Queen on Republic of Ireland

 

The Queen's visit will be the first by a British monarch to the Republic of Ireland

The Queen in the Republic of Ireland

The Queen is set to begin the first visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British monarch.

Irish police say up to 4,000 people are involved in security for the four-day trip, which comes amid a rise in dissident republican violence.
The Irish army has made safe a "viable" improvised explosive device found on a bus bound for Dublin. Another bomb threat has been investigated in London.
Mary McAleese will formally welcome the Queen at the president's Dublin home.
King George V was the last reigning monarch to visit the country, in 1911, when what is now the Republic was then part of the UK.
The Queen was invited to visit by Mrs McAleese, who will formally welcome the monarch at her home in Dublin's Phoenix Park.
The Queen will attend events at Trinity College Dublin, the National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge and at Croke Park stadium.
Croke Park is the home of Gaelic football where in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, British forces fired into the crowd at a match, killing 14 spectators and players.
The Queen is also to make a speech at a state dinner at Dublin Castle.
There are plans for the Queen and Prince Philip to visit the Irish National Stud in Kildare, as well as the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary and a technology park in Cork.

What do the people of Dublin think about the royal visit?

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major, who helped to establish the Northern Ireland Peace Process in the early 1990s, said the Queen's visit would "put a seal" on the relationship between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
"One thing you discover if you travel round the world is that the Queen has become iconic," Sir John told the BBC's Newsnight.
"If you're abroad and people talk about the Queen, they mean our Queen and I think the symbolism of her visiting Ireland - given the history of the past - will be seen as a very big event and absolutely pivotal event in building an even better relationship in the future."
Controlled explosion The bomb on the bus was discovered on Monday night in Maynooth, County Kildare.
About 30 people who were on board the bus were taken off and transported to Dublin in another vehicle.
The device was later made safe in a controlled explosion carried out by an Irish army bomb disposal team.
The coded bomb threat relating to London, which was received on Sunday, was the first issued by Irish dissidents outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials said.

Dublin Castle, where the Queen will attend a state dinner, is under guard

However, the threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism, which stands at severe, has not been changed.
Sir John said he was not worried about possible trouble during the visit.
"I think you can find people who will demonstrate against anything or anyone on any occasion, so I think there may well be a handful of people who will demonstrate, but that plainly - from what we've seen in the nine months of preparation - is not the view of the overwhelming majority of the Irish people.
"I am absolutely certain that the Queen and the [Duke of Edinburgh] will get a fantastic reception."
As part of the security operation in Dublin, thousands of manhole covers and lamp-posts have been checked, and parking restrictions started on Monday.
Former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said the four-day visit was hugely significant, and showed the "maturity" of the relationship between the country and the Queen and British government.
"Except for a tiny minority, people welcome this," he said.