A Royal Visit

Yesterday, I was talking to my flat-mate, who just took a trip up to Belfast over the weekend! Her trip happened to coincide with some dissident activity in Northern Ireland, activity related to a truly momentous occasion that will be occurring tomorrow: for the first time in over 100 years, a British monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, will be visiting Ireland. 100 years IS, in fact, an extremely long time, especially considering that England is what? A little over an hour’s plane ride away from the Emerald Isle? But, there’s good reasoning for this, as well.

What my flat-mate and I just couldn’t get over was how RECENT this part of Ireland’s history is—and also just how far it extends back in time. 100 years ago Ireland and England were in the midst of a seemingly everlasting conflict for independence (which really began when King Henry VIII declared himself King of Ireland in 1541), a conflict which climaxed in the 1916 Easter Rising, which, although led to independence for Southern Ireland (known as the Republic), also resulted in the execution of nearly every Irish leader of the revolt by the monarchy, and the seizure of the North by the British throne. As you could imagine, then, the fact that Ireland is still not a united country proves extremely aggravating to many people living in both the North and South today; in addition, the fact that this separation has been the cause of numerous deadly conflicts in the North has led many to blame the British crown for the continuous dissent its rule has produced. Mixed feelings, then, surround the Queen’s Visit tomorrow. Some are ambivalent; some believe that Britain should withdraw before their monarch steps foot in the Republic (feelings that find demonstration in signs that state: “No British Queen in the city of ’16); some feel as though perhaps this is the turning over of a new leaf in the previously discordant relationship between Britain and Ireland.

Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth II will be on Trinity’s campus at approximately 9AM tomorrow; Gardai officers patrol the streets in multitude (it is expected that 4,000 police officers will be on the streets of Dublin at any one time throughout each day of her four day visit); and, she will, despite widespread public disapproval, lay a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, a memorial garden dedicated to those who gave their lives in the fight for Irish freedom. And, perhaps, this is not a sufficient apology to Ireland; it is, to be sure, one that has been long (and for some, too long) delayed. But, regardless, it is a start or, at the least, the beginnings of a fresh start and the leaving behind of the bitter resentment that has characterized, at least partially, the relationship between the two countries for centuries.

Perhaps, the best way to describe it is through the verse of Seamus Heaney; his poem, “Doubletake,” puts it this way:

“But then, once in a lifetime

the longed for tidal wave

of justice can rise up,

and hope and history rhyme.”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 16th, 2011 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “A Royal Visit”

1. Kelsey says:

   May 17, 2011 at 9:59 am

   I never knew all of this history behind the story – great post!!!

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