Irish in Britain 'gain from visit'

RELATIONSHIP:THE SUCCESS of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland will be felt most by the Irish community in Britain who will see it as a major step towards normalisation of relations between the two countries, Minister for State for Equality Kathleen Lynch said yesterday.

Ms Lynch said the event had been hailed as a landmark in Anglo-Irish relations by people in Ireland. She believed its greatest impact would be among the Irish community in Britain, which for 30 years or more had lived in the shadow of the Troubles.

“I think this visit has far more significance for them than for us – I have one brother who went to England at a young age and died there, and I have another brother and sister living there and that’s the relationship that most of us in Ireland have with Britain.”

She added: “And for Irish people living in Britain, this visit will go a long way towards the normalisation of our relationship with Britain and not just the fact of the visit but the manner of the visit – this wasn’t a doffing of the cap or a bending of the knee, this was a relationship of equals.”

She said she had spoken to two Cork people with extended families in the United Kingdom who had told her their relatives had received phone calls from friends there, remarking how modern and vibrant a country Ireland appeared. “People are happy, not just with the Queen’s performance but also with our performance.”