Will Ireland welcome the Queen?

Published on Friday 13 May 2011 17:07

The Queen arrives in Ireland on Tuesday for its first state visit by a reigning British monarch since 1911. But how will she be received there?

IT PROMISES to be a state visit like no other, where every ceremony will be rich in meaning and emotion, and each word and gesture inviting of scrutiny and reflection. When the Queen begins her trip to Ireland this week, she need not even disembark from her plane to be made aware of the political, religious, and historical sensitivities surrounding the occasion.

On Tuesday morning, her aircraft will touch down on the tarmacadam of Baldonnel military airbase. To the south-west of Dublin, the home of the Irish Air Corps may appear anonymous at first glance, but its alternative name - the Casement aerodrome - tells a different story.

The facility is named after Sir Roger Casement, a member of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy and former British consul-general in Rio de Janeiro. He became an Irish nationalist hero after holding negotiations with Germany to ship arms to Irish Republicans during the First World War, famously returning to Ireland on a submarine.

His switch of allegiance, however, saw him hung for treason at Pentonville Prison only a few months after the 1916 Easter Rising.

It is, perhaps, unlikely that the Queen's welcoming party - set to include Tnaiste (deputy premier) Eamon Gilmore - would be so crass as to mention Casement's name, but the fact that such an awkward history will rear its head before she has even set foot on Irish soil hints at the inherent complexities of her engagement.

Amid questions about the timing of the event, how the Queen will refer to Britain's relationship with its close neighbour, and growing speculation as to the nature of the reception she will receive from the Irish public, few disagree about the special nature of the state visit.

It is imbued with significance and, indeed, poignancy, compared with the empty pomp and circumstance routinely associated with the myriad foreign excursions made by members of the Royal Family.

"The word historic is being used justifiably for this visit," reflects Diarmaid Ferriter, professor of modern Irish history at University College Dublin. "It is the last piece of a jigsaw that has been slowly put together over the last 10 or 15 years."

Memories in Ireland are long. The Queen's visit will be the first by a British monarch since King George V crossed the Irish Sea. That occasion, in the summer of 1911, came before a bloody uprising and a two-year war which would eventually bring about Irish independence in 1921.

Almost 60 years after her 1953 coronation, and a century on from her grandfather's trip, few people would be so bold as to predict quite how Elizabeth II will be met by Ireland.

Ominous episodes in history, such as the burning of the British embassy in Dublin's Merrion Square following the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972, highlight the tempestuous feelings towards the Crown which were prevalent throughout much of the 20th century.

While a repeat of such full-scale disorder is not anticipated, there is a heightened security operation given the increased number of attacks by dissident Irish republicans over the past year.

A number of dissident suspects have been arrested by the Garda in recent days, including four men who were being questioned under anti-terror laws in Youghal, Country Cork, after ammunition was found in a car.

In the run-up to the visit, a masked member of the Real IRA told a crowd in a Londonderry cemetery that the Queen was wanted for war crimes in Ireland, and was not wanted on Irish soil.

"Despite the best efforts of the media, big business and other power blocks to portray this visit as acceptable, we clearly state that the Irish people will not capitulate," he said. "We will do our best to ensure she and the gombeen (moneyed] class that act as her cheerleaders get that message."

The Garda is devoting up to 8,000 officers for the occasion, and intends to close streets across large areas of Dublin city, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland has loaned a specially adapted bomb and bullet proof Range Rover to the Irish authorities for the Queen to travel in during her visit.

Among civil society, opinion is very much divided as to whether the trip is a good thing. A poll commissioned by the Irish Times newspaper, for example, found that while 54 per cent believed the Queen should visit Ireland, 46 per cent considered themselves against the idea.

Even veteran chroniclers of Anglo-Irish relations have expressed uncertainty about the country's mood.

Charles Lysaght, a Dublin-based journalist and lawyer, and a founding member of the British-Irish Association, told Scotland on Sunday that, while there is a sense of excitement surrounding the scale of the event, it has stirred up a complicated internal discussion about nationalism in all its varied hues.

"It's very hard to gauge reception to the visit in Ireland," he explained. "The media seem to favour it, and there has been support from other main political parties.

"But Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein haven't been in favour, along with more hardline republican groups, and there have also been newspaper polls where sizeable minorities of people said they were against the visit. The impetus for the visit came from (Irish] president Mary McAleese, who was very keen to have it before her term of office ends.

