President Mary Robinson’s visit to meet Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in May 1993 was a historic first for an Irish president.
No Irish president had set foot in Great Britain since the office was created in 1938. President Robinson was determined to be the first, but confidential files shows there was considerable resistance to her proposal for a courtesy call.
When Oxford University offered Ms Robinson an honorary degree, she saw it as an opportunity to pay a “courtesy call” to the queen.
Ms Robinson had caused a degree of consternation within the government when she gave an interview to the Sunday Times in March 1992 suggesting the queen be invited to Ireland “if the two governments decided the time was appropriate”.
State Papers: 10 things we learned, from details of Boris Yeltsin’s Shannon no-show to JFK’s ‘happiest’ days
‘Show some respect’, Brian Cowen told Gerry Adams in furious Belfast meeting, records show
Ireland was offered secret meeting with Iranian president over Brian Keenan hostage situation
Trimble blocked Tourism Ireland campaign in Britain, records show
Taoiseach Albert Reynolds was not impressed by this solo run. A note of the conversation recorded that: “The taoiseach emphasised the seriousness of what had happened and also stressed his desire not to be confrontational.”
The secretary to the government, Frank Murray, wrote in December 1992 that: “the practice regarding courtesy calls by the president when abroad is that no such courtesy visits are arranged”.
The mood in government circles changed though as the visit to Oxford approached.
A note of a meeting between Ms Robinson and the taoiseach in Áras an Uachtaráin on February 4th, 1993, records that the president said she was anxious to avail of the courtesy call “to ensure that appropriate recognition was given to her office”.
She also stressed that she believed it would be a positive development for relations between Ireland and Britain.
The taoiseach replied that he would consider the matter further after voicing his concern that the courtesy call could lead to pressure for a State visit to Britain which would give rise to a reciprocal visit by the queen to Ireland.
Later that month, Mr Reynolds gave his approval for arrangements to be put in place “on this occasion on the basis that it should be clearly understood that the courtesy call would not give rise to any question of a State visit”.