Royal visits
“Yes Charlie. Fine weather it is we’re having. Come here, I’d want to be asking about the cows and that homeopathic nonsense, but I’m told I have to keep it civil, so what is it you’re doing here in the Hills?” Charles smiles. He has absolutely no idea what the fellah has just said but being a future King, having been around the world and listened to many native people speaking in foreign accents, he has learned to nod and pass the time of day without causing any immediate offence; a lesson he learned from viewing his father’s multitude of faux pas on Royal visits. Meanwhile Camilla is enjoying the magnificent vista of the Port Road and the surprising array of TK Maxx gowns, hurriedly purchased at the weekend. (I hear there were queues all the way down to Dealz…)
Sure, it’s not often we get Royals in Letterkenny, other than Patsy Dan, and I’m not entirely sure if he counts. Over the last few weeks, preparations have been building in secret. The Gardai have been vetting the invitees and folk have been wondering who and where and when and why… and that, I guess, is the big question.
The reaction to the visit has been polarised. On the one hand, the welcome, from certain members of the establishment, touches on obsequious fawning. On the other, the usual suspects have trotted out the usual blather about the Windsors and the occupation of the six counties.
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To be honest, I can see both sides of the story. Growing up, my grandmother was vehement in her opposition to the Royal family, referring to them as a bunch of thieves and interlopers. I can understand the hard-line Irish republicans’ stance. I can also see the visit as another step to normalising relations between this state and the British. In spite of our troubled history, we have more in common with Britain than any other country. That is an inescapable fact.
Our governments may not have always seen eye to eye, and in this Centenary year, we cannot ignore this, but the people of these islands are bound by blood and history. Nearly a tenth of the UK population claim Irish ancestry. I suppose, Charles and Camilla turning up in Donegal isn’t surprising given those connections.
The President Marys kicked this rapprochement off. Queen Liz’s handshakes, that bowed head and those few words As Gaelige followed on. Mickey D’s reciprocation was an extraordinarily moving moment and it seems only right that our two nations continue to grow closer in recognition of the Peace Process, for all its flaws.
There will always be naysayers, there will always be opposition on both sides of the Irish sea. Memories are long, hostility runs deep and many suffered on both sides of the conflict. It does seem to me however, that protesting against the visit of an organic farmer who talks to trees, is a bit of waste of time, even if he does happen to be a member of that foreign monarchy.
I didn’t get an invitation and even if I had, I wouldn’t be going, for my Grandmother would spin in her grave. But, I wish the Royal couple well. I hope they’ll get to Glenveagh. I hope that our neighbours across the water will see what an astoundingly beautiful county we have. I hope we might get some more tourists from Britain and that we welcome them as friends. There has been too much hatred and suspicion over too many years. A new generation have grown up, without soldiers on the streets. Let’s try to keep it that way, moving forward with our cousins across the water, leaving behind the enmities of the past and recognising that we are more like them than we might care to admit.
