UK > History > 2011 > British monarchy > Royal wedding / Queen Elizabeth II (II)

A demonstrator is arrested by Irish riot garda

during a protest in Dublin

on the first day of Queen Elizabeth II's four-day visit to Ireland.

At least 100 protesters chanted slogans and torched the British flag

in Dublin, May 17, 2011.

Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images

Boston Globe > Big Picture > An Historic visit: The Queen in Ireland

20 May 2011

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/05/queen_elizabeth_ii_visits_irel.html

Queen leaves on high

as Irish crowds finally appear

CORK, Ireland | Fri May 20, 2011
2:07pm EDT
Reuters
By Conor Humphries

CORK, Ireland (Reuters) - Large crowds cheered Queen Elizabeth for the first time on her historic visit to Ireland on Friday, as police relaxed security for the final day of a bridge-building mission widely seen as a success.

After an arrival marred by bomb scares and a riot by people opposed to Britain's continuing control of Northern Ireland, police appeared to ease security to allow thousands of people within yards of the monarch for the first time.

She responded with an unscheduled walkabout to shake hands with her well-wishers in the center of Cork, Ireland's second city. She later boarded the royal plane past an honor guard.

"This will show the world that the past is the past," said Pamela Hyland, 41, who brought her 9-year-old child to see the queen. "It has taken us decades to achieve peace and this is the icing on the cake."

Organizers slowly breathed a sigh of relief that the four-day trip, the first by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland since independence from London in 1921 and a diplomatic high-wire act, had gone off without a hitch.

Daring gestures included the queen laying a wreath to those who died fighting the British crown and visiting the scene of a massacre of 14 people by British forces. In a speech to the nation, she expressed sympathy to those who suffered during hundreds of years of conflict between the two neighbors.

"It has been a stunning success," said Diarmaid Ferriter, professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin. "We knew what was going to happen in advance, but it's not until you see it that you realize the power of the symbolism."

"It got to people in a way that probably surprised them."

Several dozen nationalists protested a few hundred yards from the queen, but there was no disorder in Cork, known as the rebel county for its resistance to the partition of Ireland during a civil war that followed independence from Britain.

 

NO SIGNIFICANT PROTESTS

In the most dramatic gesture by a nationalist politician since the trip began, Sinn Fein's Mayor of Cashel Mickey Browne shook hands with the queen when she visited the town.

Sinn Fein was the political wing of the now-defunct Irish Republican Army (IRA) which fought a 30-year campaign against British forces in Northern Ireland before agreeing to a peace deal in 1998.

The party has said it believed the queen's trip to Ireland was premature, but did not hold any significant protests.

Hardline splinter groups held scattered demonstrations of no more than several dozen people.

After a grueling first few days weighed down by centuries of historical baggage, the queen took time to see the sights on Friday, flying to visit the castle and cathedral at the rock of Cashel, one of Ireland's most celebrated medieval sites.

She then traveled to Cork, where she visited the English Market, Ireland's oldest working food market, which was founded under British rule in the 18th century.

Outside she was greeted by the largest crowds seen on the trip, with people hanging from lamp posts and a couple even waving union jacks, an extremely rare sight in Ireland.

"I didn't really see the point at the start, but seeing how well it's gone, I can see it's a step forward," said Ger Eagan, a 24-year-old Cork music student. "It won't change the hardliners, but it sends a signal to everyone else that we have moved on."

 

(Editing by Carmel Crimmins)

    Queen leaves on high as Irish crowds finally appear, R, 20.5.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/us-ireland-queen-idUSTRE74J4SY20110520

Britain's Queen offers sympathy, regret to Ireland

DUBLIN | Wed May 18, 2011
9:29pm EDT
Reuters
By Carmel Crimmins

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth offered her sympathy and regret on Wednesday to all those who had suffered from centuries of conflict between Britain and Ireland in a powerful and personal address to the Irish nation.

"To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy," the queen said in a televised speech at a banquet in Dublin Castle, once the nerve center of British rule in Ireland.

Dressed in a floor-length white gown with a diamond harp brooch glittering on her shoulder, the queen floored the assembled dignitaries when she began by addressing Ireland's President Mary McAleese and the audience in the Irish language.

"Wow," McAleese exclaimed, and the room burst into a spontaneous round of applause.

In her four-day state visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has shown a determination to address the bloody past and offer powerful gestures of reconciliation.

Her speech stopped short of an apology for British brutality but its reference to: "being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it" struck the right note with Irish people, many of whom believe the country needs to leave its troubled relationship with Britain in the past.

