Alex Massie yawns at the Queen's visit to Ireland:
If your view of Ireland is of a strange land, filled with terrorists and grudge-bearing contrary types who change their question any time anyone looks like answering it, then certainly you'll probably think the Queen's visit is of great import. For the rest of us these things were largely settled long ago. Evidently the "peace process" needed some kind of "conclusion" before such a visit could be contemplated at official levels but, if anything, it merely confirms what we already knew: these islands are bound together by culture as well as history and economic self-interest. Affinity matters.
He later admits that the importance of the visit is a "question of perspective." I have to say that the perspective of central Dublin cleared of all human beings on the street for security reasons was not exactly an historic moment of reconciliation.
(Photo: Queen Elizabeth II visits the Guinness Storehouse on May 18, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland. The Duke and Queen's visit to Ireland is the first by a monarch since 1911. An unprecedented security operation is taking place with much of the centre of Dublin turning into a car free zone. By Irish Government – Pool/Getty Images)
The Dish 