Queen's visit to Cork a 'watershed moment of Anglo-Irish relations'
Queen Elizabeth II meeting Fish Monger Pat O'Connell at The English Market in Cork City on their State Visit to Ireland in 2011. Picture: MAXWELLS
For many, itâs the photograph that captured the mood of the historic royal visit, a watershed moment that went on to symbolise a maturing of Anglo-Irish relations.
For the quick-witted fishmonger from Cork who made Queen Elizabeth laugh out loud while visiting his stall in the cityâs historic English Market, itâs a treasured moment which reflects all that is good about his native city and his beloved market.
An enlarged print of it hangs proudly behind the fish stall Pat O'Connell's mother, Kathleen, founded in 1962. It brings a smile to Patâs face every day.
But not today.
âIâm sad today, to be honest,â Pat admits following confirmation that Britainâs longest-serving and oldest monarch has died.
Reflecting on the impact of the market visit that sunny Friday morning on May 20, 2011, Mr OâConnell says while he may disagree with the politics of it all, he has huge admiration for the queenâs courage and for her dignity in her role across the decades.
âI have huge admiration especially for her courage to visit Ireland at the time,â he says.
âThere was a high element of risk involved, and not everyone would have taken the risk, especially at her age.
âBut I think she really wanted to come to Ireland, to be friends with us, to be good neighbours.
âThere are certain windows of opportunity in history where you either grab it or you donât. And she came out of her shell that morning in the English Market.âÂ
The queen and her husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, were due to visit the English Market on the final day of her historic three-day state visit to Ireland in May 2011.
In planning meetings about a week before the visit, diplomats and security advisors were insisting that market traders would remain behind their stalls as the queen and the duke walked through the aisles.
But that didn't sit right with Mr O'Connell and he argued that thatâs not what the market is about - he told them that the market is all about the interaction with customers.
âAnd I said ye havenât asked us to remove the knives either, so ye must trust us to some extent,â he quipped.
They obviously considered his point and just days before the visit, it was confirmed that Mr O'Connell would be among a handful of designated traders who would be given security clearance to stand outside their stalls and interact closely with the queen and the duke.
Security was tight and the tension in the city was palpable that morning, with those cleared to be in the market subjected to airport-style security checks before being allowed in.
A group of protestors who were allowed to gather on Sullivanâs Quay were vocal in their opposition to the queen's presence in Ireland, and the rebel county in particular, as her jeep and convoy swept up the South Mall and swung right towards the marketâs Grand Parade entrance, where she was greeted by former Lord Mayor, Cllr Michael OâConnell.
About an hour earlier, Mr O'Connell had done a run-through of his meeting with the queen to ensure TV cameras were positioned correctly, with a producer standing in for the queen.
âI remember the producer acting distant and formal, and I thought thatâs what I should be expecting, but then I thought again âthis is not the market, this is not the way it worksâ, so I figured Iâd just forget about the formalities and treat the queen as a normal customer and see how it goes,â he said.
âAnd the monkfish broke the ice.â Kerry-based photographer, Valerie OâSullivan, who was standing close to the OâConnell fish stall that morning, contracted to Maxwellâs Photographic Agency to take publicity shots of the entire visit for the government, knew Mr O'Connell was a great character with a sense of humour.
âThe minute I saw Pat stepping out from behind the counter, I knew we were going to get something good,â she said.
As Mr O'Connell shadowed the queen as she moved along his stall, a large monkfish on display on the ice, its ugly mouth wide open, caught her eye and she asked what it was.
Pat recalls how it was about a week or so after William and Kateâs wedding, and he decided to go for it: âThat, Your Majesty, is what we call in Cork a mother-in-law fish.â The queen burst into laughter.
Mr O'Connell said: âMy perception of the queen was that she didnât have a great sense of humour. Boy, did I get that one wrong. She thought it was hilarious.â As the queen threw her head back in laughter, Ms O'Sullivan pressed and held the shutter-button on her camera and fired dozens of shots of that moment.
She knew she had something good but didnât quite realise just how good until she got back to the press centre at the Cork School of Music later to process her images.
She filed the now-famous image to news organisations and it was used in newspapers and online not just across Ireland and the UK but all over the world.
The queen felt relaxed enough as she left the market to break from her schedule, much to the consternation of gardaĂ and her personal protection detail, and cross the Grand Parade to greet people who were lined up behind crowd control barriers.
Images of this impromptu greeting were also flashed across the world, heralded by news organisations as proof her visit to Ireland had been a huge success.
Mr O'Connell maintained contact with Buckingham Palace in the years afterwards, regularly sending gifts from Cork, including the first-caught wild salmon of the season, several local books and other items to remind the royal couple of the city.
A year after the visit, the then British Ambassador to Ireland, Julian King, called to OâConnellâs stall and asked Mr O'Connell to sign a copy of the famous photograph for inclusion in the queenâs private collection.
In 2015, Mr O'Connell was invited to a reception in Buckingham Palace and when the queen entered the private reception room, she looked over at him and said: âOh, my fishmonger has come over.â He said: âYou donât expect a fishmonger from Cork to be there in the mix in Buckingham Palace and to be picked out by the queen, and I just thought my mother would be so proud.â And recently, the queenâs lady in waiting, on a private visit to Cork, popped into the market to visit him, and they enjoyed lunch in the Farmgate restaurant.
âIâm very proud of the welcome we as a city, and a market, gave to the queen and Philip that day,â Mr O'Connell said.
âIt was proof that whoever you are, no matter what your politics are, you will be welcomed into our cityâs kitchen.
âThis element of the three-day visit, their time in Cork, their time in the market especially, I think showed that we have a lot more in common than divides us.
âYou can live in the past, or try to make your own bit of history and build a better future.
âHer coming to Ireland was a momentous occasion and I think there was a sense that weâre neighbours, we should be getting on.
âIt wouldnât have worked without the presidents weâve had for the last decade or so - they put the bridges in place.
âAnd now, obviously, a huge chunk of history has gone.
âShe has been such a constant in Britain, through so much of their lives.
âPhilip and herself were opposites in many ways, but in other ways, they were like two peas in a pod.
âShe occupied a lonely position. I would think there are very few people you can trust completely.
âShe depended on him for his counsel. He was the one she would take guidance and advice from, and when he died, I think her sense of loneliness would have increased.
âSo today, the main feeling is one of sadness.â
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