Full list: Here are the figures who will plan NI’s centenary commemorations

There are two principal bodies involved; one is called the Centenary Forum and has 19 members (plus a chairman), and another is called The Centenary Historical Advisory Panel and is made up of eight academics / historians.

The NIO said the latter will advise the former about the facts surrounding the setting up of Northern Ireland from 1920 to 1922.

The forum met yesterday, although the NIO did not give any detail of what precisely was discussed.

Afterwards the NIO listed the following as its members:

Doug Beattie MC MLA;

Eileen Chan-Hu, CRAIC NI;

Stephen Farry MP;

Rev Mervyn Gibson, Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland;

Ivy Goddard, Inter-Ethnic Forum;

Peter Harbinson, Invest NI;

Howard Hastings;

Jacqueline Irwin, Community Relations Council;

David Jackson, SOLACE NI;

Ian Marshall;

John McGrillen, Tourism NI;

Paul Mullan, National Lottery Heritage Fund;

Luke Patterson, NI Youth Parliament;

Canon David Porter;

Gavin Robinson MP;

Cormac Savage, NI Youth Parliament;

Jonathan Stewart, British Council;

Liza Wilkinson, TIDES Training;

Richard Williams, Northern Ireland Screen.

It will be chaired by NIO PR man Andy Pike.

Meanwhile the composition of the Centenary Historical Advisory Panel is as follows:

Professor Lord Bew MRIA, Emeritus Professor, Queen’s University Belfast (panel chairman);

Dr Brian Barton, FRHistS, Independent Historian;

Dr Marie Coleman, FRHistS, SFHEA, Reader in Modern Irish History, Queen’s University Belfast;

Dr Niamh Gallagher, Lecturer in Modern British and Irish History, University of Cambridge and Fellow of St Catharine’s College;

Dr Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, University of Sheffield;

Dr Margaret O’Callaghan, Reader in History and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast;

Professor Henry Patterson, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of Ulster;

Professor Graham Walker, Professor of Political History, Queen’s University Belfast.

In the NIO statement, Professor Bew said: “It is important that the centenary is marked in such a way that recognises the historical facts of the period.

“This panel, which will be academically rigorous and independent in its research, includes a range of perspectives and research interests.

“I am also eager to collaborate more widely with historians and researchers across these islands.

“I look forward to working with them to develop key themes and collectively enrich public understanding of the events of 1920-22, and their implications.”

Read more from the News Letter:

Click here: Swann: We won’t even talk about ‘herd immunity’ in my department

Click here: Deep divisions over Troubles erupt as council agrees to consider army museum

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor