Queen Elizabeth II has completed her historic four day state visit to her country's next door neighbour, the Irish Republic.
She became the first British monarch to visit Ireland since her grandfather George V in 1911, when the whole of the island of Ireland was part of the UK, and the first ever British monarch to visit the Irish Republic.
In yesterday's Daily Mirror, Tony Parsons praises the Queen for her "grace, courage and humanity" and says that if we are ever dumb enough to ditch the monarchy for a republic, we will replace that incredible old lady – and her descendants – with some middle-aged white man in a suit who went to one of about three public schools.
He also denounces violent Irish republicans and compares them to Elizabeth II: "While men hiding their faces behind woolly balaclavas droned on about her war crimes and bayed for more blood, she spoke of peace, humanity, and love.
Eighty-five years old – fit as a fiddle, brave as a lion – the Queen gazed into the eyes of the men of violence.
And they blinked first."
He also argues, quite rightly, that no mere fly-by-night politician could have pulled off the Irish trip the way our monarch did.
During the trip, Elizabeth II visited Dublin's Croke Park stadium, the home of Irish Gaelic football. It was a historic visit as the stadium was the scene of a shooting of 14 innocent Gaelic football fans by British soldiers during a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary in 1920. The shooting was revenge for the shooting of 14 British soldiers by Irish rebels the night before. Two years later, in 1922, most of the island of Ireland seceded from the UK and became a foreign country, becoming a republic in 1949 (the land area of Britain herself shrank in size before her Empire did).
The Queen also visited the Irish war memorial in Islandbridge, Dublin, to pay her respects to Ireland's war dead, such as those who died fighting for Britain and her grandfather in WWI.
And, on the last day of her trip, she visited the Republic's second largest city, Cork. Whilst there she visited the English market and also met conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf along with their mother Angie in the Tyndall Institute. Last year the twins had to go over to the UK for surgery at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London for surgery to be separated. The Queen seemed very concerned about their plight and spent a long time chatting to their mother.
All in all, it was a very successful state visit and will go far in helping to finally draw a line under the two nations' bloody past and ensure they remain firm allies from now on.
The Queen in Ireland - hitting the men of violence with her handbag
by Tony Parsons
Daily Mirror
21/05/2011
SO calm, so cool, so relaxed – as a pipe bomb was made safe in County Kildare and a mob burned the Union Flag, the Queen toured the Republic of Ireland and proved she has ice in her veins.
Plus gin, of course.
Eighty-five years old – and she just negotiated a historical minefield with grace, courage and humanity.
The Queen paid tribute to the Irish who died fighting for their freedom – and also the forgotten Irish who died fighting for everybody’s freedom.
On every side of the divide, the wounds are raw and will take lifetimes to heal. But the Queen’s visit to Ireland proved emphatically the healing has begun. She spoke in Gaelic at the start of her keynote speech – and she always spoke in words anyone who has a heart could understand.
Passion: The Queen looks enthralled as she watches a jockey training at the National Stud Farm in County Kildare, Ireland
There was an expression of regret that stopped shortof being one ofthose meaningless apologies beloved by the likes of David Cameron and Tony Blair. HM’s expression of regret was understated, but full of real emotion.
The British have not always been a benign influence in Ireland, she conceded.
And somehow it was entirely appropriate not to mention the innocent lives blown to bits by the IRA.
Because they are remembered and they are mourned and their presence was somehow included in the words of the Queen. So much has separated us, she seemed to say, but so much binds us together.
“It’s so easy to hate – it takes guts to be gentle and kind,” sang Morrissey, who once wrote a song called Irish Blood, English Heart.
I am one of those Englishmen with some Irish blood in me from the Doherty tribe on my mother’sside – and there are literally millions like me. The history of our islands is joined by – in the Queen’s memorable phrase – “a golden thread”.
Historic moment: The Queen and Irish President Mary McAleese walk with Gaelic Athletic Association president Christy Cooney through the players' tunnel at Croke Park in Dublin, scene of the shooting of 14 spectators by British soldiers during a Dublin VS Tipperary Gaelic football match in 1920
In those few days in Ireland, the Queen showed us all that we can remember the past, and the injustices done against us all, without being prisoners of that past. It was deeply and profoundly moving and will be considered one of the triumphs of the second Elizabethan age.
