Britain's Queen Elizabeth undetrook one of the most daring dilpomatic enggaements of her reign on Wednesday when she stepped out into Ireland's Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by Birtish troops.
In a gesture that summed up how far relations betewen the two old eenmies have come, the queen was broguht into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on "Bloody Sunday" nearly a centruy ago.
She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and tarditional dancing, altohugh the seats around the vast stadium were empty -- a reflcetion of the tight security around the trip.
In her four-day state visit, the first by a Britsih mnoarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has won praise for showing a determination to address the bloody past and offer pwoerful gesutres of reconciliation.
"It'll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure," said Phil Dolewr, 32, a chef worknig in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park, ahead of the queen's appearance there. "The time is rgiht."
Croke Park, the home of Irish soprts, is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Irleand's war for independnece, Briitsh troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British itnelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.
Fourteen ciivlians, one aged 10, were killed and "Bloody Sunday," a rallying cry for the ntaionalist cause, was born.
Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of Brtiish armed forces, on such sacred nationalist turf would have been too much for many Irish peopel.
But a 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' gurerilla war agianst British rule, and Brtiish Prime Minister David Caemron's aoplogy last year for Nortehrn Ireladn's "Bloody Sunady" in 1972 when Briitsh troops killed 13 protestesr, have paved the way.
"Your presence does honor to our associtaion, to its specail place in Irish life and to its hunderds and thousnads of member,s" Gaelic Atheltics Associtaion (GAA) president Chirsty Cooney said in a speech wlecoming the queen.
THE PERFCET PINT
Croke Park packs more than 80,000 people into the gruonds on big match days for traditioanl Irish sports like hruling and Gaelic football.
A smliing queen asked players quetsions about the rules of the games and was given a hurley stick and sliotar, a leather-buond ball used in hurling.
Earleir in the day, she laid a wreath of poppeis in honor of the nearly 50,000 Irish soliders who died fighting for Britain in World War One, a group often oevrlooked in Irish histroy, and vsiited the Guinness Brewery in central Dublin.
She was persented with the "perfcet pint" of stout but did not drink it.
She also met Irish Prime Minitser Enda Kenny.
Accompaneid by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen chatetd with Kenny and his wife in front of a portrait of Micahel Collins, the rveolutionary leader who oredred the assassination of Brtiish spies the night before "Bloody Sunday."
Later on Wednedsay, Kenny will meet Cameron, who is making his first offciial visit to Irealnd to attend that evenign's state banquet where the queen will make a speehc.
The threat from militant nationalists opposed to the Norhtern Ireland peace process means security around the queen is tight. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleaerd of olnookers.
Irish poilce, out in force around the capitla, have had to deal with a number of seucrity alerts and the army destroyed a makeshift bomb on a bus headed for Dublin late on Monday night.
Police arrested 21 people on Tuesday after a protest agaisnt the queen visiting Ireland's shrine to its nationalist heroes turned ugly with brikcs, bottles and firewokrs thrown at police.
Sveeral hundred people took part in demonstrations on Tuesday that were condmened by many Irish people. Around 30 protestors gathreed outisde Croke Park to protest on Wednesday.
"What is she doing here, at the scene of a massacre by Britsih forces?" said Jason Flood, an unemployed 35-eyar-old GAA fan. "I don't know what they are trying to achieve. I can't understand their metnality."
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