Sinn Féin opposes state visit by British queen

Martin Ferris

SINN FÉIN is opposed to a state visit to Dublin by the British queen or any member of the British royal family, Martin Ferris TD told the Easter commemoration in Ardmore, County Waterford, at the weekend.
The British claim to jurisdiction over the Six Counties – “expressed through the monarch who claims to be queen of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’,” Ferris said – is illegitimate “and we will not participate in any welcome for the British monarch”.
Ferris was keen to explain that opposition to a British royal visit is not xenophobic and is totally consistent with the desire for continuing friendly relations between the people of Ireland and the people of England, Scotland and Wales.
“It is a misrepresentation to portray opposition to such a visit as xenophobic or chauvinist,” the North Kerry TD said. “Indeed, many people in Britain reject what has been done in their name in Ireland by the ruling elite in their country under the monarchy.”
The queen is commander-in-chief of the British armed forces. Her son, Prince Charles, is colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment.