Madam, – Watching the Queen honour the Irish war dead at Islandbridge, you could almost hear the silent exhalation of 49,400 brave men. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Queen’s visit to the War Memorial puts the seal on those wasted years when, to this country’s shame, those Irishmen who fought and died during two terrible world wars were ignored. Rightly their memory has now been, albeit belatedly, restored to the Irish consciousness and now can be properly mourned and respected.
A land fit for heroes can only be so when it is a land into which heroes can fit. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – With the tide of reconciliation that’s lifting parts of the island, could President McAleese have a word with the UDA commander Jackie McDonald, fresh from his visit to Islandbridge, and ask if the UDA will allow the Belfast playwright Gary Mitchell and his young family to come out from hiding and return to their beloved Rathcoole, having been forced out under threat of death over six years ago, and allow them resume a normal life? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The picture of an Irish garda frisking Irish citizens near the Garden of Remembrance, of all places, as they go about their business (Breaking News, May 16th), somehow seems repugnant to me. Given Queen Elizabeth’s itinerary and the fact that no “ordinary” Irish citizen will even get a glimpse of the woman, it seems we, as Irish citizens, are not welcome on our streets of Dublin and Cork while she is here.
Of course the celebrities and “important people” of Ireland will be wined and dined at our expense while we are not even welcome outside the gates, never mind to look in the window at what our money is being spent on. The horses at a Kildare stud will be given complete access to the Queen. Eamon Gilmore hopes the “ordinary” people will understand the necessity for this incredible state of affairs. I’m afraid I don’t. To be a stranger in your own land is becoming all too familiar for the people of Ireland, both for the ones who had to leave (myself included), and the people who remain. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The London 2012 organisers have said the Olympic flame may stop over in Dublin on its tour of Britain next year. What’s the betting there’ll be some eejit on Dorset St with a bucket of water? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – How ironic it was to see republican demonstrators turn out for an anti-royal visit while proudly wearing English soccer club attire. Alas, irony in its greatest form. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It was depressing to watch the TV coverage of the first day of the Queen’s visit from a non-Irish perspective. Perhaps because of the absence of the usual friendly crowds as a counter-balance, German TV devoted the majority of its report to the security risks and protests. At the risk of sounding condescending, I have to say the people shown came across as ill-clad, latently (if not actually) violent and whingy – the kind of well-balanced Irishman who has a chip on both shoulders. The scenes of petty violence on the otherwise deserted streets were reminiscent of a poor Eastern European city of about 20 years ago.
For or against the visit, I feel Ireland is ill-served by these images. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The well-acknowledged benefit of visitors is the obligatory cleaning that accompanies them. The visit of Queen Victoria to the Famine-ravaged Ireland of 1849 allowed the Irish to take full advantage of this cause for celebration. The Freeman’s Journal at the time referred to Dublin as “a city risen from the dead”. A comment justified by the city’s face-lift and the enthusiastic reaction of its population. If now in 2011, our inability to act responsibly has prevented the latter, at least we can take some pride in our capability to scrub up well. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Your jubilant Editorial (“The Day has come”, May17th) caused a wry smile to this reader and I suspect many others, particularly those living on the northern side of our partitioned country.
Whatever about the royal visit,your paper’s declaration that “generations of Irish patriots could only dream of a time when a British monarch would arrive here as honoured guest rather than condescending ruler, as a friendly neighbour rather than an embodiment of imperial power” is most certainly premature.
I can only assume that in his/her excitement to welcome Queen Elizabeth your editorial writer momentarily forgot that our country remains divided. Yes, we do now have a peaceful roadmap to unity thanks to the Belfast Agreement, but this project remains a work in progress.
Let us hasten the day when all of the people living on this island can truly view an English head of state as a “friendly neighbour” rather than a “condescending ruler”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – While Queen Elizabeth’s visit was disrupting, it was good to see things getting back to normal in the Dublin city centre on Tuesday night. By 11pm there were no gardaí to be seen near O’Connell Bridge, the taxis were back on double yellow lines and the drug dealers were back on the boardwalk. It was heart-warming to see that we have moved on and that a British monarch could not keep the citizens down for too long. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Can anybody explain why the only Irish citizens permitted unimpeded access to O’Connell Street on Tuesday were the braying buffoons of Éirigí while people like myself, who merely wanted to get to work, were stopped and subjected to Garda searches?
I have never encountered a bleaker vista than O’Connell Street on Tuesday, deserted but for multitudes of gardaí and hooligans hungry for mayhem. On inquiring of a garda whether my wife would be wise to bring my young daughters into town for a glimpse of the Queen, I was advised, presciently as it happened, that they should stay at home and watch it on television as there would be trouble from “these muppets” once they started drinking.
