The Queen will visit Croke Park, where 14 people were killed by the British army in a massacre in 1920, as she continues her visit to Ireland. Follow live updates
My colleagues Henry McDonald and Stephen Bates are in Dublin and will be reporting from the Queen's various engagements today (she has five in total). They write:
David Cameron will also join the Queen tonight at Dublin Castle when she delivers a keynote speech.
The Prime Minister will hold talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny before joining the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at a lavish state dinner at Dublin Castle hosted by President Mary McAleese in honour of the royal couple.
This morning the Queen will see how the "perfect pint" is poured by the master brewer at the world famous Guinness Storehouse in south inner city Dublin. She will also attend a ceremony at Islandbridge in western Dublin in honour of thousands of Irish soldiers who died in the world wars while serving in the British armed forces. There has been controversy over the Islandbridge service because Irish President Mary McAleese has invited Ulster Defence Association leader Jackie McDonald and other loyalists to the ceremony.
The Queen will kick off day two of her four-day trip to Ireland with a visit to the Guinness Storehouse in central Dublin, before travelling to Croke Park – her attendance highlighting the dramatic improvement in Anglo-Irish relations.
The visit to Croke Park is highly symbolic, bringing the queen to a large stadium that is a revered spot for Irish nationalists. In 1920 British troops killed 14 civilians, including children, at the stadium during Ireland's war of independence.
On Tuesday the Queen laid a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to commemorate fallen Irish republicans, and today she will lay a wreath at the Irish War Memorial Garden to remember the nearly 50,000 Irish killed in World War I.
Republican dissident attempts to disrupt yesterday's proceedings were thwarted, with two separate demonstrations against the Queen's presence at the Garden of Remembrance failing to breach Garda lines.
A huge security operation – over 30m euros will be spent on security during the Queen's visit – kept up to 200 republican protesters split between locations away from the royal entourage. There was little disorder as the Queen laid a wreath at the memorial.
Today marks the busiest day of the Queen's stay, beginning this morning with the Guinness visit, and culminating with dinner at Dublin Castle, where the monarch will make the only public speech of her stay.
After Wednesday's heavy schedule, the queen plans to visit the Irish National Stud Thursday to indulge her love of horses, and also intends to host a gala dinner for Irish dignitaries Thursday evening.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2011/may/18/queen-visit-ireland-live
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