The Commonwealth is a different animal than the old imperialistic group of nations which emerged from the British Empire, says the organisation's Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria.

He points out that many of its members - countries such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cyprus and India - "waged wars of liberation against British imperial power". Leaders such as Jomo Kenyatta, Archbishop Makarios and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana were locked up for their efforts to throw off Britain's yoke.

The Commonwealth is "not the British Commonwealth, it is a community of equal nations," says Chief Anyaoku. The process started as long ago as 1949 - ironically only four months after Ireland left the grouping - when the London Declaration "reconciled republicanism with membership". This followed India's refusal to accept the British monarch, as a non-Indian, as its head of state.

Queen Elizabeth is now head of state of only 16 of the 54 Commonwealth members: 33 are republics and five have their own monarchs.

"Very precisely, the queen is the symbol of the free association of sovereign nations which are members of the Commonwealth," says Chief Anyaoku. "The symbolic duties she performs are outside her duties as queen of the United Kingdom."

An Irish application for membership would be widely welcomed throughout the Commonwealth, he believes. The many countries in Africa and Asia which have benefited from the educational and pastoral work of Irish professional people, priests and nuns would be particularly enthusiastic. He mentions South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ghana and India.

He points to President Nelson Mandela's statement last March, in which he expressed the hope that Ireland would follow the example of countries such as South Africa, Pakistan and Fiji and return to the Commonwealth. Its members would value Ireland's "very strong commitment to the Commonwealth principles of democracy, human rights and sustainable development", says the Chief.

What would Ireland gain by membership? Without opening a single new embassy, it would have diplomatic relations with 54 countries in every part of the world and in practically every significant trading and diplomatic bloc.

Membership would open up considerable trade and investment possibilities in an international group which accounts for around 25 per cent of world trade. New worldwide commercial, professional and cultural networks would be available to Irish people.

Ireland would join a group of nations which has often been a significant voice for justice in international affairs, says the Secretary General. The Commonwealth championed the campaign against apartheid. The decision by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to sell off gold reserves to reduce the foreign debts of the world's poorest countries was prompted by the Commonwealth finance ministers.

Led by New Zealand, a country with a population smaller than Ireland's, the Commonwealth opposed France's nuclear tests in the Pacific. "If there was any need for proof that the Commonwealth does not do what Britain wants, that was an example, with John Major not at one with his colleagues on that issue," says Chief Anyaoku.

The Secretary General believes strongly that the Commonwealth will have a key role in helping the world deal with "the challenges of the coming millennium."

First of these, he says, is the "management of diversity" and coping with its breakdowns in places such as the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Sudan, where "people from different ethnic, religious and cultural groups are unable to live together." Here the multi-racial, multi-cultural Commonwealth's central ethos - "the pursuit of unity in diversity" - is "a very powerful example to the wider world".

Secondly, emerging international problems such as the struggle for a sustainable environment, large-scale commercial crime and drug trafficking, "cannot be solved by individual countries or regions. Solutions will come from a global consensus."

Again the Commonwealth's 54 nations, as a "representative group" from the planet's different continents, races and religions, are in a position to make a significant contribution to this consensus.

Thirdly, the Commonwealth is uniquely situated to become "one of the primary instruments in contributing to efforts to improve the economic and social development of the developing countries."

"To say the Commonwealth is no longer relevant is to be unaware both of its present activities and its future potential," says Chief Anyaoku.

He looks forward to coming to Dublin next month to discuss these issues with the President, Mrs McAleese, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. On December 10th he will address the Irish Association in Dublin Castle on the modern Commonwealth.