Post by earl on Apr 7, 2008 21:37:10 GMT
One of the last official acts of the departing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley may be to formally open the historic Battle of the Boyne site in Co Louth.
The Protestant King William III defeated the Catholic King James II at the location in 1690 - a hugely symbolic event celebrated every year in dozens of once-contentious Orange Order parades across Northern Ireland.
A 25 million euro (£19.7 million) restoration project, featuring a visitor centre, is due to be opened at the site on the banks of the River Boyne in coming weeks. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said: "I think it would be fitting that the formal opening of the Boyne site should be conducted by the Taoiseach and the First Minister. With both men stepping down shortly, it would be an evocative landscape to bid farewell and close this chapter of their careers."
The Protestant King William III defeated the Catholic King James II at the location in 1690 - a hugely symbolic event celebrated every year in dozens of once-contentious Orange Order parades across Northern Ireland.
A 25 million euro (£19.7 million) restoration project, featuring a visitor centre, is due to be opened at the site on the banks of the River Boyne in coming weeks. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said: "I think it would be fitting that the formal opening of the Boyne site should be conducted by the Taoiseach and the First Minister. With both men stepping down shortly, it would be an evocative landscape to bid farewell and close this chapter of their careers."