Historic Events We Just Missed

In an epic case of mis-scheduling, Queen Elizabeth of England arrived in Dublin Tuesday, a day after we did. Our invitation to the events must have gotten lost in the mail. Just as well. We had other plans. But I’ll bet the Queen didn’t sleep on her flight either.

Seriously, this is a really historic visit, and important to the Irish people. It’s the first by a British monarch in over a hundred years.  The last visit by a British monarch was her grandfather,  when all of Ireland was struggling under British rule. Since then there have been many years of  bloody conflict, with the Republic of Ireland formed in 1947, but with Northern Ireland still under British control. The papers are saying that security in Dublin is at an all time high. Irish we’ve talked to about the visit say that the feelings between the two countries have been so intense that only now is it possible for this visit to take place.

The Queen arrived wearing emerald green, and one of her first acts was to join the President of Ireland in  laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, a monument dedicated to Irish who lost their lives fighting for independence from Britain.  

So in the context of this history, you can imagine the tension at lunch today when Her Majesty said: “Ireland is really nice. I think I’ll stay a while.”

The tension didn’t ease until Philip leaned over and whispered  into the Queen’s ear, after which She was heard to say: “Just kidding. Hey, anyone been to any good weddings lately?” ( I made this last bit up).

(It’s also worth noting that this picture was taken by NBC at the Gravity Bar in the Guinness Brewery, overlooking downtown Dublin. It’s the place you get your free Guinness when you finish the Brewery tour.  That explains the presence of the NBC photographer.)