It is an image that many would have thought impossible until they saw it.
Northern Ireland's First Minister and Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill laying a wreath at a Royal British Legion Remembrance Sunday event in Belfast.
It marks the first time a senior member of the party has taken part in an official remembrance ceremony.
Shortly before 11am Ms O'Neill walked alongside Stormont's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP through a guard of honour by young British army cadets.
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Then, after the last post was sounded, she walked forward with a laurel wreath and laid it on the top step of the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall.
An annual service to remember Britain's war dead has been held at the Cenotaph for decades, but Sinn Féin participation is something that had never happened before.
A card attached to the wreath bore the inscription: "As First Minister I wish to take our society beyond old limits, to build bridges, and to a shared future together.
"Today I remember all lives lost in the horrors of war and conflict - past and present."
Several hundred people attending the service stood in silence as she placed the wreath, with one man shouting in protest.
The decision to take part in the ceremony has been criticised from both ends of Northern Ireland's political spectrum.
Loyalists and some unionists have branded the move a political stunt.
More than 100 relatives of victims of the Troubles from the republican community in Co Tyrone signed a joint letter published in the Irish News saying they felt "deeply hurt, frustrated and angry".
"I understand that everybody has different perspectives, but it was important for me to be here today as First Minister," Ms O'Neill said afterwards.
"I pledged from day one that I would represent everybody fairly in our society and for me this is a fulfilment of that commitment and actually to be here to remember all those people that lost their lives in the horror of conflict.
"It’s okay to have different perspectives and different experiences of the past but for me this is about the journey that we're on towards a shared future."
Ms Little-Pengelly said the focus should be on remembrance and not who was attending.
"Today is not about politics," she said.
"It's about remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, those who have been injured in the defence and for our freedom and of course the many, many tens of thousands who have mourned the loss of loved ones and continue to mourn to this day.
"It is a privilege and an honour to be here to remember them."
In July 2002, Alex Maskey became the first Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph two hours ahead of an official city council ceremony to commemorate the Battle of the Somme.
Two years ago, Ms O'Neill also laid a laurel wreath to commemorate the Somme anniversary, but did not attend the official ceremony.
Taoiseach Simon Harris broke with a tradition of attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh, saying it was the result of official advice.
Asked about the issue by the media yesterday, Mr Harris said he had been advised by the secretary general to the Government that as no representative from the Stormont Executive was going to Enniskillen it would not be appropriate.
However, the Government was represented by Fine Gael's Heather Humphreys who laid a wreath at the town's war memorial.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn also attended and laid a wreath on behalf of the British government.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has defended the decision of Ms O'Neill to attend a Remembrance Sunday event in Belfast.
Ms McDonald also attended a remembrance ceremony at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, hosted by the Royal British Legion.
Speaking before the ceremony, Ms McDonald said that her party comprises "Irish republicans. We believe in an end to partition, the reunification of our country".
However, she added "we're also a party that was instrumental in the growth and development of the Irish peace process so we will also walk with great confidence and pride in our own tradition but also put reach out a friend of recognition to others who have a different view and perspective".
Additional reporting Tommy Meskill
