A royal stamp of approval

Opinion: May 25, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times: The recent visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland — the first by a British monarch in a century — was rich in symbolism, as when she placed a wreath at a garden dedicated to Irishmen who fought to free their homeland from British rule. But the symbolism reflected the substance of a remarkable and long-established rapprochement between Britain and a nation that was once its colonial possession.

The relationship between Britain and the Irish Republic has been most evident in their cooperation toward resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland, but it also figures in close economic ties under the aegis of the European Union and in a common culture.

Mutual distrust between Britain and Ireland had many causes: long memories in Ireland of British oppression, resentment over the mistreatment of Catholics in British-ruled Northern Ireland and, on the British side, Ireland’s decision to remain neutral in World War II. But these grievances obscured the fact that Britain and Ireland were linked by culture, language and population flow.

Perhaps the most notable example of British-Irish cooperation — one that dates back to the late 1970s — is the attempt to establish political arrangements in Northern Ireland that would end terrorist violence, give a meaningful voice to the Catholic minority that favored British withdrawal and a united Ireland, and to mollify Protestant unionists, who wanted to retain a connection with Britain.

Queen Elizabeth may have been consecrating Irish independence during her visit, but its larger lesson was how much Britain and Ireland have in common.