The security operation appears to have been mounted neither to protect the Queen nor to allow ordinary people to go about their business, but to permit the malcontent morons and recalcitrant republicans of Éirigí, Oligi, Troidigi, or whatever these random gatherings of gurriers choose to call themselves to rampage at will through the empty streets in full view of the world’s media. A historic occasion indeed! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Only in the absurd parallel universe that is modern revisionist Ireland could those who fawn over the antiquated, anachronistic, crypto-medievalist institution that is the Windsor monarchy, be able, with a straight face, to describe their opponents as “living in the past”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The one thing that physical-force republicanism has ever been able to deny this island is normality. Sadly, the empty streets, devoid of the traditional Irish welcome, are proof that they have once again succeeded. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Reform Group, which works for reconciliation between the peoples on this island and between Ireland and Britain, warmly welcomes the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. This is the first visit to our country by a British monarch for 100 years and is long overdue. During her time as monarch, Queen Elizabeth has visited 129 countries, so this visit will mark the 130th country she has visited.
She is a dignified and compassionate monarch who bears us nothing but goodwill and symbolises the deeply interwoven nature of the families and nations on the two islands. We are sure she will get a very warm welcome and command the respect and admiration she is entitled to during her visit. John Major just said the Queen looks forward. Let us join her and move on, putting past hurts, real or imagined, behind us. Céad míle fáilte to her. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – The invitation and visit of Elizabeth Windsor has been a grievous insult to the dead generations who have given their lives in pursuit of the 32-county Irish Republic. The Garden of Remembrance has been degraded by this political demonstration. The hurt and pain that this offensive monarchist parade has caused is immeasurable.
This whole distasteful political exercise is aimed at drawing a line under the continued occupation of the Six Counties. It is a direct attack on republicanism and everything which republicans have given their all for. The events this week are aimed at “normalising” relations between Britain and Ireland. The reality is that relations cannot be “normal” while Britain continues to occupy part of our country. The country was forcibly partitioned at the end of a gun by the British government of the time; today it maintains a 5,000- strong, armed garrison to maintain that situation along with an armed police force and the largest secret intelligence base outside London, anchored in Co Down.
James Connolly’s comment that “Britain has no right to be in Ireland, never had any right to be in Ireland and never will have any right to be in Ireland” remains relevant. The 1916 Proclamation which states that the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland is sovereign and indefeasible is indisputable. The passage of time does not eradicate that right. Britain’s occupation of Ireland was wrong in 1798, it was wrong in 1916 and it is wrong today. This visit has been like a ghoulish victory march, as those behind it believe that they have now succeeded in solidifying British occupation of the Six Counties.
If all the opinion makers and those with influence are serious about achieving a lasting peace in Ireland and are sincere in wishing to develop normal relations with Britain, then they must work to end the continued British claim of jurisdiction over part of our country. Until Britain removes itself politically and militarily from all parts of Ireland then unfortunately conflict will exist. The only positive point that can be picked out from the debris of this disastrous visit by Ms Windsor is that these issues can be openly discussed in the public domain. – Is mise,
Madam, – As a proud native of the west of Ireland and now resident in Belfast, I thought I would be indifferent to the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Republic. However, witnessing this historic occasion, I grew increasingly uncomfortable. While her visit is seen as a “coming-of-age” for the State and in many respects this holds true, one cannot but feel that the events of the last few days have only further endorsed the partition of this island.
The wedge between Southern and Northern nationalists has deepened. As the Republic pursues its independence and rightly so, our Northern nationalist brethren are increasingly being cast adrift. There is a noticeable arrogance in many Republic of Ireland citizens towards their Northern Ireland counterparts. Events of the last few days would seem to only heighten this – and strengthen the Union. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I have no issue with the visit by Queen Elizabeth. I wish her well.
It is a pity, given that so much of this visit is being interpreted as symbolic and historic, with delicate political nuances are being extracted from each event, that the State has adopted a “No Paddy Here” policy along the routes of her travel. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Now that “Éirigí” members have staged a sitdown protest in O’Connell Street, should the group be referred to as “Suígí”? Éirigí féin, b’fhéidir. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I was horrified to see the people who caused so much pain and untold damage to this State and its people for years being allowed into the Garden of Remembrance on Tuesday. Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen . . . – Yours, etc,
A chara, – It’s great that the Queen has gone to Ireland. I just think you shouldn’t give her back again for 500 years. – Is mise,