"It will be a great culmination of her presidency to be able to entertain the Queen, and I think everyone likes the idea of an event of this scale, which is seen as exciting. There's a sense of hospitality which people want to be part of, but at the same time, if the enthusiasm goes overboard, I think a lot of people will start drawing back.

"There are different shades of nationalism which run through the Irish population. Some people feel very strongly about it, whereas others don't at all. It's generally not mentioned, but with the Queen's visit it's become an issue, and people are identifying themselves."Others, however, are less cautious, taking the point of view that the Irish public will be grateful of any diversion given the economic pain they have endured in recent years.

"The Irish people have had nothing but unrelenting gloom for the past 18 months to two years," said Peter York, the social commentator and observer of the British monarchy. "After a very tough time of it, I think the Queen's state visit will help take their mind off things."

Whatever the reaction she receives, it is clear from her itinerary that the Queen will not be shying away from potentially difficult moments during her trip.

After arriving in Dublin on Tuesday, several of the public events she will take part in will be arguably the most contentious of her reign, at least in the eyes of Irish republicans.

Indeed, her first engagement of the trip takes place at the Garden of Remembrance, viewed by many as a shrine to Irish nationalism.

The Queen will take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the iconic site in the city's Parnell Square, which was opened in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising to remember those who gave their lives in the fight against the Crown for Irish freedom.

Later in her state visit, she will go to Croke Park, where in 1920, Crown troops opened fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match, killing 13 spectators and one player during the original "Bloody Sunday".

That such highly emotive and politically charged venues have been chosen for the trip offers an insight into the subtext of the message, claim onlookers. "The message they are trying to give is that British-Irish relations have reached a very good point, and that the acrimony of the past has come to an end," reasoned Lysaght.

York agreed: "The visit to Croke Park is a very interesting acknowledgement to what happened there in the past. It's like David Cameron's visit to Egypt earlier this year where he spoke out against Britain's past dealings in the Middle East. It's reparation, and I'm all for it."

That is not to suggest, however, that the sole purpose of the Queen's visit is to tend to a damaged past.

As well as visiting the Garden of Remembrance, for instance, she will take part in a wreath laying ceremony on Wednesday at Dublin's Irish War Memorial, which commemorates those Irish nationals who died in British or allied uniforms during the first and second world wars.

"The balance of visiting both memorials is very well thought out and the symbolism is strong," added York.

"But then, absolutely everything the Royal Family does is designed to be symbolic, even if sometimes it can be lost on the public."

Julian King, the British ambassador to Ireland, said that the "shared history" between the two neighbours was fundamental to their relationship.

"We should not gloss over the past," he said. "The significance of the Queen paying tribute to the foundation of the Irish State, and the ceremony to commemorate the Irish who died in the Great War speak to our shared history.

"I know there are those who think the visit to Ireland controversial, or premature. Everyone has the right to peaceful protest. But I do think the visit is an opportunity to reflect on what our relationship means in the 21st century."It is understood that the Queen will deliver only one speech during the visit, during a banquet at Dublin Castle, the former seat of British rule. The messages and sentiments of her address are likely to have occupied the thoughts of officials in the Foreign Office - and indeed, Downing Street - for quite some time.

Lysaght, though, believes any overtly political messages should be left to David Cameron, whose first visit to the Irish Republic as Prime Minister will coincide with the Queen's trip.

"The more personal the Queen's visit the better, so that she comes across as an individual rather than acting as the mouthpiece of government," he said. "In a strange way, the less she says, the better. She should let her presence and gestures speak for themselves."

Troubled times

THE Queen's visit to Dublin next week will mark the first time in a century that a British monarch has step foot on Irish soil.

George V visited Ireland in 1911, shortly after becoming king. However, three years later war broke out with Germany and prevented the enactment of Home Rule, which had been passed in the House of Commons for a second time in 1914.

In 1916, nationalists stormed the General Post Office and other key buildings in Dublin during Easter, proclaiming the Irish republic.

Although the move failed and its leaders executed, the Easter Rising created a wave of sympathy for the newly formed Sinn Fein.

Popular support during the 1918 election gave Eamon de Valera and his party of independence 73 seats in the parliament, more than twice that of the Unionists.

With this electoral mandate, Sinn Fein boycotted Westminster the following year and announced the formation of its own Dail Eireann, the Irish parliament.

Violence against British forces escalated as the IRA, led by Michael Collins, fought a war of independence, leading to partition and the creation of the Free State. Ireland formally became a republic in 1949, with its own president instead of a monarch.