And if I ever want to make a case for the monarchy, I will point towards the Queen’s trip to Ireland – the first British monarch to go there in 100 years.
William and Kate’s wedding was a blast, and nobody does all that pageantry, pomp and circumstance like our royal family. But the trip to Ireland could have been a disaster. Yet with the help and hospitality of her Irish hosts, the Queen made the peace process seem real, alive, and worth fighting for.
Eighty-five years old! We in England are lucky to have her. Because if we are ever dumb enough to ditch the monarchy, we will replace that incredible old lady – and her descendants – with some middle-aged white man in a suit who went to one of about three public schools.
No fly-by-night little politician could have pulled off the Irish trip.
The Queen and Irish President Mary McAleese at the Irish War Memorial Garden Islandbridge in Dublin
Bird's eye view: God Save The Queen was played at the ceremony at the Memorial
Impressive: The royal party landed in a field by Hore Abbey, a 13th century former Benedictine monastery. The ancient building sits imposingly on a hill in County Tipperary. The Queen was there to visit the Rock of Cashel, one of the Irish Republic's top tourist attractions.
The 85-year-old monarch was given a five-minute standing ovation by the 2,000 guests as she took to the stage after the evening's performance. The Queen was, apparently, suprised and moved at the great reception she received.
Lead dancers Padraic Moyles and Maria Buffini of Riverdance perform their set for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
No politician – keen to cash in his chips and rush off to the American lecture circuit – could have made a journey of reconciliation like the one the Queen made to Ireland.
The image of the Queen in green will endure for generations. In the late September of her years, she looks like everybody’s mother, everybody’s grandmother.
While men hiding their faces behind woolly balaclavas droned on about her war crimes and bayed for more blood, she spoke of peace, humanity, and love.
Eighty-five years old – fit as a fiddle, brave as a lion – the Queen gazed into the eyes of the men of violence.
And they blinked first.
The Queen in Ireland - hitting the men of violence with her handbag - mirror.co.uk
She became the first British monarch to visit Ireland since her grandfather George V in 1911, when the whole of the island of Ireland was part of the UK, and the first ever British monarch to visit the Irish Republic.
In yesterday's Daily Mirror, Tony Parsons praises the Queen for her "grace, courage and humanity" and says that if we are ever dumb enough to ditch the monarchy for a republic, we will replace that incredible old lady – and her descendants – with some middle-aged white man in a suit who went to one of about three public schools.
He also denounces violent Irish republicans and compares them to Elizabeth II: "While men hiding their faces behind woolly balaclavas droned on about her war crimes and bayed for more blood, she spoke of peace, humanity, and love.
Eighty-five years old – fit as a fiddle, brave as a lion – the Queen gazed into the eyes of the men of violence.
And they blinked first."
He also argues, quite rightly, that no mere fly-by-night politician could have pulled off the Irish trip the way our monarch did.
During the trip, Elizabeth II visited Dublin's Croke Park stadium, the home of Irish Gaelic football. It was a historic visit as the stadium was the scene of a shooting of 14 innocent Gaelic football fans by British soldiers during a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary in 1920. The shooting was revenge for the shooting of 14 British soldiers by Irish rebels the night before. Two years later, in 1922, most of the island of Ireland seceded from the UK and became a foreign country, becoming a republic in 1949 (the land area of Britain herself shrank in size before her Empire did).
The Queen also visited the Irish war memorial in Islandbridge, Dublin, to pay her respects to Ireland's war dead, such as those who died fighting for Britain and her grandfather in WWI.
And, on the last day of her trip, she visited the Republic's second largest city, Cork. Whilst there she visited the English market and also met conjoined twins Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf along with their mother Angie in the Tyndall Institute. Last year the twins had to go over to the UK for surgery at Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London for surgery to be separated. The Queen seemed very concerned about their plight and spent a long time chatting to their mother.
All in all, it was a very successful state visit and will go far in helping to finally draw a line under the two nations' bloody past and ensure they remain firm allies from now on.
