THE SDLP has yet to say who will represent the party at tomorrow's centenary church service in Armagh.
Leader Colum Eastwood confirmed a fortnight ago that the party would send a representative to the interdenominational service in St Patrick's Church of Ireland cathedral. However, last night an SDLP spokesperson was unable to say who would be attending the event on the party's behalf.
Mr Eastwood said in a statement on October 7 that attending a service in Ireland's ecclesiastical capital “does not diminish anyone’s Irish nationalism”.
He said he understood that receiving an invitation would present a “challenging decision for some".
Queen Elizabeth is widely expected to travel to the church service, while there has been speculation that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson may also attend alongside representatives from the DUP, Ulster Unionists and Alliance.
Organised by Ireland's four main Christian churches, the event to mark the centenary of partition and the formation of Northern Ireland has been mired in controversy since President Michael D Higgins said last month that he would not be attending.
Unionists were critical of the president's decision, which he said was due to difficulties with the title of the event, which he felt was a "political statement".
The Irish government will be represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and chief whip Jack Chambers.
Sinn Féin has said it will not attend, though the party has been criticised after its Stormont Junior Minister Declan Kearney attended an event organised by the churches in Belfast last month, which he described as a “welcome opportunity which afforded Sinn Féin a platform, and also those from other perspectives, to present their analysis and experience of partition in Ireland”.
The sermon at tomorrow's service will be given by Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, the first African-born leader of one of Ireland's main churches.
The 63-year-old native of Sierra Leone was elected president of the Methodist Church in Ireland earlier this year.
