I think the Irish have taken the point - Liz on Tour

“I think the Irish have taken the point.” - Sir Arthur Galsworthy ,British Ambassador to Ireland, responding to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of May 17, 1974.

Yesterday a joint statement was made by Ára an Uachtaráin and Buckingham palace confirming that British monarch Elizabeth Windsor will pay a state visit to Ireland between Tuesday 17th to Friday 20th May 2011. Maybe its just one of the sick ironies of history, but Elizabeth's visit coincides with the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

Dont mess with the Liz.

At 17:30 on Friday 17 May 1974, with no warning, three car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Dublin's city centre at Parnell Street, Talbot Street, and South Leinster Street during rush-hour. Twenty-three persons died in these explosions and three others died as a result of injuries over the following few days and weeks. Ninety minutes later, at approximately 18:58, one more car bomb (weighing 150 pounds) exploded outside Greacen's pub in North Road, Monaghan, just south of the border. As in Dublin, no warning had been given. This bomb killed five people initially, and another two died in the following weeks.

The Ulster Volunteer Force later claimed responsibility for the attack, but it has been long believed that security forces colluded with them to help the success of the operation. The immediate results of the attack saw public opinion turn against the IRA and the civil rights movement in the south. One MI6 man would later come out and admit the collusion and state that some members of the Gardaí had also been involved.

Speaking after the details of the state visit emerged, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said that the "scheduling of the visit on the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings is particularly insensitive."