The
Queen’s Speech at the Irish State Dinner
18 May 2011
A
Uachtaráin agus a chaired (President and friends),
Prince Philip and I are delighted
to be here, and to experience at first hand Ireland’s world-famous hospitality.
Together we have much to celebrate:
the ties between our people, the shared values, and the economic, business and
cultural links that make us so much more than just neighbours, that make us
firm friends and equal partners.
Madam President, speaking here in
Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was
yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.
Indeed, so much of this visit
reminds us of the complexity of our history, its many layers and traditions,
but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation. Of being able to bow
to the past, but not be bound by it.
Of course, the relationship has
not always been straightforward; nor has the record over the centuries been
entirely benign. It is a sad and regrettable reality that through history our
islands have experienced more than their fair share of heartache, turbulence
and loss.
These events have touched us all,
many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who
have died or been injured, and their families. To all those who have suffered
as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep
sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which
we would wish had been done differently or not at all. But it is also true that
no-one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have imagined the
strength of the bonds that are now in place between the governments and the
people of our two nations, the spirit of partnership that we now enjoy, and the
lasting rapport between us. No-one here this evening could doubt that heartfelt
desire of our two nations.
Madam President, you have done a
great deal to promote this understanding and reconciliation. You set out to
build bridges. And I have seen at first hand your success in bringing together
different communities and traditions on this island. You have also shed new
light on the sacrifice of those who served in the First World War. Even as we
jointly opened the Messines Peace Park in 1998, it was difficult to look ahead
to the time when you and I would be standing together at Islandbridge as we
were today.
That transformation is also
evident in the establishment of a successful power-sharing Executive in
Northern Ireland. A knot of history that was painstakingly loosened by the
British and Irish Governments together with the strength, vision and
determination of the political parties in Northern Ireland.
What were once only hopes for the
future have now come to pass; it is almost exactly 13 years since the overwhelming
majority of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland voted in favour of the
agreement signed on Good Friday 1998, paving the way for Northern Ireland to
become the exciting and inspirational place that it is today. I applaud the
work of all those involved in the peace process, and of all those who support
and nurture peace, including members of the police, the Gardaí, and the other
emergency services, and those who work in the communities, the churches and
charitable bodies like Co-operation Ireland. Taken together, their work not
only serves as a basis for reconciliation between our people and communities,
but it gives hope to other peacemakers across the world that through sustained
effort, peace can and will prevail.
For the world moves on quickly.
The challenges of the past have been replaced by new economic challenges which
will demand the same imagination and courage. The lessons from the peace
process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be
all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.
There are other stories written
daily across these islands which do not find their voice in solemn pages of
history books, or newspaper headlines, but which are at the heart of our shared
narrative. Many British families have members who live in this country, as many
Irish families have close relatives in the United Kingdom.
These families share the two
islands; they have visited each other and have come home to each other over the
years. They are the ordinary people who yearned for the peace and understanding
we now have between our two nations and between the communities within those
two nations; a living testament to how much in common we have.
These ties of family, friendship
and affection are our most precious resource. They are the lifeblood of the
partnership across these islands, a golden thread that runs through all our
joint successes so far, and all we will go on to achieve. They are a reminder
that we have much to do together to build a future for all our grandchildren:
the kind of future our grandparents could only dream of.
So we celebrate together the
widespread spirit of goodwill and deep mutual understanding that has served to
make the relationship more harmonious, close as good neighbours should always
be. |
