FAILTE ROMHAT

UNION JACK flags fluttered in the shadow of the GPO and God Save The Queen sounded within the Garden of Remembrance as black balloons of protest drifted above it.

It was a day of extraordinary symbolism and raw emotion.

Tension rippled through the air at the memorial to the nationalist dead, the explosion of three firecrackers in nearby streets audible as Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by President Mary McAleese, descended the steps to the garden’s pool of reflection after travelling through a city centre that was eerily empty apart from the massed ranks of gardaí, a smattering of well-wishers and the huddles of protesters who fringed the security cordon.