Two halves are finally complete

I HAVE just been watching the BBC coverage of Queen Elizabeth II landing in Dublin and her arrival at Áras an Uachtarain and I can’t believe how upset I was.

I cried buckets of tears from very deep down. I was born in England to Irish immigrants, my father was from Cape Clear, and for me this day signifies, not only a new era in Anglo-Irish relations, but a validation and a coming together, for me, of both parts of my psyche and my personality.

It has always been difficult to reconcile the two halves of myself, Irish and English, and for me the queen travelling over to Ireland and shaking the hand of Mary McAleese is a hugely symbolic gesture of those two parts of myself finally gelling, I have wanted to see peace and goodwill between our countries for so long. We owe it to so many who were blown between our two countries for all of their lives and who struggled to find a balance in their hearts. Well done to all who made this day happen.