Irish Times.
President McAleese said: "I think it is an extraordinary moment in Irish history, a phenomenal sign of the success of the peace process and absolutely the right moment for us to welcome on to Irish soil Her Majesty the Queen, the head of state of our immediate next-door neighbours, the people with whom we are forging a new future, a future very, very different from the past, on very different terms from the past.

"I think that visit will send the message that we are, both jurisdictions, determined to make the future a much, much better place," she said.

The Taoiseach said he hoped the Queen would be shown a warm welcome by the people of Ireland.

Mr Kenny said the vast majority of people in Ireland welcomed the Queen's visit, adding that those opposed to the visit were entitled to protest but that he hoped they would not "embarrass the country".

"This is the start of a new beginning coming at the end of the presidency of Mary McAleese and I think it is very fitting that the Queen has accepted her invitation to come here," he said.