The Dublin and Wicklow Orange lodge welcome the ‘Commonwealth Day’ agreement between the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister at Downing Street. The Joint Statement commits both countries to strengthening relations over the next ten years.
The statement acknowledges that the people of the British Isles are “uniquely linked by geography and history, are connected today as never before through business, politics, culture and sport, travel and technology, and of course family ties.”
It points to the human links that exists between our people and celebrates “the presence of a large, confident, valued and integrated Irish community in Britain and in the increasing number of British people who now live and work in Ireland.”
And it recognises our economies benefit “from a flow of people, goods, investment, capital and ideas on a scale that is rare even in this era of global economic integration.”
Building on the successful State Visit of Her Majesty The Queen, it looks forward to the prospect of a return State Visit by the President of Ireland at an appropriate time.
It also calls for the decade of centenary commemorations of events to be marked “in a spirit of historical accuracy, mutual respect, inclusiveness and reconciliation. We want to ensure that this is a decade not only of remembering but also of looking forward; a decade of renewed and strengthened co-operation between our two countries.”
It is hoped that over the next decade there will be even stronger relations between the Republic of Ireland the UK, for the sake of “current and future generations living on these islands.” This can only be good for all parties involved.
Leave a comment
