DUP leader Ian Paisley has accepted an invitation from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to visit the site of the Battle of the Boyne next month, the Government has confirmed.
Mr Ahern and Dr Paisley will make the trip to the most celebrated historic battlefield in Protestant folklore three days after the DUP leader takes up his new post as Northern Ireland's First Minister.
"I am delighted that Dr Paisley has accepted my invitation to visit the site of the Battle of the Boyne," Mr Ahern said. "I look forward to welcoming him and reviewing with him the work that we are planning for this important place in our shared history."
The battlefield in Co Meath marks the spot where the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the army of Catholic King James in a symbolic victory.
The occasion is still celebrated every year, contentiously in some areas, by many Protestants during the marching season in the North.
"I believe that this site can become a valuable and welcome expression of the new relationship that we are building on this island, a relationship that is respectful of its past and all its traditions," Mr Ahern said
Dr Paisley has already indicated he will present a 300-year-old musket rifle used in the 1690 battle to the site's visitor centre.