Last night's confirmation of the official visit by the President, Mrs Robinson, to Britain next June as a guest of the British government, marks the latest stage in the process of dissolving the legacy of historical estrangement. Even in saying this, there is a paradox, because there are few states which share as many things in common as this one and its nearest neighbour. Our history is a mixture of understanding and hostility, of co operation and tension. Tens of thousands of Irish people, Catholic and Protestant, fought in British armies in two world wars, and in countless other battles in earlier generations. Many thousands more have settled permanently in Britain and become integrated politically and socially.
If we have been divided in spite of our intimacy, the reason lies more in old stereotypes inherited from the past, occasionally reinforced by more recent experience, than in substantial differences. This State's need to assert its cultural distinctiveness in the years after independence helped to keep historical memories alive. That has become less of a factor since we joined the European Union and struck out more confidently on our own. A combination of the fundamental change in Britain's world standing in the last 50 years, and the transformation of our own society in the 1970s and 1980s, has laid the basis for a new and more fruitful relationship.
This is, inevitably, an evolutionary process. Since she was elected President, Mrs Robinson has been closely identified with the shift in symbolism required. Her official visit to Britain in June may be the first event of its kind, but she has broken several moulds by her informal trips (including those North of the border), and her two meetings with Queen Elizabeth in London. She is well aware of the importance of inducing a sense of normality in such matters by making them a routine part of relations between the two states.
Few will be surprised by the latest step and it will be generally welcomed. A reciprocal visit by Queen Elizabeth to Dublin must now be a serious possibility within the next year or so, if the political process in the North remains on course. It would provide the most dramatic evidence of the profound underlying changes that have taken place in recent years in public perceptions of history. Prince Charles's semi official visit last June, followed by his brief private stay in the west of Ireland, has helped to clear the way, but the fact that several members of the British royal family have made a practice of coming to this State either on business or for personal reasons had already created a new climate of realism.
By becoming joint patrons of Co operation North, one of the most innovative organisations working for reconciliation, the President and Queen Elizabeth have underlined the concrete aspects of growing together. Since 1979, Co operation North, with funds from industry, sponsorships, donations and international contributors, has played a major role in developing understanding and respect across the divisions. Its activities from the annual maracycle between Dublin and Belfast to exchange programmes for schools and adult community groups, business training and linking local councils on both sides of the border deepen the foundations necessary for lasting peace.