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May 20, 2011 |
An Historic visit: The Queen in Ireland
Though peace has come to Northern Ireland in the present, much work remains to be done between Ireland and Britain in the future. Into that hopeful but uncertain present stepped Queen Elizabeth II, making the first Royal visit to Ireland in her near 60-year reign. The historic four-day visit turned a new page in the relationship. Security was tight as bomb threats marked the beginning of the visit, and protesters made their presence felt. Republicans and unionists will take up the dialogue anew. -- Paula Nelson (37 photos total)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip disembark from an aircraft as they arrive at Baldonnel Aerodrome near Dublin, Ireland. It is the first time since the 1911 visit by King George V and Queen Mary that a British monarch has set foot on Irish soil, making it an historically significant event. May 17, 2011. (Tim Rooke/Reuters)

A protestor tries to pull a barrier from a police line during a demonstration in Dublin against the visit of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, on the first day of her four-day visit to Ireland, May 17, 2011. There were two republican rallies near the Garden of Remembrance -- a memorial to those who died fighting for Irish independence -- where the Queen visited later in the day in one of the most sensitive moments of the trip. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images) #

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets students and staff at Trinity College Dublin. The Queen set foot on Irish soil at the start of a historic state visit which will herald a new era in relations between Britain and the Republic. Politicians on both side of the Irish Sea have described the four-day event as momentous. (Tony Maxwell/Irish Government Pool/Associated Press) #

Irish police officers stand against demonstrators in north Dublin, May 17, 2011. Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrived in Dublin on Tuesday for a historic state visit steeped in symbolism and surrounded by security after a makeshift bomb was found, highlighting the lingering hostility of a small minority. (Darren Staples/Reuters) #

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip,The Duke of Edinburgh, visit the Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar in Dublin, May 18, 2011.Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip resisted the temptation to sup the perfect pint of Guinness on a visit to the Irish cultural icon's home brewery. (Maxwells/AFP/Getty Images) #

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is flanked by President Mary Mc Aleese and Christy Cooney, President of the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA), as they walk onto the pitch at Croke Park in Dublin, May 18, 2011. Queen Elizabeth II visited the scene of a massacre by British forces during Ireland's independence struggle on the second day of her groundbreaking state visit to the republic. (Irish Government/AFP/Getty Images) #

Irish police watch from a floodlight gantry, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II visits Croke Park Stadium, in Dublin, May 18, 2011, site of a notorious massacre where British troops killed 14 Irish civilians in 1920. The Queen's visit to Croke Park on the second day of her historic trip to the Republic of Ireland highlights the vast improvement in Anglo-Irish relations since those dark days. It brought the English monarch to a large sports stadium that is a revered spot for Irish nationalists who mourn those who died there during the conflict with Britain.(Peter Morrison/Associated Press) #

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II makes her speech in Dublin Castle during the state dinner on the second day of her four-day state visit to Ireland, May 18, 2011. Queen Elizabeth II made a powerful statement expressing "deep sympathy" to all who had suffered as a result of the troubled relations between England and Ireland. She did not apologize for any British actions during the bitter conflicts between the two neighbors but said it is clear mistakes were made. "To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy," she said. "With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all." (Pool/Associated Press) #

Fishmonger Pat O'Connell shows his wares to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to the English Market in Cork, May 20, 2011, on the fourth and final day of her first-ever state visit to Ireland. The ambitious trip has been hailed by many as consolidating a new era of cooperation between England and Ireland, (Pool/AP) #
More links and information
Queen’s Ireland Visit Seen as Significant Advance - NYTimes.com, 1/19
Elizabeth II - Wikipedia entry