Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip at her side, with the Archbishop of Armagh Alan HarperQueen Elizabeth II had broken the centuries of tradition by attending the first Maundy Thursday service held outside England and Wales.Queen brings Maundy money ceremony to ArmaghBy John Cooney
Friday March 21 2008
Queen Elizabeth took a step closer on her rocky historical road to Dublin yesterday, when she played a prominent part in the Holy Thursday worship in Armagh's Anglican Cathedral of St Patrick.
The 82-year-old British monarch's choice of Armagh for her annual distribution of "Maundy money" to 164 pensioners was the first time in her long reign that the medieval service was held outside of England and Wales.
In attending the event in Armagh city, she was within half-an-hour's drive of the border, at Carrickdale, Co Louth.
In a colourful ceremony full of the traditional pomp and pageantry associated with the British crown, the Church of Ireland cathedral at times resembled Westminster Abbey more than Dublin's Christ Church.
The queen, in a bright-red outfit and matching hat with a bow, and Prince Philip, ramrod straight in a morning suit, were welcomed to the cathedral by Archbishop of Armagh Alan Harper.
Taking place on the final day of her three-day visit to the North, and following her meeting on Wednesday with President Mary McAleese in Belfast, there was heightened speculation that the queen is preparing the way for an historic entry into Dublin, the first royal visit since 1911.
Although there were more Union Jacks than Tricolours on display, the arrival of her cortege in the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland brought her the closest ever to the Border.
Police checkpoints, manned by officers with Heckler and Koch assault rifles, had been set up as far away as 20 miles away from Armagh.
Airport-style security filtered hundreds of guests, media and their processions through the nearby Drumadd British army barracks, in preparation for the finale to the three-day visit by the queen.
Guests were ferried by bus from the barracks to the Anglican cathedral, where workers spent days preparing for the historic occasion.
Outside, police with sniffer dogs checked premises and around the city teams of officers searched roadsides for suspicious devices.
Although Partition in 1921 divided the island of Ireland into two political jurisdictions, the mainstream Christian churches have retained their status as all-Ireland bodies with a special bond to Saint Patrick as the national saint and symbol of unity.
So, yesterday was a landmark date in the twin engines of the Northern peace process, 10 years after the Good Friday Agreement and Catholic-Protestant community reconciliation, when a Prince of the Roman Church, Cardinal Sean Brady, stood respectfully during lusty renderings by the awed congregation of 'God Save the Queen' during the hour-long ceremony.
Tight security had accompanied the queen's arrival with British army bomb-disposal experts defusing two devices which proved to be a hoax, while the PSNI kept a close watch on small groups of republican protesters.
But there was a mood of gaiety in the steps of the 500 guests gathered inside the cathedral to witness the service, the centre-piece of which was the presentation by the queen of red and white purses containing alms to the selected cross-community and church workers, made up of 164 pensioners.
Harmony
Readings by Prince Philip and Cardinal Brady symbolised the growing harmony in Anglo-Irish relations, while a final joint blessing from the four main church leaders -- Cardinal Brady; the Church of Ireland Primate, Alan Harper; the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr John Finlay; and the Methodist President, the Rev Cecil Cooper -- signalled the return to normality in the North.
Afterwards, the queen met the North's First Minister Ian Paisley and other dignitaries at a reception in the nearby deanery.
Welcoming the queen at a private luncheon, the English-born Archbishop Harper described her visit as "a day as momentous as any in the history of this ancient place".
After lunch, the archbishop presented the queen with a half-scale replica of the Bell of St Patrick, one of the cathedral's treasures.
As she concluded her Northern tour, the queen glanced in the direction of Dublin. It was a day when some 400 years of division since the Reformation, appeared to evaporate.
But an official visit to the Republic is for another day, after the politicians in Stormont work out the arrangement for devolving policing and justice to them from London.
The last word went to Cardinal Brady, who sat next to the queen at lunch. It was, he said, a well-organised and profoundly religious service that marked one other step in the peace process.
- John Cooney
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/queen-brings-maundy-money-ceremony-to-armagh-1324105.htmlHistoric first for Maundy service --BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 20 March 2008, 12:38 GMT
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at the Royal school in ArmaghThe Queen has broken with centuries of tradition by attending the first Maundy Thursday service to be held outside England and Wales.
It was held in St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastical capital.
The leaders of the four main churches on the island attended the traditional alms-giving ceremony.
It marked the final day of a three-day visit by the Queen accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh to Northern Ireland.
Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim and Hindu faiths have also attended the service, at which the Catholic Primate, Cardinal Sean Brady, and the Duke of Edinburgh gave readings.
Maundy Thursday has been celebrated since the earliest days of the Christian Church.
Last Supper
The word Maundy is derived from Latin and refers to Christ's commandment at the Last Supper to love one another, before he washed the feet of his disciples.
The tradition of the sovereign giving alms to the poor stretches back to at least the 12th Century and there are continuous records from the reign of King Edward 1.
From the middle ages, the number of recipients mirrors the sovereign's years.
The Queen presented Maundy Thursday alms purses to 164 people - 82 men and 82 women.
These people came from all over Northern Ireland and were deemed to have made a significant contribution to church or community life.
The distribution of the alms came in two parts. The red purse contained an allowance in place of food and clothing given in bygone times.
In the white purse there were Maundy coins, as many pence as the Queen is years old (82).
The coins are legal tender, but because they are so rare, are sought after by collectors.
Pupils from local schools, who are known as Maundy children, have attended to the Queen.
The Chapel Royal Choir and the choir of St Patrick's Cathedral led the worship.
Earlier on Thursday, the Queen was guest of honour at a reception in the Royal School Armagh held to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the five Royal Schools of Ulster.
Her Majesty met the headmasters and chairmen of the five schools and about 130 guests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7305675.stm
