Britain’s king Charles III is set to undertake a state visit to Ireland, with President Catherine Connolly saying he “graciously accepted” an invitation during their meeting in Buckingham Palace in London on Monday.
Connolly, on her first official visit to Britain since being elected last November, said she had a “positive and warm” meeting with the British monarch.
The President said her meeting with the king lasted just under an hour. Her convoy swept through the main gate of Buckingham Palace shortly after 3.30pm, about 10 minutes after the king had arrived himself in his official vehicle.
Later on Monday, the President gave a speech at the Irish Embassy in Belgravia during which she warned against “normalising slaughter”, in comments that appeared aimed at events in the Middle East.
READ MORE
Connolly spoke of the Irish need for “decolonisation of our minds” after the State gained independence from Britain over a century ago.
“Our two countries are inextricably linked on so many levels. [Britain is] our nearest neighbour and we share the same seas. For centuries, our history was one of coloniser and colonised with all of the complexity that entails,” said Connolly.
“The decolonisation of Ireland was not only about land and law. It was also about the decolonisation of our minds. That process in itself was challenging, but has, over time, allowed us to take confidence and pride in our culture, our language and our identity.”
She said that the Irish process of “reclaiming our identity” could not have happened without the contribution of the Irish community in Britain who, she said, had sent £4.8 billion home to the State between 1940 and 1970.
“They contributed to the education of children, saved farms, helped keep communities alive and indeed are still very important.”
She said the Government’s current strategy for the diaspora was “an acknowledgment of the value of our diaspora and what we owe you”.
The President also addressed the Troubles during her speech.
“We cannot speak about the Irish in Britain without speaking of the Troubles, about what that period meant for people here. Many of you and your families lived the consequences of the horrific bombings,” she said.
“To be Irish in Britain in those years was to carry a weight that was not yours to carry. People lost jobs. People were suspected. Innocent people were convicted.”
She said the Republic would always defend the Belfast Agreement that effectively ended the Troubles “because the alternative is unthinkable”.
Connolly then made reference to current geopolitical strife, including war in the Middle East, when she said that the State would always uphold international law and the United Nations Charter.
“That is why Ireland speaks out in the face of injustice. That is why we will not be silent when international law is treated as optional by those with the power to ignore it. We know what happens when the powerful are unconstrained.”
The President continued: “Normalising war is never acceptable. Normalising slaughter is never acceptable.”
The President met the monarch in London as part of a three-day trip to England, incorporating Irish cultural centres in London and Leeds as well as a trip to the Chelsea Flower Show.
Earlier on Monday, she visited the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, London, where she met Irish language learners and gave a speech highlighting the Irish contribution to British society.
On Tuesday, she will visit the Chelsea Flower Show and the London Irish Centre in Camden, while on Wednesday she will visit Leeds University and the Leeds Irish Centre.
It is the third official visit the president has undertaken since beginning her term of office, after visits to Northern Ireland and Spain.