The queen, whose cousin was killed by militant Irish nationalists in 1979, also alluded to her own loss in an address which was watched in living rooms across the island.

"These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy."

HISTORIC STADIUM VISIT

Just hours earlier, the queen undertook one of the most daring diplomatic engagements of her 59-year reign when she stepped out into Ireland's Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by British troops.

In a gesture that summed up how far relations between Ireland and its former colonial master have come, the queen was brought into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on "Bloody Sunday" nearly a century ago.

She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and traditional dancing, although the seats around the vast stadium were empty -- a reflection of the tight security around the trip.

"It'll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure," said Phil Dolwer, 32, a chef working in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park. "The time is right."

A 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' guerrilla war in Northern Ireland paved the way for the queen's visit but the threat from dissident nationalists has meant security is tighter than on trips to other countries. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleared of onlookers.

Before guests at Dublin Castle tucked into a dinner of cured salmon, rib of beef and strawberries and cream, around 500 metres (550 yards) away a crowd of up to 100 people threw rocks and fireworks at police officers.

"It doesn't matter what she says, her army is still in this country," said Sean Keogh, a 21-year-old history student.

SYMBOLIC AND Somber

Guests at the state dinner included political leaders from north and south of the Irish border as well as Brian O'Driscoll, Ireland's rugby captain, Willie Walsh, the Irishman at the helm of British Airways, and Seamus Heaney, a Nobel Prize winner for literature.

Leaders of Sinn Fein, the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland and an opponent of continuing British involvement in the province, did not attend.

Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of British armed forces, in Croke Park would have been too much for many Irish people.

The stadium is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Ireland's war for independence, British troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British intelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.

Fourteen civilians, one aged 10, were killed and "Bloody Sunday," a rallying cry for the nationalist cause, was born.

Peace in Northern Ireland and British Prime Minister David Cameron's apology last year for Northern Ireland's "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 when British troops killed 13 protesters, cleared the way for the queen to visit.

 

(Editing by Jodie Ginsberg and Mark Trevelyan)

    Britain's Queen offers sympathy, regret to Ireland, R, 18.5.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/19/us-ireland-queen-idUSTRE74H2NW20110519

Queen revisits ghosts of Ireland's "Bloody Sunday"

DUBLIN | Wed May 18, 2011
1:18pm EDT
By Carmel Crimmins

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth undertook one of the most daring diplomatic engagements of her reign on Wednesday when she stepped out into Ireland's Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by British troops.

In a gesture that summed up how far relations between the two old enemies have come, the queen was brought into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on "Bloody Sunday" nearly a century ago.

She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and traditional dancing, although the seats around the vast stadium were empty -- a reflection of the tight security around the trip.

In her four-day state visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has won praise for showing a determination to address the bloody past and offer powerful gestures of reconciliation.

"It'll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure," said Phil Dolwer, 32, a chef working in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park, ahead of the queen's appearance there. "The time is right."

Croke Park, the home of Irish sports, is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Ireland's war for independence, British troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British intelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.

Fourteen civilians, one aged 10, were killed and "Bloody Sunday," a rallying cry for the nationalist cause, was born.

Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of British armed forces, on such sacred nationalist turf would have been too much for many Irish people.

But a 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' guerrilla war against British rule, and British Prime Minister David Cameron's apology last year for Northern Ireland's "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 when British troops killed 13 protesters, have paved the way.

"Your presence does honor to our association, to its special place in Irish life and to its hundreds and thousands of members," Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) president Christy Cooney said in a speech welcoming the queen.

 

THE PERFECT PINT

Croke Park packs more than 80,000 people into the grounds on big match days for traditional Irish sports like hurling and Gaelic football.

A smiling queen asked players questions about the rules of the games and was given a hurley stick and sliotar, a leather-bound ball used in hurling.

Earlier in the day, she laid a wreath of poppies in honor of the nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers who died fighting for Britain in World War One, a group often overlooked in Irish history, and visited the Guinness Brewery in central Dublin.

She was presented with the "perfect pint" of stout but did not drink it.

She also met Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

Accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen chatted with Kenny and his wife in front of a portrait of Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader who ordered the assassination of British spies the night before "Bloody Sunday."

Later on Wednesday, Kenny will meet Cameron, who is making his first official visit to Ireland to attend that evening's state banquet where the queen will make a speech.

The threat from militant nationalists opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process means security around the queen is tight. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleared of onlookers.

