leader Naomi Long .

- Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney , Fine Gael , and Chief Whip Jack Chambers , Fianna Fáil.

Northern Ireland 's deputy First Minister , Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill, is not at The Service , nor is the speaker of the Stormont Assembly, Alex Maskey .

Deputy speaker Roy Beggs MLA is formally representing The Assembly .

Northern Ireland was established in.

It followed decades of turmoil between nationalists, who wanted independence from British rule, and unionists, who wanted to remain in the United Kingdom .

The Border divided the 32-county island into two separate jurisdictions - Six counties in the north-east became Northern Ireland , which is still part of the UK. The Other 26-county territory became the Irish Free State , but is now The Republic of Ireland.

Nationalists, north and south of The Border , were infuriated by partition and continued to campaign for independence for the whole island.

Many unionists were also bitterly disappointed, especially those who lived on the southern side and woke up to find themselves in a new state on 3 May 1921.

The Bbc News NI website has a dedicated section marking the 100th anniversary of The Creation of Northern Ireland and partition of The Island .

There are special reports on The Major figures of The Time and The Events that shaped Modern Ireland available at.

Year '21: You can also explore how Northern Ireland was created a hundred years ago in The Company of Tara Mills and Declan Harvey.

Listen to the latest Year '21 podcast on or catch-up on previous episodes.

The sermon, who was elected president of the Methodist Church in Ireland earlier this year.

Born in Sierra Leone , he is The First African-born leader of one of Ireland's main Churches.

Speaking to Bbc News NI ahead of The Service , He Said he would be issuing a challenge to The Congregation .

" Try and understand our history from the perspective of others, and have the humility to respect that, because in conversation we can overcome a lot of differences, " He Said .

A small choir of children from different backgrounds in the Armagh area will perform a Song .

Source of news: bbc.com