McAleese holds party to celebrate Battle of the Boyne
As thousands of Orangemen took to the streets across the North for the Battle of the Boyne commemoration parades, Mrs McAleese held a 12th of July garden party in the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin, attended by over 350 people from across Ireland.
She said: “We are gathering today against the backdrop of a new push by both the Irish and British Governments to restore partnership government to Northern Ireland.
“I hope that political leaders will find the confidence, the courage and the determination to work together to make Northern Ireland’s name soar at home and abroad for all the right reasons, as its once untapped and wasted power of partnership begins to reveal a formidable fresh talent and genius.”
Stressing the importance of the historic occasion, the President said: “It seems to me appropriate, that we should be here, if we were to really fully honour the spirit of building bridges that we would have to have a day here to commemorate that event.”
She said, “so often the day has been characterised as a day that divides and I wanted it to be a day that would unite us”.
Meanwhile, it emerged that the Taoiseach will meet today with a group allied to loyalist paramilitaries.
Mr Ahern will meet the Ulster Political Research Group, which provides political analysis to the Ulster Defence Association.
The meeting comes amid growing pressure on loyalist paramilitaries to move away from violence and focus on developing their communities through social and economic initiatives.
A spokesman for the Taoiseach said he saw the meeting as positive and hopeful, and as part of the Government’s inclusive approach towards all representative groups in the North.
Discussions will focus on restoration of power-sharing by the stated November 24 deadline.
Mr Ahern will be joined at the meeting at Government Buildings by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern.
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