President Mary McAleese has said she has family members who have joined the Northern police service.
Mrs McAleese made the remarks in an RTÉ radio interview as she spoke about the move by the GAA to allow Croke Park to be opened to soccer and rugby on a temporary basis, something she said would enormously help reconciliations.
"It is hugely symbolic, hugely, hugely symbolic. I am looking forward to the games, to the soccer, to the rugby.
"I think what will happen next year in Croke Park will be quite remarkable. Many of my friends are saying 'looking forward to seeing you in Croker', something they couldn't say before because of their politics and our politics.
"We see members of the PSNI Gaelic football team, on which I have members of my own family - members of my own clan are members of the team - coming down and playing with members of An Garda Síochána."
The President said they were now moving out and playing with clubs and regular club football in Belfast. "I think they are taking us to the kind of Ireland where lots of good things are possible, and I hope to be around for them."
Mrs McAleese comments were made in an interview with Marian Finucane on Christmas Eve, a day after Sinn Féin held a lengthy meeting to discuss policing in Northern Ireland. The interview was recorded before the Sinn Féin meeting was held in Dublin.
On the Northern peace process, Mrs McAleese said there were a lot of good things to build on. "We are certainly in terms of the peace process considerably further down the road than many of us ever dreamt we would be.
"We have reached critical mass.more people believe in the future that is built on the Good Friday agreement than don't. That includes people who, a few years ago or even a few months ago, might have been fairly sceptical about the Good Friday agreement."
Mrs McAleese said she was very hopeful a new administration would be in place next March.
It was most important that there would be fulfilment of the promise of the Good Friday agreement, and that it would come together and stick together and "we would see a cross-party administration in Northern Ireland taking responsibility for what politicians are supposed to take responsibility for.creating new relations in Northern Ireland."
The President said something told her we were now really close to what people have been calling endgame. "I would like to call it actually more than thatit is not end game but it is a tipping point."
She said more people believed in the hope of the Good Friday agreement than did not, and that included people who even a few months ago might have been fairly sceptical about it.