The Queen's Visit

            For all the so-called republicans who are protesting against the Queen's visit, forgive me if I am misinterpreting your opposition. Maybe you are against the idea of an unelected head of state and the outdated notion of monarchy.  I'd definitely be sympathetic to this point of view, as a democrat myself.  But that must not be your reason, because I didn't see any protests against Prince Albert of Monaco last month.  Maybe you think that the Queen is responsible for the massacres perpetrated by the British Army during the Troubles ? No again, because it's obvious that the Queen has no say in where British troops are deployed.  Maybe you are against it due to financial reasons – but although the cost is projected to be around 30 million euro, the benefits with regard to tourism and image is estimated at five times that figure.

            So I think I'm getting to the crux of the issue when I say that the tiny minority against the Queen's visit are against it due to things that happened 100 or even 800 years ago.  Due to the Good Friday Agreement, and the subsequent power-sharing agreement in Northern Ireland, I think it's safe to say that that particular area of disagreement has been put to bed.  To say that 'republicans' in the South have a chip on their shoulder against the English is an understatement.  What is clear when you look at history is that the strongest relationships between nations depend on a certain element of forgiving and forgetting. Germany and France exchanged State visits between their countries in 1961 – a mere 16 years after the German occupation of France and the horrors of World War 2.  These countries formed the European Union in order to ensure such horrors never happen again, through a co-operative dialogue and a true sense of solidarity. (As we all know, the European Union has veered clearly from such worthwhile goals, but that's another story)

            What fringe groups like Eirigi and Republican Sinn Fein, and more mainstream radical republicans must realise is that republicanism should convey ideals and goals of a nation, rather than mere anti-Britishness.  In many ways Britain has emulated worthy republican goals like solidarity, equality and liberty, far more than this Republic. It was the first country to establish a welfare state, it is host to great institutions like the BBC, and is home to millions of people of Irish descent, as well as emigrants from the current recession, economically betrayed by the 'Republican Party' in Ireland.  Of course, the British political system also contains an outdated House of Lords and monarchy, but it is not up to us to decide how heads of state who visit Ireland should be elected.  I will be the first to admit that the British have made many horrific and barbarous mistakes in Ireland in the past – from Cromwell to the Famine to the various Bloody Sundays.  As hard as it must be to apologise for something that happened when you weren't even born, that's exactly what Tony Blair (for the Famine), David Cameron (for Bloody Sunday) and the Queen (by laying a wreath in the Garden of Remembrance and visiting Croke Park) have all done.

            What is clear is that this country has never been a republic in its true sense – we escaped from being a dominion of the British Empire, to being a dominion of the Vatican, to worshipping the all-knowing power of the markets during the Celtic Tiger.  Due to the recession, there is a great opportunity to establish a proper Republic which instills a sense of civic responsibility to its citizens, as well as providing everyone with equal opportunities from birth.  I have been impressed by the restraint of Sinn Fein with regard to the visit of the Queen.  Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion (that's the cornerstone of a republic), but they have not inflamed tensions, and they must be congratulated for that.  I have a lot of respect for Sinn Fein, and it is clear that in many ways they are now the de-facto Republican Party in the Dail.  I would hope that they use this position to steer away from the cultural, almost exclusionary. republicanism they have been engaged in the past, towards a more holistic view of republicanism – in an economic sense, as well as a political one.

            We have been in this situation in the past, in the 60's and 90's, where we were in a position to invest in the future of country in a meaningful way. and we squandered such opportunities.  I really think this time it will be different.  Of course, it will require serious action by the Government, including the transfer of a majority of schools to the State, serious investment in education, and a change in the cirriculum.  These measures would help wrest the notion of republicanism away from the anti-English crowd, to a meaning that is true in every sense of the word.  In that way, we may be able to welcome the centenary of the 1916 Rising knowing that the ideals and sacrifice of Connolly and all those other patriots were not in vain.