McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth to shake hands

Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness will meet the Queen of England next week and shake hands in an historic first for the North's peace process, the party confirmed.

The Deputy First Minister at the Stormont Executive will attend a cross border event in Belfast on Wednesday, which the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, will also attend.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said the decision had been taken after consulting with grass roots support and allowing the party’s Ard Comhairle to decide at a four-hour meeting in Dublin.

“This will understandably cause difficulties for some republicans and nationalists,” Mr Adams said.

“Especially for those folks who suffered at the hands of British forces.”

Mr Adams said Sinn Féin wanted to see a new republic in which the traditions of orange and green could be brought together in a cordial union.

The Ard Comhairle decision was not unanimous but was a clear majority, the party confirmed.

Leading cross border charity Co-operation Ireland is to host an event for the Queen and President Higgins to celebrate the arts and culture across the island.

There has been speculation since the Queen’s momentous visit to Ireland in May last year that a senior Sinn Féin figure would meet her at an event.

Mr McGuinness, a former IRA commander, was always the candidate to shake the Queen’s hand but delicate talks have been going on for months to arrange a suitable venue and occasion.

Sinn Féin have stressed the meeting is not a celebration of the Jubilee.

Mr Adams defended the decision, saying: "We don't have to do it. We're doing it because it's the right thing to do, despite the fact that it will cause difficulties for our own folk.

“But it’s good for Ireland. It’s good for this process we’re trying to develop. It’s the right time and the right reason.

“After Martin McGuinness completes this engagement he will be as true, as staunch, as active a republican as he ever was.”

Co-operation Ireland’s patrons are the Queen of England and the President of Ireland. It builds bridges between the two communities in the North and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr Adams called for support for the meeting and handshake from republicans and nationalists and said it was a "symbolic and significant step".

He urged people opposed to the move to protest peacefully.

The charity’s chief executive, former senior Northern Ireland police officer Peter Sheridan, said Wednesday’s reception is an important step forward.

“It is something that demonstrates to ordinary people out there that we have gotten to the stage where we can acknowledge each other with respect. It does not mean that we have to agree,” he said.

Everybody on the island of Ireland has been affected by the 30-year conflict, he added.

“This is part of the healing process, of how do we make sure for the next generation of young people that we are not still revisiting these issues. It is our responsibility to fix those issues and not leave them to the next generation,” he said.

Since it was established in 1979, Co-operation Ireland has allowed groups from the two main religious communities in the North and from both sides of the border to come together, learning about each other’s traditions and culture to help build a society based on tolerance and acceptance of cultural difference.

The charity’s board members include former Irish Taoiseach John Bruton and ex-US special envoy to Northern Ireland Paula Dobriansky. David Campbell, chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party, and former Irish rugby international Trevor Ringland, who has promoted grassroots reconciliation through his One Small Step campaign, are also on the board.

Mr Sheridan said Co-operation Ireland brought the Queen and President of Ireland together for an event celebrating its 30th anniversary.

It also helped organise the meeting between a former Irish president and the Queen in London, which led to the Queen’s visit to Ireland last year and was acknowledged in her speech at Dublin Castle.

Its work includes Civic-Link, an education-based project which links schools on a north-south basis and gives students the opportunity to collaborate on projects based around citizenship and civic responsibility.

Co-operation Ireland hosts an annual conference for journalism students from across Ireland and runs competitions to encourage civic pride in local communities. The charity also supports a community-based project for the people of inner East Belfast and South Finglas in Dublin.