First Minister told British Ambassador that a successful visit to Ireland by the monarch would be ‘very helpful to him personally’.
The Queen chatting to fishmonger Pat O’Connell as she visited the English Market in Cork in 2011 (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty)
More than a decade before Queen Elizabeth II’s seminal state visit to Ireland, Tony Blair and David Trimble suggested such a visit — but were knocked back by the taoiseach, declassified files reveal.
Bertie Ahern told the Prime Minister that he supported the idea in principle, but the time wasn’t right, in part because of security fears.