NI reacts to Queen visit to Ireland

Published Friday, 04 March 2011

Northern Ireland politicians react after Buckingham Palace confirmed the Queen is to pay a state visit to Ireland - the first official tour of the Republic by a British monarch.

The trip will be the first such Royal visit since Ireland gained independence from Britain.

The date for the historic visit has not been released but it is widely expected it will take place in May. The Queen will be accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh.

This year marks the centenary of the visit by the Queen's grandfather, King George V, to what was then Southern Ireland.

"President McAleese is pleased to announce that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has accepted an invitation to visit Ireland this year", the office of the Irish President said.

"The dates of the visit and the programme will be announced jointly by Aras an Uachtarain and Buckingham Palace in due course."

The Irish Government said it welcomed the imminent trip.

"The visit will mark a further improvement in the very good relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom."

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has welcomed the announcement.

He said: "The news of a visit by Her Majesty to the Irish Republic will be welcomed by all right-thinking people throughout the United Kingdom and that country as a positive development.

"It is a sign of the normalisation of relations between our two countries that such a visit by our Head of State will be taking place.

"I would urge Republicans to afford Her Majesty the same degree of respect shown by people in the United Kingdom to Mary McAleese", the DUP leader added.

'Premature'

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said the visit was premature.

"The President has invited the English monarch and Sinn Féin respects her right to do so. However we believe this visit is premature and we expect our views to be respected also.

"As Republicans Sinn Féin is very aware of the symbolism of a state visit by Queen Elizabeth of England and of the offence it will cause to many Irish citizens, particularly victims of British rule and those with legacy issues in this state and in the North," he added.

However, Mr Adams said it was an indication "we are living in changed and changing times".

SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie said the visit symbolised the "new relationship between Britain and Ireland".

"Both the Queen and the President have played no small part in signalling an end to old enmities and a blossoming of an excellent new relationship between Britain and Ireland", she said.

"I am sure the Queen will be given a very warm Irish welcome and I hope that even those who historically take issue with the British monarchy will show a new spirit of generosity and maturity that shows our country really is moving on."

Ulster Unionist Leader Tom Elliott "warmly" welcomed the news.

"This is an example of the increasing normalisation of relations between two neighbouring sovereign states and it should be welcomed by all in society", he said.

Alliance Leader David Ford said: "This is a further and extremely significant step forward in building positive relationships between all the people of these islands. I believe that this exciting news will be welcomed by many across the island."

Outgoing Taoiseach Brian Cowen began the process of inviting the Queen to visit Ireland when he met the Prime Minister David Cameron last year.

He said he wanted to see the official engagement before President Mary McAleese leaves office in 2011.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is delighted that Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting Ireland. The visit symbolises the strength of the relationship between our nations and the bond between the British and Irish people."

Comments

64 Comments

marguerite in London wrote (372 days ago):

I agree with the message above, its time to move on and bury the hatch. its these FEW narrow minded people that NEVER left Ireland that's causing the problems, their an embarresement I am Irish UNFORTUNALLY, but I have lived in England all of my life and along with many more Irish people that I know have made a good living here and were treated very well by the English people. I LOVE the English people I only hope that the Queen enjoyes her visit and will be happy to return. I think that its unfare that she has to go throught all of this nonsence. Marguerite

john.lesson,fan in The World wrote (374 days ago):

The UK is helping Ireland for the same reason that most countries help other countries or people help people; self interest. As noted or more so exaggerated above, the UK exports a lot to Ireland - the loss of those exports due to the recession would lead to job losses in the UK. To say that Irish shelves would be empty is a bit ridiculous. The UK also relies on imports from Ireland generally pharmaceutical products, banking services and 'information'.

Ben in France wrote (374 days ago):

Completely ignorant statements. Ireland's modern day economy is linked to the States. It is in the top three globalized countries in the word along with Singapore and Hong Kong which means two things. It is very easy for international companies to establish themselves in Ireland but unfortunately it also means the Irish economy will be severely affected by global downturns (or upturns) as is the current case. British people need to stop living in the past. In relation to the comment about the Irish mentality, I have lived in both France and Spain and their perception is that Irish people are quite open and that British people are not! I don't really have any opinion on whether British people are open but they are not perceived to be!

Sean in Belfast wrote (374 days ago):

That is really funny. Firstly, Britian offered the loan to Ireland, Ireland did not ask. Why would Britain offer a loan to Ireland rather than using that money to clean up the slums of Glasgow and Liverpool. Possibly because they don't really care about their population and because they realize that a recession in Ireland has negative impacts for the British economy as well. The British population need to stop living in the past.There is a big wide world out there. We as in the E.U. are supposed to be a community. A community helps each other. Your empire is no more, sorry to inform you! What is so so sooooo funny is that English people moan about their money being spent on anything that is not English with the exception of useless foreign war for no other reason than a colonial mentality or in modern times to pander tot he States.

Yoooooooooo in Thar Lar wrote (374 days ago):

Ireland has a much higher standard of living than the UK and one of the highest in the world, even with recession. Believe me I have lived in 4 countries including the UK and can see the difference. Unfortunately, that high living standard comes at a price and we will be paying for it for many years to come. Remember, we are borrowing money, not getting hand-outs! Some of the money we borrowed from Britain will go directly back to Northern Ireland. Ireland also has a more liberal political system and a population that is more highly educated. Ireland does have British brands as it has American, Spanish, etc. It does not have British banks. Despite the recession, Ireland is still the base for many international countries in Europe. To say that it is 'behind the times; because it is does not forget its history is just offensive and is the typical British reaction to any ex-colony. The moment someone mentions a negative aspect of their colonial legacy, the cliched British response is ' Stop living in the past'. Living in the past and respecting the past are two different things and your attitude just how 'far' British people have come. Just ask British people how they feel about Americans and see how forward thinking they are and yet American ever wronged the UK and what's more they are in political cahouts. Despite all that, they hate Americans and for what reason....

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