The two religious leaders who were instrumental in Queen Elizabeth II’s historic visit to Enniskillen in 2012 have spoken of the ‘tremendous acknowledgement’ it was.
Speaking to the BBC during a broadcast of King Charles’ visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, Monsignor Peter O’Reilly and Reverend Kenneth Hall paid tribute to the late monarch and the step she took in the Co Fermanagh town toward reconciliation.
The Queen made a famous walk from St Macartin's Cathedral into St Michael’s church in the town, the first time that she had entered a Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
READ MORE: A look back on the Queen’s historic visit to Enniskillen in 2012
The event took place to mark the 25th anniversary of the Enniskillen bomb, with both members of clergy coming together to welcome the Queen with church services.
“There are certain things the Queen does every day, every year and there are certain things that she does only once and this is one of the things she does only once,” Monsignor O’Reilly told the BBC.
“I certainly felt it was a tremendous acknowledgement because Kenny and I took a bit of a risk in doing what we did
“Here was an event where the Queen of England was coming into a Roman Catholic Church. It was a big deal in lots of different respects.
“It was a moment in which everybody could rejoice, but inevitably you’re skating along the edge of a lot of history there and certainly that’s how it felt for me.
“I thought she was an immensely centred person and I thought to myself, what kind of person are you that you can do this?”
Reverend Hall added there was a degree of fear in the local community about the visit, but it was a significant step and the legacy of the visit will live on in Enniskillen.
“It was a step into the unknown. I suppose there was a degree of fear of how the community would react to somebody who would be deemed as from the Protestant faith going to the Roman Catholic faith,” Reverend Hall said.
“Anyone who was strong within themselves and their own faith or political views, you’re untainted by just crossing a street, mingling and mixing, showing tolerance, respect and understanding with each other.
“You’ve obviously a deeply spiritual lady, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with this outreach to show that we were one community together here under God.
“We’re not here to erase the past, we can’t do that. It was like a Royal seal of approval that she gave for us working together. The legacy will live on.”
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