And the Queen is invited to visit too
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said there were no longer obstacles to such a visit and he hoped the Queen would come to Ireland before President Mary McAleese’s tenure finished in November, 2011.
It would be the first such visit by a British monarch since George V in 1911.
Mr Cowen was speaking following his first formal meeting with new British prime minister David Cameron in Downing Street yesterday.
The two men agreed to hold an “annual summit” to review the relationship between Ireland and Britain “in all of its facets and deepen it and work for mutual benefit,” Mr Cowen said.
Their meeting clashed with the England-Slovenia World Cup match.
Asked if he had wished Mr Cameron luck in the match, which England won 1-0, Mr Cowen quipped: “Well, the goal by Mr Defoe was communicated to the meeting as soon as it happened.”