The Queen’s historic visit to Ireland in 2011 was a game changer for Anglo-Irish relations, CiaranMcCauley hears from Irish people in London
It was the Queen's visit to Ireland in 2011 that changed the game for Jackie Ryan-O'Brien's father.Not long after he met Jackie's mother, who was raised in Northern Ireland, in Kilkeel, County Down.
For Jackie, being Irish wasn't a conscious choice - it was simply how she and her siblings felt growing up among the tight-knit Irish communities of north London.Not hidden, she says, just not a major factor in their lives. It made her father's shift even more notable. Some of his friends queued to see the Queen lying-in-state, others are preparing to go to the funeral, others are less bothered.
Brian moved to England in 1987 from County Waterford. His organisation helps co-ordinate the hundreds of Irish community groups across Great Britain. Part of its mission is to help tell the stories of the community. But he remembers friendly games of football between the Irish and English kids at school; bragging rights for him and his Irish mates when Ireland qualified for the 1994 World Cup and England didn't; and the reverse when England hosted Euro '96."My mum loved Diana so dad drove us down to Buckingham Palace after she died, actually parked up around the corner from the palace and turned his hazards on - you couldn't do that these days - and we just got out and walked around.
Overall, though, he'd say that in the Irish community there would be a "universal recognition" of the Queen's visit in 2011 being a sea change.
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