Analysis: The symbolism of trip must not be underestimated

Published on Monday 16 May 2011 18:05

THE Queen's visit to Ireland is hugely significant for many reasons. There has been a gap of a century since the last member of the Royal family visited the country, and throughout her reign, the Queen has visited hundreds of nations, yet never her nearest neighbour.

It is an event which simply could not have happened before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. You've got to remember that it was an Irish state ideology, regardless of which party was in government, that Northern Ireland was a part of the island illegally occupied by the British sovereign.

That changed after Good Friday, however, and there's an argument the Queen should have gone to Ireland immediately after the agreement was struck.

This week's state visit doesn't provide an end of history in terms of Ireland, and the events in London yesterday are perfect testimony to that. But Tony Blair said during the Good Friday talks that he felt the hand of history on his shoulder, and this marks another phase in the beginning of the end of history, the fact that there are normalised relations between Britain and its nearest neighbour.

Irish immigrants in Britain have long been accepted, and the largest single category of immigrants in Ireland is now the British. There are good relations between the politicians, partly because of the co-operation over Northern Ireland, and partly because of their membership of the European Union.

Of course, the Northern Irish constitutional question has not been solved. The Good Friday Agreement didn't fully solve it - it left open the possibility of a united Ireland, which is still probably the aspiration at least of the majority of Irish people.

But there has been a good relationship between the people of the two countries and the politicians. What there has not been is a royal visit to crown it, which is important. If the Queen decided not to visit Ireland during her reign, it would have been a long-standing sore.

It is not only the fact the Queen is visiting Ireland that is important, but the places she will be going. She's going to very controversial sites such as Croke Park, where the British massacred 14 people in 1920, and she's going to the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin, which commemorates those who gave their lives for Irish freedom.

But the reason they gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom was the British sovereign claim to part of the territory. The fact the Queen is visiting somewhere like that is of huge significance.

Among more militant republicans, there's gross offence at the visit, and there's no doubt there will be demonstrations, although they won't get near her because of the security operation.

The mood among ordinary republicans ranges from solemn acquiescence through to indifference through to a grudging acceptance that the visit is necessary.

The visit is much more about symbolism than anything else. The practical politics have already been dealt with through the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement. This is about the symbolic royal seal of approval for the peace process and the improved relations.One of the problems in selling it, however, is that even those people in Ireland who are keen on the Queen visiting will not be able to show their enthusiasm. No-one will be allowed anywhere near the locations, whether supporters or protesters so it will be very difficult to quantify the visit's success or otherwise.

• Jonathan Tonge is professor of politics at the University of Liverpool and author of The New Northern Irish Politics