It has been reported by RTE news that businessmen in Kerry are lobbying for the Queen to be invited there next year to mark the 150th Anniversary of a visit to Killarney by Queen Victoria in 1861.
Georve V - Last British Monarch to visit Ireland
Such an anniversary would also coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the last visit of a British Monarch to Ireland by King George V (the Queen’s paternal grandfather) in 1911.
Ever since the Good Friday agreement, a visit by the Queen to the Republic of Ireland has been “on the cards.” It has often been repeated in the media that such a visit would be the last symbolic step in a process of reconciliation between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
The decision to allow the Queen to visit the Republic of Ireland is one for the Irish and British Governments. The Queen is presumably very healthy but she is 85 years old. Surely, the two governments should be moving such an event near to the top of the priority list?
And if she does visit the Republic of Ireland, would she also not mind visiting Northern Ireland on her way home? She might even get to shake hands with a Sinn Fein First Minister. Would he refuse to do that after she was greeted by so many Irish people?
Whatever he decided to do, the anticipation would be a spectacle in its own right. Let’s face it. We need the tourist business here just as much as the Republic of Ireland does.
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