Ireland's Turn for some Royal Spectacle

[gb2000ie]

As the Queen's first day of official engagements on her state visit to Ireland comes to an end, I think it's been a very important day for Ireland.

I'm not a fan of the concept of Royalty, and prefer elected heads of state like the President of the Republic of Ireland, but since I'm not British it's not for me to tell them how to run their country. As their legitimate head of state, I'm happy to give her my respect.

I didn't really know how I'd feel about her visit here, and decided not to make up my mind until I saw the tone she set. From the first moment her plane touched down I've been most pleasantly surprised. She didn't come in a big austentatious plane like AirForce One, or in a fancy luxury Jet like a Lear Jet, but instead in a fairly small regular jet airliner. All that was special about it was that when it landed the pilot opened a window in the cockpit to raise the Royal Standard. She left in a very ordinary car, a nice black Range Rover (with Irish plates). I got the impression of a very modern monarch, much to my surprise.

I was also very impressed with the tone being set so far. After being welcomed and having lunch, her first official engagement was to visit the Garden of Remembrance which was erected in memory of everyone who lost their life in the battle for Irish freedom. She then laid a wreath and bowed respectfully, which I think was such an important step forward. It was also very moving to hear the British and Irish national anthems played in honour of the Irish dead who fought for Irish independence.

Saddly we had a few extremist thugs who thought they were representing Ireland by rioting near the garden of remembrance. They showed a lot less respect for the Irish people than the Queen did today.

What seems to be lost in the extremists is that we, the free Irish Republic, invited her here as a guest of this nation. By accepting the invitation and meeting our president as an equal she was recognising our independence and the great nation that has been built here over the last hundred years.

The last British monarch to visit here was not invited, and came to get tribute from his subjects, the contrast with today couldn't be greater. This visit completes Irish freedom more than any other ceremony that came before.

Needless to say, here in Ireland this is big news, and we're following every little detail of the ceremonies and noting on all the symbolism. How is it being seen in the UK? and indeed further abroad?

B.

 

[yoyo888]

I watched some interviews on the BBC website last night before the visit, and the people were 50/50 on the visit. Might watch some interviews tonight and see if anything has changed

 

[topdog]

It's been the lead story on BBC World News all day. (I'm in the US but I get the BBC podcast updated every other hour.) A lot of Brits were a bit concerned for the Queen's safety and if she would be treated with respect in her engagements. But all seems to be well.

Yes - I agree that Elizabeth is a modern monarch. Her position is all about tradition, but she has been very careful to alter the role to the needs of the nation and commonwealth. In my opinion she takes the term "public service" much more literally than any politician I have come across.

And that reshaping continues. I remember in his engagement interview William talked about not feeling like cooking dinner for Kate when he got home from work and just wanting to unwind for a bit. I think he may be the first British royal to ever utter the words "... when I get home from work". Pretty amazing. That kind of flexibility may keep them going for a while.

And kudos to the Irish for being such wonderful hosts. I remember back in the 1970's when the violence in Northern Ireland was so bad between the British soldiers and the Catholic population. And in England Lord Mountbatten (who was practically a second father to Prince Charles) was assassinated by an IRA bomb. It is inspiring to see both sides putting the past behind and treating each other with respect as equal nations.

 

[gb2000ie]

It's been the lead story on BBC World News all day. (I'm in the US but I get the BBC podcast updated every other hour.) A lot of Brits were a bit concerned for the Queen's safety and if she would be treated with respect in her engagements. But all seems to be well.

Yes - I agree that Elizabeth is a modern monarch. Her position is all about tradition, but she has been very careful to alter the role to the needs of the nation and commonwealth. In my opinion she takes the term "public service" much more literally than any politician I have come across.

And that reshaping continues. I remember in his engagement interview William talked about not feeling like cooking dinner for Kate when he got home from work and just wanting to unwind for a bit. I think he may be the first British royal to ever utter the words "... when I get home from work". Pretty amazing. That kind of flexibility may keep them going for a while.

And kudos to the Irish for being such wonderful hosts. I remember back in the 1970's when the violence in Northern Ireland was so bad between the British soldiers and the Catholic population. And in England Lord Mountbatten (who was practically a second father to Prince Charles) was assassinated by an IRA bomb. It is inspiring to see both sides putting the past behind and treating each other with respect as equal nations.

With the exception of a few yobs who decided it was a good excuse to attack the police, I think the Queen has been given a very warn Irish welcome. I wonder if she prefers visits where the head of state hosting her is also a woman? The body language between the two lady heads of state certainly seemed very warm today.

As for Lord Mountbatten, as I remember it, he spent a lot of time in Ireland and had a castle in Mullaghmore in Co. Sligo where he loved to go boating. I'm pretty sure he was killed in Ireland when the IRA placed a bomb on his boat. I know he was related to Prince Philip, and that his murder was a great personal loss to the Windsors. That personal tragedy was very much in my mind as I watched her laying the wreath in the garden of remembrance - it takes a big person to get over that kind of personal grief and effectively honour those who fought for the same cause the IRA later perverted, leading to the murder of Lord Mountbatten.

I'm glad to hear that this is leading BBC news - I think it warrants it.

Bart.

 

[gb2000ie]

I watched our president and the Queen's speeches at the state banquet in Dublin this evening, and I have to say I was impressed by both.

To be honest, her majesty won't win any prizes for her Irish pronunciation, but so what, the fact that she chose to open her statements with a few well chosen words in Irish meant a lot to me. She was refreshingly blunt about the realities of history, before moving on to describe a great shared future we all hope will come to pass. It took a lot of courage to stand up in Dublin and admit that the history of the British in Ireland has "not always been benign" and that with the benefit of hind-sight "we all wish some things had been done different, or not at all". She also sounded really sincere when she expressed her regret and her compassion for all those affected by the centuries of violence.

Put me down as a very impressed Irish resident who's really happy the Queen accepted the invitation to visit this great country!

B.