A Right Royal Visit to East Belfast

Today in East Belfast, a meer hop skip and jump away from where I live, the Queen made a visit to a local mission hall as part of her three day engagement here in the north.

As a local of the area, it was very strange to see so many police and tv cameras around a not so pleasant part of the city when July is still a ways off. After an hour's service, the monarch re-emerged from the church building at around half past twelve before going on to Queen's University for another function.

As a nationalist, I think that this event was a very important one. It's great that we can finally see such a thing happening without incident (providing that tomorrow's trip to Armagh for a Royal Maundy Service goes without drama). It marks an important step forward, and shows just how far the north has come in a relatively short period of time.

At the university, ER2 met with President McAleese among others, giving more hints to a state visit south of the border in the near future, the first of its kind. Back in 2005 the President said

"The Irish and British governments are agreed that a visit should take place and the timing is for a decision by them in the light of the successful development of the political process in Northern Ireland over time."

Perhaps that time is now coming sooner.

Now I have no great love for the royal family, and do not agree with either monarchy as a system of government nor with the British royal family being the head of state for the north. However there are a great number of people in the north, irish people, who do feel a strong connection with Britain and look upon the monarch as representing their cultural identity. In a United Ireland, their opinions and feelings should not be quelled.

This is something that my very loyalist family have had to get used to, and something which they apreciate from me; that having an independant Irish patriotism and culture is not to neccisarily be anti anything different. Not true. A true republic alows for a plethora of different feelings and opinions to be expressed in democratic fashion, not the quelling of minority or majority voices.

Now a lot of nationalists/republicans will either have no opinion on this visit, or even worse regard it with disdain or anger. I on the other hand fully welcome it, and hope to see the Queen make it south of the border for a state visit.

If we truely believe in a united Ireland, then we should all unite under the common name of Irishman, be that in an independant or British sense.

There's white and orange in the flag for a reason folks...