Prince Charles to visit Glasnevin Cemetery
Tight security in place for royal visit to Dublin and Kilkenny next month
PRINCE Charles is expected to visit Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin next month, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Security arrangements are currently being put in place ahead of his visit in May.
The heir to the British throne and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles are also expected to spend a lot of their time in Kilkenny during their visit.
Staff are being vetted at a number of shops and other premises in the medieval city centre leading up to their arrival.
According to the Kilkenny People, Paul Smithwick, a descendant of the famous brewing family, who was awarded an Order of the British Empire in the New Year’s honours list by Queen Elizabeth, is believed to have issued the invitation.
King Edward and Queen Alexandra stayed at Kilkenny Castle in 1904 during a private visit to Ireland and were entertained by the Butler family, who hosted a dinner for 400 guests in the Long Gallery of the castle. The royal party also visited St Canice’s Cathedral during their stay.
But Charles and Camilla have visited Ireland a number of times in recent years.
Two years ago, Charles made an emotional trip to Mullaghmore in Co. Sligo – the picturesque fishing village where his beloved great uncle Lord Mountbatten and three others were murdered by the IRA in 1979.
This trip to Glasnevin Cemetery is very significant becaues it is the resting place for many of those killed in the Easter Rising.
There was controversy at the cemetery last year when it was revealed a remembrance wall for people killed in the rebellion was going to include the names of British soldiers.
Names of the deceased are displayed chronologically, and alphabetically within each date, and the Glasnevin Trust, which operates the graveyard, said it hopes the memorial will give visitors an insight into the impact the 1916 Rising had. But the so-called ‘necrology wall’ was targeted by callous vandals earlier this month who threw paint on it. A grand niece of Michael Collins, former Justice Minister Nora Owen, said at the time she believes the memorial is appropriate. Previously in July 2014, President Michael D. Higgins and the Duke of Kent unveiled a Commonwealth Cross of Sacrifice to honour Ireland’s war dead at the cemetery.
The Duke of Kent is the President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Between 2008 and 2012, Glasnevin Trust and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission set about a task of marking previously unmarked graves in Glasnevin Cemetery of World War I and World War II graves of soldiers, sailors, air men and women.
The prince’s latest visit to the cemetery comes two years after the son of one of the Columbia Three was surveilled acting suspiciously at the site ahead of his 2015 visit. Donal O’Coisdealbha – the son of Jimmy Monaghan – was later jailed for five-and-half years after being arrested on explosive charges.
Staff at a number of shops are being vetted This trip is very significant