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THE FIRST DAY of President Catherine Connolly’s three-day visit to the UK was eventful, to say the least.
Trips like these are planned to within an inch of their lives, and you can double that when the British royals are involved, but events in the Mediterranean could not have been anticipated by even the most meticulous planners.
While Connolly was speaking to a gathering of London’s Irish exiles in Hammersmith this morning, she had no idea that her sister had been detained by Israeli forces earlier that morning.
She only found out this information in the four-hour period between that first engagement and her second, the small matter of a meeting with Britain’s King Charles.
It was quite literally all smiles during that meeting with her fellow head of state in Buckingham Palace, but speaking to reporters afterwards Connolly’s worry for the well-being of her sister and the other Irish detainees was clear.
Her first engagement couldn’t have been more different to the confines of Buckingham Palace, given that the entrance to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith is basically a full working bar.
If it weren’t for the 10am start time and the number of suits in the room, one could mistake it for Vicar Street because all those assembled first exchange pleasantries in the bar before heading into the hall to hear some traditional music and see some Irish dancing.
Dara Ó Briain is one of the patrons of the centre and was doing his duty by standing and chatting to people and reporters who were drawn to a famous face.
Ó Broin said that the Irish in London are old hat now at this point and that insulates him and them from the abuse that other ethnic groups get.
“We’re very much woven into the country now. We’re the least exotic of all the immigrant communities here, which keeps us out of the firing line in a lot of ways, but it also means that we tend to be quite disparate,” he said.
Connolly herself spoke about immigration during her speech in the morning, pointing out that while previous decades caused the “waves” of Irish moving to the UK, the housing crisis has meant that movement is still a reality.
She was even asked about Bertie Ahern’s now infamous immigration comments too, and though insisting that she was staying out of the byelection battle, she answered that everyone must take responsibility for what they say.
“On a general level, I think we all have to own our own words, and we, particularly myself in my role, and other politicians have to take responsibility for what we say.”
‘Normalising slaughter’
The president is making three public speeches during her time in London and Leeds, with her comments this evening at the Irish Embassy perhaps the most likely to raise a few eyebrows back in Dublin.
Connolly did not reference Israel or the United States by name during her speech, but she made sure to double down on previous comments she made in which she criticised breaches of international law in the Middle East.
Speaking to assembled guests at a reception, Connolly said that she looks forward to building on relationships between Ireland and the UK to “use our voices in a world, a volatile world, to risk to say that normalising war is never acceptable, normalising slaughter is never acceptable.”
Connolly said that Ireland is a “neutral, independent, sovereign country” who champions its values “by defending international law and the structures of the United Nations.”
She added:
“We can be very proud that Ireland has upheld these values since we joined the UN in 1955. I am especially proud of our peacekeepers who continue to demonstrate such courage and commitment, no matter where they serve and particularly in the Lebanon at the current time.
That is why Ireland speaks out in the face of injustice. That is why we will not be silent when international law is treated as optional by those with the power to simply ignore it.
Inextricably linked
Connolly noted during the speech that this was her “first official visit to Great Britain”, using the geographical terminology to distinguish it from the first visit of her presidency, which was to Northern Ireland.
Speaking about the history between the two nations, Connolly said both are “inextricably linked on so many levels” with an “interwoven personal and family history”.
Connolly referenced that the history between the two nations was “for centuries, one of coloniser and colonised” and that Ireland’s post-revolutionary period into a sovereign state has required “the decolonisation of our minds”.
“That process in itself was challenging, but has over time allowed us to take confidence and pride in our culture, our language and our identity,” she said.
Referencing the history of The Troubles, Connolly noted that most people in the assembled room might “lived the consequences of the horrific bombings”.
“To be Irish in Britain in those years was to carry a weight that was not yours to carry. People lost jobs. People were accused in the wrong. Innocent people were convicted in the wrong and were imprisoned for years,” she said.
The assembled guests for the embassy reception included many from social justice groups in the UK, including women’s organisations.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn was in attendance as were SDLP MPs Claire Hanna and Colum Eastwood.
For those still on the lookout for famous faces, Irish exile Laura Whitmore was also present.
Dara Ó Broin wasn’t among the guests, however, with the famed fan of title-chasing Arsenal telling journalists earlier that he would have gone but “wild horses couldn’t keep me away from the Emirates tonight”.
Connolly continues her visit to the UK tomorrow with an early morning visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
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