Queen revisits ghosts of Ireland's 'Bloody Sunday'

Britain's Queen Elizabeth undertook one of the most daring diplomatic engagements of her reign on Wednesday when she stepped out into Ireland's Croke Park stadium, scene of a massacre by British troops.

In a gesture that summed up how far relations between the two old enemies have come, the queen was brought into Croke Park through the Hogan Stand, named after a player killed on "Bloody Sunday" nearly a century ago.

She met players, chatted about Irish sport and was entertained by a marching band and traditional dancing, although the seats around the vast stadium were empty -- a reflection of the tight security around the trip.

In her four-day state visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland won its independence from London in 1921, the queen has won praise for showing a determination to address the bloody past and offer powerful gestures of reconciliation.

"It'll put some demons to rest, bring a bit of closure," said Phil Dolwer, 32, a chef working in a cafe around the corner from Croke Park, ahead of the queen's appearance there. "The time is right."

Croke Park, the home of Irish sports, is an iconic place for nationalists. In 1920, during Ireland's war for independence, British troops opened fire on a crowd there after 14 British intelligence officers were killed in the city the night before.

Fourteen civilians, one aged 10, were killed and "Bloody Sunday", a rallying cry for the nationalist cause, was born.

Even a few years ago, the presence of the queen, the commander in chief of British armed forces, on such sacred nationalist turf would have been too much for many Irish people.

But a 1998 deal ending Irish nationalists' guerrilla war against British rule, and British Prime Minister David Cameron's apology last year for Northern Ireland's "Bloody Sunday" in 1972 when British troops killed 13 protesters, have paved the way.

"Your presence does honour to our association, to its special place in Irish life and to its hundreds and thousands of members," Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) president Christy Cooney said in a speech welcoming the queen.

Croke Park packs more than 80,000 people into the grounds on big match days for traditional Irish sports like hurling and Gaelic football.

A smiling queen asked players questions about the rules of the games and was given a hurley stick and sliotar, a leather-bound ball used in hurling.

Earlier in the day, she laid a wreath of poppies in honour of the nearly 50,000 Irish soldiers who died fighting for Britain in World War One, a group often overlooked in Irish history, and visited the Guinness Brewery in central Dublin.

She was presented with the "perfect pint" of stout but did not drink it.

She also met Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.

Accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen chatted with Kenny and his wife in front of a portrait of Michael Collins, the revolutionary leader who ordered the assassination of British spies the night before "Bloody Sunday".

Later on Wednesday, Kenny will meet Cameron, who is making his first official visit to Ireland to attend that evening's state banquet where the queen will make a speech.

The threat from militant nationalists opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process means security around the queen is tight. There are no public walkabouts and streets around venues have been cleared of onlookers.

Irish police, out in force around the capital, have had to deal with a number of security alerts and the army destroyed a makeshift bomb on a bus headed for Dublin late on Monday night.

Police arrested 21 people on Tuesday after a protest against the queen visiting Ireland's shrine to its nationalist heroes turned ugly with bricks, bottles and fireworks thrown at police.

Several hundred people took part in demonstrations on Tuesday that were condemned by many Irish people. Around 30 protestors gathered outside Croke Park to protest on Wednesday.

"What is she doing here, at the scene of a massacre by British forces?" said Jason Flood, an unemployed 35-year-old GAA fan. "I don't know what they are trying to achieve. I can't understand their mentality."