Madam, – This past week made me so proud to be Irish.
President McAleese and her husband Dr Martin McAleese are great ambassadors for Ireland and all the people involved in the State visit of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Garda, Navy,Army and RTÉ portrayed Ireland as a great nation – as did the Government.
I think I speak for the majority of people in Ireland when I say how much we enjoyed the visit; and to see the Queen and Prince Philip being so interested in all things Irish made the visit well worthwhile. The speeches at the State dinner were excellent, and, while we cannot forget the past, it is time to move forward.
I was very disappointed with the attitude of Sinn Féin and, in my opinion, they let themselves down by not participating in the visit. They talk about moving forward but say the visit was premature. The goodwill shown by the royal visitors towards us told me the time was right. I would like to congratulate the Sinn Féin lord mayor of Cashel for doing the right thing. It was a great pity the Sinn Féin TDs didn’t follow his fine example.
Congratulations to everyone involved. As a very famous Irish Jesuit, Fr John Sullivan, who died in 1933, said, “Let the past go, be always beginning”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – A few short observations on the very happy visit of Queen Elizabeth.
First, why was Grace not said before the dinner at Dublin Castle? We had two of our most senior Christian prelates among the many guests invited to honour a lady who, all through all her life, has shown a deep commitment to Christianity, and yet such a fitting and normal part of such an event seems to have been forgotten about.
Second, why was the Queen continually referred to as Queen of England, only? She is, at the least, Queen of the United Kingdom, which most people nowadays refer to as “the UK”. Third, I would like to have seen and heard a little more of the Duke of Edinburgh. He seems to have a good sense of humour.
Finally, to the Queen and her husband: “Will ye no come back again?” – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL DONNELLAN,
Merval Park,
Clareview, Limerick.
A chara, – A hUachtaráin agus a chairde. Thank you for inviting our Queen to your beautiful island on this State visit.
The mixture of ceremonies and less formal events made it memorable for many reasons; and at least in Cork some of the ordinary people were permitted to attend. Let us all hope that the evident goodwill generated continues to flourish on both sides of the channel. – Is mise, etc,
NORMAN ALFORD,
Stubbington Way,
Fair Oak,
Eastleigh,
Hampshire, England.