HISTORIAN and Irish News contributor Dr Eamon Phoenix has described work that earned him an award from the Community Relations Council (CRC) as a "labour of love".
Dr Phoenix was handed his 2022 Good Relations Award yesterday at Belfast's historic Clifton House, after it was revealed in March he was to receive the honour.
He is the latest in a line of what the CRC call "inspirational local peacemakers" to have received the gong since 2006.
The historian told the Irish News his work during the recent 'Decade of Centenaries' was what led to the honour being granted.
Among his work over the last 10 years - in which centenaries for milestone events including the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme were marked - was hosting talks, a series of podcasts, and more recently overseeing a new portrait exhibition at Stormont of figures including Éamon De Valera and Michael Collins.
"I was surprised, but honoured to learn I would be receiving the award earlier this year. The work I did has been a labour of love," he said.
"To understand the past is to cease to live in it, and this was something I kept in mind throughout the decade when we saw so many centenaries take place.
"One of the very important things was coupling the Easter Rising and Somme centenaries, which meant someone like me could speak in loyalist areas about the Rising, and in nationalist areas about the Battle of the Somme, to show how both communities had that 'blood sacrifice' in common relating to 1916."
The academic added: "On the island of Ireland it has been rightly said that we have a common history but not a common memory. Over many years in my public history work across the community, I have found that engagement with our often conflicted past can break down barriers and foster cross-community understanding."
Speaking of the award, CRC chief executive Dr Jacqueline Irwin said: "It is more important than ever to recognise and reward these truly selfless champions of peace and reconciliation, and to learn from their shining examples."