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Charles has spoken about the \u201csmall part\u201d he has played in promoting reconciliation on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\nCharles has spoken about the \u201csmall part\u201d he has played in promoting reconciliation on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
In a message to the people of Ireland, on the fifth anniversary of his visit to Co Sligo, the royal has revealed a planned trip to the Republic and Northern Ireland had been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n
The prince\u2019s statement was posted by the British Embassy in Dublin on its official Twitter account: \u201cMy wife and I cherish such special memories of our visit to Sligo five years ago, and of each of the visits we have made to Ireland in every year since.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has meant so much to us that we have been able to play our small part in the vital process of reconciliation on the island of Ireland and towards reaffirming the essential bond between the people of Ireland and the people of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough it is a matter of particular sadness that, due to the current public health crisis, we are unable to visit Ireland and Northern Ireland this year, we very much look forward to visiting again once happier times return.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May 2015 Charles made a pilgrimage to the picturesque Irish harbor village of Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, where the IRA murdered Louis Mountbatten, his beloved great uncle, in August 1979.<\/p>\n
Mountbatten, who enjoyed summer holidays for decades at nearby Classiebawn Castle, was blown up on board the pleasure boat Shadow V after he set out from the harbor along the Atlantic coast to pick lobster pots and fish.<\/p>\n
The other victims included Nicholas Knatchbull, Mountbatten’s grandson, who was 14; and his friend Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old local boy from Killynure, Enniskillen, who had worked on preparing the royal boat for fishing.<\/p>\n
During the visit Charles paid tribute to the local people who helped in the rescue after the bombing and extended their support.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of them showed the most extraordinary outpouring of compassion and support to both Lord Mountbatten\u2019s and Paul Maxwell\u2019s families in the aftermath of the bombing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir loving kindness has done much to aid the healing process.\u201d<\/p>\n