By Brendan Anderson

Irish President Mary McAleese and Queen Elizabeth have made history with their first meeting on the island of Ireland.

The encounter at Hillsborough Castle in Co. Down last week is being viewed as a stepping stone to a visit to the Irish Republic by the English monarch.

“It was a very special day for Anglo-Irish relationships,” President McAleese said later.

A visit to Dublin by the Queen, however, would depend on the completion of the peace process in the North.

In June, McAleese said she would welcome a visit to the Republic by the Queen but added that the final decision was down the Irish and British governments.

“I’m long on record as saying that I would welcome it very warmly,” she said last Thursday. “But it’s a matter for the two governments. Earlier this year, after the Co-Operation Ireland dinner, it was said then that the two governments were in agreement that the visit should take place. I think things are developing. Things are going in the right direction, so the day gets nearer.”

McAleese and the Queen have now met four times but never before on Irish soil.

However, news of the two women’s meeting led to an outbreak of public cynicism over the timing. As the cameras rolled at Hillsborough, there were accusations that attempts had been made to bury other, more controversial news, specifically the charges against the three men accused of operating an IRA spy ring that were dropped on the same day.

The government was also accused of using the Hillsborough event with the Queen as a smokescreen under which they issued a low-key statement on unpopular water-charge legislation.