MARY MINIHAN and
MARK HENNESSY
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn will represent the Government at the funeral of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in St Paul's Cathedral in London next week.
Mr Quinn’s nomination was approved at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore were “previously committed”, said Mr Quinn.
Last night, No 10 Downing Street said they had issued invitations to all countries with whom the United Kingdom has normal diplomatic relations to send a representative of their choice to the ceremonial funeral.
“We have asked states themselves to nominate someone to attend and we will consider those requests. Those they are able to nominate are restricted to head of government, head of state, minister or head of mission,” No 10 said last night.
“We felt given the importance of the relationship between Britain and Ireland and the role Mrs Thatcher played with the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which really was the start of the kind of reconciliation that culminated in the Good Friday agreement, that a representative of the Government should be there and a senior Minister at that, and I was selected to go,” Mr Quinn said.
The First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson, Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond and Wales’s first minister Carwyn Jones will also attend.
Explaining the decision to send a Minister, rather than the Taoiseach or Tánaiste, the Government spokesman said representatives of similar rank were coming from EU states.
