Irish Examiner View: Taking care of business amid the pageantry

Taoiseach Micheál Martin arriving for a bilateral meeting with British prime minister Liz Truss at 10 Downing Street in London. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

It is unlikely we will get to know the details, as opposed to the speculation, about yesterday’s meeting between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and new UK prime minister Liz Truss. But it is good to note that discussions have taken place ahead of the distractions that will arise today when many of the most powerful people in the world are assembled in London.

Both Mr Martin and President Michael D Higgins are in the UK capital for the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth. It is considered unusual for the head of the Irish Government, and our head of State, to both be out of the country at the same event.

Ireland, reflecting what remains a special relationship despite opinions to the contrary, did not face the same restrictions on attendance as many other countries.

Following the funeral at Westminster Abbey, the Taoiseach and the President will attend a reception at Church House hosted by British foreign secretary James Cleverly before flying back to Ireland.

By then, they may have a much clearer idea of the challenges that we face in finding a workable solution to the Northern Ireland protocol. This surely cannot be beyond the best minds of the British government and the European Union.

Only six countries have not been invited to attend the first UK state funeral since 1965. They include the pariah states of Russia and Belarus because of their illegal invasion of Ukraine, and Myanmar, following its military overthrow of democracy and persecution of minorities. Venezuela, Syria, and Afghanistan have also been excluded.

Today, the monarch will go to her interment in a lead-lined oak coffin which was ordered 30 years ago from a company which no longer exists, but which provided similar products for Britain's Prince Philip, Jimi Hendrix, and Freddie Mercury.

It is an example of the type of forward planning which is in short supply in 2022, but which is badly needed for the next generation.

The sentiments around the death of Queen Elizabeth could be managed to create an opportunity for progress. 

From the greeting and condolences of Sinn Féin to the new king in Belfast to the rendition of a psalm in Gaelic at last week’s service of commemoration at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, there is a sense that a door is opening for those who want to push.