Irish police, out in force around the capital, have had to deal with a number of security alerts and the army destroyed a makeshift bomb on a bus headed for Dublin late on Monday night.

Police arrested 21 people on Tuesday after a protest against the queen visiting Ireland's shrine to its nationalist heroes turned ugly with bricks, bottles and fireworks thrown at police.

Several hundred people took part in demonstrations on Tuesday that were condemned by many Irish people. Around 30 protestors gathered outside Croke Park to protest on Wednesday.

"What is she doing here, at the scene of a massacre by British forces?" said Jason Flood, an unemployed 35-year-old GAA fan. "I don't know what they are trying to achieve. I can't understand their mentality."

 

(Editing by Jodie Ginsberg and Philippa Fletcher)

    Queen revisits ghosts of Ireland's "Bloody Sunday", R, 18.5.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/18/us-ireland-queen-idUSTRE74H2NW20110518

Britain's Queen honors Irish nationalists

DUBLIN | Tue May 17, 2011
3:26pm EDT
Reuters
By Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth honored Irish people killed fighting for independence from Britain on Tuesday in a powerful gesture of reconciliation few people would have believed possible even in recent times.

The queen laid a wreath at Dublin's Garden of Remembrance, Ireland's monument to its fallen heroes, before a hushed crowd of dignitaries, soldiers and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, whose uncle was killed by militant Irish nationalists in 1979.

The visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won independence from London in 1921, is designed to show how warm neighborly relations have replaced centuries of animosity but security was tight after a homemade bomb was found.

Streets around each royal stop were cleared of onlookers giving Dublin an eerily deserted feel and underlining that this was a state visit like no other.

In Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university founded with a charter from Queen Elizabeth I, a raffle determined which students and staff got close to the monarch.

Huge crowds were unlikely even if the queen had been doing public walkabouts. While most Irish people welcome the monarch's visit they remain proud republicans and would feel uncomfortable waving the British flag, or union jack.

"My mother would have loved to have lived to see this day," said Alex Wrafter, an unemployed 67-year-old whose mother moved from London to just south of the Northern Irish border in 1939.

"I don't think she would ever have believed it but I think it's extraordinarily important. The past needs to be put where it belongs."

 

PROTESTS

A 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' guerrilla war against British rule of Northern Ireland paved the way for the four-day sojourn but threats from militant republican groups opposed to the peace process have kept the city on edge.

A makeshift bomb was found in a bus headed for Dublin late on Monday. It was destroyed in a controlled explosion by the army in Maynooth, 25 km (15 miles) from Dublin, after a telephone warning to police.

"They are dragging us into the dark ages," said Tom O'Neill, a 34-year-old salesman. "There are some people in Ireland that have to get over the whole English thing."

The visit prompted Ireland's largest-ever security operation. Snipers took up positions on roofs, while some 4,000 police officers and 2,000 soldiers patrolled the capital.

Around 200 protesters chanting "Brits Out" threw bricks, bottles and fireworks at police and were pushed back with riot shields and batons.

In a second demonstration close to the Garden of Remembrance, demonstrators brandished placards with "Britain Out of Ireland" and "Irish Blood on English Hands" written on them.

"It's a disgrace that we are welcoming the commander in chief of the British forces to Dublin," said Sean Keogh, a member of the 32-County Sovereignty Movement, which wants Britain to withdraw from the six counties of Northern Ireland.

"She's clearly not welcome here. Where are the crowds? Where are all the people waving union jacks?"

Anglo-Irish conflict goes back centuries, marked by a bitter history of settlement by British Protestants in the mainly Catholic country. But generations of Irish emigration has created a strong bond between the two countries.

Most Irish people are impressed at the length and scope of the queen's visit and are hoping it puts the country, still reeling from its banking crisis, in a more positive light.

Though the monarch's visit is about reconciliation there are constant reminders of the violent past.

Her arrival coincided with the 37th anniversary of bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, the single bloodiest day in the three-decade long Northern Ireland conflict.

Over 200 people gathered at the site of one of the bombings in Dublin to lay flowers and remember the 33 people killed.

Many Irish people have a gossipy interest in the British royal family as proven by the empty streets during the televised April 29 wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton.

 

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in London, Conor Humphries in Dublin
and Ian Graham in Belfast; Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Jodie Ginsberg
and Elizabeth Fullerton)

    Britain's Queen honors Irish nationalists, R, 17.5.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/17/us-ireland-explosive-idUSTRE74G10F20110517

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