A fitting finale to successful royal visit

We can take pride in the fact that the visit of Queen Elizabeth II went off so well, without any unseemly incidents, except for the obscene behaviour of a tiny minority of people looking for publicity. The events of the past week have demonstrated conclusively that the republican dissidents are totally out of touch with the overwhelming majority of the Irish people.

Unlike previous royal visits, the Irish public had unprecedented access to so many aspects of the visit of Queen Elizabeth through the medium of television. People were able to make up their own minds. Admiration for her has soared as people have been amazed at her stamina and the good grace that she has shown throughout. Her schedule would have taxed the resilience of a much younger person.

It has probably been the most memorable and successful visit of any head of state since the visit of US President John F Kennedy in 1963. Prior to his visit Ireland had been largely ignored. He arrived in this country after an enormously successful visit to Germany. As well as viewing his visit on television, great crowds were permitted to see Kennedy close up, but following his assassination three months later everyone had to become much more security conscious.