In early September, when my dad asked if I wanted to join him, my mum and my younger sister Eliza to attend a special church service in Armagh on October 21st, my first reaction was this: “Cool! I have never been to Armagh and this will mean a day off school to meet some well-known people, possibly President Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and maybe Queen Elizabeth! ” It didn’t turn out that way, but Boris Johnson did speak to Eliza as he left the cathedral. There was a lot of controversy on television and social media as the day approached for the Service of Reflection and Hope to mark the centenary of the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland, which was organised by the Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist leaders. However, this publicity actually encouraged me to think more about my own sense of being Irish and my family history. For example, last July we went to Clonakilty, in west Cork, for our summer holiday. This was close to Béal na blá...
