STRAGE DI ENNISKILLEN. LA REGINA INCONTRA LE FAMIGLIE DELLE VITTIME
Queen Elizabeth meets victims of IRA bombing (BBC News Northern Ireland)
The Queen has met relatives of the victims of an IRA bombing in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, 25 years ago.
Enniskillen was the scene of one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles when 11 people were killed on Remembrance Sunday in 1987.
The Queen and Prince Philip are on a two-day visit to Northern Ireland as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour.
Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome the couple.
The royal flight was delayed for about an hour due to bad weather.
The meeting with Enniskillen families included those injured in the atrocity.
Stephen Gault was injured in the bombing, and his father, Samuel, was killed.
He said he was honoured to have met the Queen.
“It highlights the point that the Enniskillen victims will not be forgotten, when Her Majesty the Queen made time in her hectic schedule, in her Jubilee year to come to Enniskillen,” he said.
Earlier, the royal couple attended a service of thanksgiving in Enniskillen to mark her 60-year reign.
The Queen is wearing a Wedgwood blue crepe outfit by royal designer Angela Kelly, complemented by a shamrock diamond brooch.
The Queen’s itinerary will also include a meeting with former IRA leader and NI’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
NI Secretary Owen Paterson, who is accompanying Her Majesty during her trip, previously said her Stormont visit would have been “unthinkable” years ago.
The service of thanksgiving at St Macartin’s Cathedral in Enniskillen was attended by more than 700 people including senior Protestant and Catholic clergy.
The lesson was read by First Minister Peter Robinson.
The Prayers of Intercession were led by Reverend Ken Lindsay, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Catholic Primate of Ireland Sean Brady and the Right Reverend Dr Roy Patton Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
The sermon was delivered by the Most Reverend Alan Harper OBE, Archbishop of Armagh, who went on to pronounce The Blessing.
Archbishop Harper praised the Queen’s visit to the Republic of Ireland last year.
He said her conciliatory words and gestures had allowed many to throw off the “shackles” that had been loosening since 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, and to “positively” be themselves.
The Right Reverend John McDowell, led the Diamond Jubilee Prayer, which had been written at the Queen’s direction by the Chapter of St. Paul’s Cathedral for Her Majesty’s Jubilee.
After the service, she met groups of people at St Michael’s Catholic church in the town. It is believed to be the first time the Queen has visited a Catholic church in Ireland.
On Wednesday, the Queen will meet Sinn Fein’s Mr McGuinness, at an arts event in Belfast.
The Irish Republic’s head of state, President Michael D Higgins, and Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson will also be there.
The two-day visit is the Queen’s 20th trip to Northern Ireland.
Some protests by dissident republicans have been expected, but an anti-royal demonstration in Belfast at the weekend only attracted about 300 people.
The Queen’s ground-breaking four-day visit to the Irish Republic last year cemented a new era in British-Irish relations.
In spite of speculation that the handshake between Mr McGuinness and the Queen would be off-camera, Mr McGuinness said he had no objection to the encounter being photographed.
Analysis
Mark Simpson BBC Ireland Correspondent
By visiting the western tip of the United Kingdom, the Queen was making a point about history as well as geography.
Enniskillen will be forever remembered as the town that endured one of the worst IRA atrocities of the Troubles.
The Queen’s trip to the County Fermanagh town – and her meeting with relatives of the victims – showed she had not forgotten.
The visit was also a chance for County Fermanagh people to catch a glimpse of one of the most famous faces in the world. Thousands lined the streets.
The jovial atmosphere was summed up by the banner “Go Lizzie Go”.
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