The Five Demands

The comments come ahead of a visit from the monarch to Northern Ireland, which is expected to take place to mark the jubilee celebrations.
“It’s a big ask,” the Louth TD said, speaking at the party’s Ard Fheis in Co Kerry. “It took 100 years for it to happen here in this state.
“The island is still partitioned, probably, most certainly, what Queen Elizabeth said in this state helped to normalise the relationship between this state and the English monarchy.
“But as I said it took 100 years for that to happen, but it would be a huge thing, Irish Republicans, all of the legacy issues, the continued partition of the island.
“It would be a huge thing for us to do.”
Sinn Féin refused to meet the Queen during her trip to the Republic of Ireland last year, which they said was premature.
However the Mayor of Cashel, Co Tipperary – Michael Browne – raised eyebrows when he became the first party member to shake her hand.
During the landmark, four-day visit, the Queen spoke of her sadness at the “heartache, turbulence and loss” shared by Britain and Ireland in a speech at Dublin Castle.
“These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy,” said the Queen – whose cousin, Lord Mountbatten, was killed in an IRA explosion off the Co Sligo coast in 1979.
“To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past, I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy.”
The bunting is already up in many towns across NI for the upcoming celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne, with thousands of people wanting to meet the monarch.
It is thought deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness could be amongst them and could become the first republican leader to officially shake hands with Queen Elizabeth.
“I’m not sure if that would be an issue for myself personally,” Sinn Féin senator Kathryn Reilly told UTV.
“Our party would have a policy on it and as a democratically run party and when we look at the arguments tossed around, I’m sure we’d make a decision.”
However political commentator Alex Kane said such a move could still be viewed with some suspicion by unionists.
“I think everything Sinn Féin does is a ploy – and I’m not objecting to that,” he explained. “That is the nature of politics.
“Every movement is based on what you do and what you get, but I think the general unionist view is one of suspicion.”
In his address at party conference over the weekend, Mr McGuinness spoke of his respect for unionist and British identity.
The comments came after it was revealed that Sinn Féin is in talks with members of the Protestant community and churches in NI to discuss the subject of reconciliation.
The Stormont leader said: “I recognise that there are one million people who are British and let me state here and now, that as a proud Irish republican, I not only recognise the Unionist and British identity – I respect it and in return all I seek for my Irish identity and tradition is to be respected as well.”
And while the remarks appeared to be paving the way for the forthcoming Royal visit, Mr Adams nevertheless insisted a meeting would be a massive step for his party.
“The reality is that we do respect and that we are very calm about the unionist sense of allegiance, as Martin said in his remarks,” he continued.
“But it would be a huge thing for us to do.”