Updated, 17.52
THE BRITISH EMBASSY to Ireland and Áras an Úachtaráin have jointly confirmed that the Queen and Prince Philip will visit Ireland for three days next month, with the pair arriving in Ireland on May 17.
The programme of events will include a formal welcome for the couple at the Áras from President Mary McAleese, a courtesy call to Government Buildings to meet the Taoiseach, and a State dinner at Dublin Castle.
Both the Queen and President McAleese will deliver speeches at the Castle, the Áras confirmed.
The Royal visit will also take in events at Trinity College, Croke Park, the National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge, and a trip to the Guinness Storehouse.
A keen follower of horse racing, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will also visit the Irish National Stud in Co Kildare before travelling onward to Cashel and then to Cork.
An event will also take place at the British Embassy in Dublin, hosted by ambassador Julian King.
In a statement this evening, the ambassador said the visit would offer a “wide-ranging and exciting celebration of the close ties between our two countries”.
“Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will be able to experience at first hand the vibrant links that make our relationship with Ireland so important. This is a historic visit that also celebrates our close modern partnership,” King explained.
In a statement of its own, the GAA said the visit to Croke Park – where Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan and 13 spectators were killed when British forces entered the ground and opened fire during a match – would also be a deeply historic occasion.
The British Embassy said it would try to make time for the Queen to accept other invitations issued to her for events in the course of her trip. A spokesman for the embassy told TheJournal.ie this evening that it could not yet disclose the Queen’s engagements in Cashel or Cork.
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