The Queen in Ireland - hitting the men of violence with her handbag
by Tony Parsons
Daily Mirror
21/05/2011
SO calm, so cool, so relaxed – as a pipe bomb was made safe in County Kildare and a mob burned the Union Flag, the Queen toured the Republic of Ireland and proved she has ice in her veins.
Plus gin, of course.
Eighty-five years old – and she just negotiated a historical minefield with grace, courage and humanity.
The Queen paid tribute to the Irish who died fighting for their freedom – and also the forgotten Irish who died fighting for everybody’s freedom.
On every side of the divide, the wounds are raw and will take lifetimes to heal. But the Queen’s visit to Ireland proved emphatically the healing has begun. She spoke in Gaelic at the start of her keynote speech – and she always spoke in words anyone who has a heart could understand.
Passion: The Queen looks enthralled as she watches a jockey training at the National Stud Farm in County Kildare, Ireland
There was an expression of regret that stopped shortof being one ofthose meaningless apologies beloved by the likes of David Cameron and Tony Blair. HM’s expression of regret was understated, but full of real emotion.
The British have not always been a benign influence in Ireland, she conceded.
And somehow it was entirely appropriate not to mention the innocent lives blown to bits by the IRA.
Because they are remembered and they are mourned and their presence was somehow included in the words of the Queen. So much has separated us, she seemed to say, but so much binds us together.
“It’s so easy to hate – it takes guts to be gentle and kind,” sang Morrissey, who once wrote a song called Irish Blood, English Heart.
I am one of those Englishmen with some Irish blood in me from the Doherty tribe on my mother’sside – and there are literally millions like me. The history of our islands is joined by – in the Queen’s memorable phrase – “a golden thread”.
Historic moment: The Queen and Irish President Mary McAleese walk with Gaelic Athletic Association president Christy Cooney through the players' tunnel at Croke Park in Dublin, scene of the shooting of 14 spectators by British soldiers during a Dublin VS Tipperary Gaelic football match in 1920
In those few days in Ireland, the Queen showed us all that we can remember the past, and the injustices done against us all, without being prisoners of that past. It was deeply and profoundly moving and will be considered one of the triumphs of the second Elizabethan age.
And if I ever want to make a case for the monarchy, I will point towards the Queen’s trip to Ireland – the first British monarch to go there in 100 years.
William and Kate’s wedding was a blast, and nobody does all that pageantry, pomp and circumstance like our royal family. But the trip to Ireland could have been a disaster. Yet with the help and hospitality of her Irish hosts, the Queen made the peace process seem real, alive, and worth fighting for.
Eighty-five years old! We in England are lucky to have her. Because if we are ever dumb enough to ditch the monarchy, we will replace that incredible old lady – and her descendants – with some middle-aged white man in a suit who went to one of about three public schools.
No fly-by-night little politician could have pulled off the Irish trip.
The Queen and Irish President Mary McAleese at the Irish War Memorial Garden Islandbridge in Dublin
Bird's eye view: God Save The Queen was played at the ceremony at the Memorial
Impressive: The royal party landed in a field by Hore Abbey, a 13th century former Benedictine monastery. The ancient building sits imposingly on a hill in County Tipperary. The Queen was there to visit the Rock of Cashel, one of the Irish Republic's top tourist attractions.
The 85-year-old monarch was given a five-minute standing ovation by the 2,000 guests as she took to the stage after the evening's performance. The Queen was, apparently, suprised and moved at the great reception she received.
Lead dancers Padraic Moyles and Maria Buffini of Riverdance perform their set for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh
No politician – keen to cash in his chips and rush off to the American lecture circuit – could have made a journey of reconciliation like the one the Queen made to Ireland.
The image of the Queen in green will endure for generations. In the late September of her years, she looks like everybody’s mother, everybody’s grandmother.
While men hiding their faces behind woolly balaclavas droned on about her war crimes and bayed for more blood, she spoke of peace, humanity, and love.
Eighty-five years old – fit as a fiddle, brave as a lion – the Queen gazed into the eyes of the men of violence.
And they blinked first.
The Queen in Ireland - hitting the men of violence with her handbag - mirror.co.uk
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