The chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, Irwin Armstrong, has hailed the Queen’s successful visit to the Republic of Ireland, describing it as a “major step forward” for relationships on the island of Ireland.
“It was wonderful to see the head of state afforded such a warm welcome by our southern neighbours”, Irwin remarked, “it just goes to show how far we’ve come, on this island, in a relatively short space of time”.
“A new spirit of neighbourliness has made this visit possible. All the peoples of these Isles share a great deal of history and culture. It’s important that we learn to celebrate our differences, but also recognise how much we have in common.”
“The Queen has a genuinely warm friendship with the Irish President, Mary McAleese, and our Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, enjoys a strong working relationship with his counterpart, Enda Kenny, which has been reinforced over the past few days.”
“Because of the land border we share with the Republic of Ireland, it is particularly important to this part of the UK that our countries enjoy a strong friendship and continue to cooperate, for the mutual benefit of both of our economies.”
“Both the goodwill generated by the Queen and the persistent hard-work which David Cameron and his government have put into the British-Irish relationship are invaluable contributions towards building a more prosperous and peaceful Northern Ireland.”