ウィリアム英王子夫妻、アイルランド公式訪問　女王以来の王室主要メンバー

【ダブリンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国のウィリアム王子とキャサリン妃は3日、アイルランドへの公式訪問を開始した。日程は3日間。英王室の主要メンバーによるアイルランド公式訪問は、エリザベス女王による2011年の訪問以来となる。（写真はアイルランドの首都ダブリンにある大統領公邸内の平和の鐘を鳴らすウィリアム英王子夫妻）
　ウィリアム王子夫妻は同日、首都ダブリンにあるマイケル・ヒギンズ大統領公邸内の庭園で「平和の鐘」を鳴らした。この鐘は、「厄介事」と呼ばれた３０年にわたる北アイルランド紛争を終結させた「聖金曜日の合意」１０周年を記念して、２００８年に除幕された。
　夫妻はまたアイルランド独立のために戦い、主に英国による攻撃で命を落とした人々を追悼する市内の庭園「ガーデン・オブ・リメンブランス」を訪問。「歴史から得た教訓を決して忘れることはない。輝かしい未来を共につくり上げていく」と書かれたメッセージを花輪に残した。
　アイルランドでは数週間前に総選挙が行われ、同国と北アイルランドの再統一を最重要政策に掲げる民族主義政党シン・フェイン党が躍進した。
　シン・フェイン党は、かつて北アイルランドで英国からの独立を目指し、数十年にわたって戦ったカトリック過激派アイルランド共和軍の政治部門の流れをくむ。一方、北アイルランドの国家元首はウィリアム王子の祖母であるエリザベス女王だ。
　また英国は１月３１日に欧州連合（ＥＵ）から離脱したが、英国の一地方である北アイルランドとＥＵ加盟国のアイルランドの境界をめぐる問題は、離脱プロセスにおける主要な争点となった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/03/05-09:08）

Prince William and his wife Kate began a tour of Ireland on Tuesday, in the latest high-profile trip by senior British royals since Queen Elizabeth II's landmark state visit in 2011.
The couple's three-day trip comes just weeks after a general election which saw a surge in support for nationalists Sinn Fein, whose flagship policy is Irish reunification.
William's grandmother the queen is head of state in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein was the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which fought against British rule in the province for decades.
The visit also comes in the wake of Britain's departure from the European Union on January 31, with the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish republic a major issue in the process.
William and Kate met Irish President Michael D. Higgins at his official residence after landing in Dublin.
The royal couple rang the Peace Bell, housed in the gardens of the residence, which was unveiled in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The accord ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.
They also visited the city's Garden of Remembrance, which commemorates those who died fighting for Irish independence -- mostly at the hands of the British.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left a message on a wreath which read: May we never forget the lessons of history as we continue to build a brighter future together.
William and Kate then met interim Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who resigned following a stinging election defeat last month that saw his Fine Gael party slump to third place.
- Close links -
The royal visit -- the couple's first to Ireland -- was made at the request of Britain's Foreign Office to highlight the many strong links between the UK and Ireland, Kensington Palace said.
The whole island of Ireland was under British rule until a bloody war for independence between crown forces and Irish republicans ended in 1921.
A treaty split the territory between a British-run Northern Ireland and a free state which went on to become the modern Irish republic.
Sectarian violence between pro-British unionists and republicans wanting union with Ireland flared in Northern Ireland in the 1960s, leaving more than 3,000 dead on all sides.
Royal visits were impossible because of the terror threat. In 1979, the IRA assassinated William's great-great uncle Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of British-ruled India.
The IRA began to lay down its arms in 1997 as part of the peace accord, and pledged to campaign for unification non-violently.
That allowed the queen to make a state visit in 2011, which was the first by a British monarch in what is now the Republic of Ireland since her grandfather king George V a century earlier.
It was hailed as a pivotal moment in healing historic unease between the two deeply-entwined nations.
- Political background -
Heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, have made five visits to Ireland in the last five years in a sign of closer Anglo-Irish relations.
During their time there, William and Kate will also travel to two counties near Dublin and to Galway, on the country's west coast, which is European Capital of Culture in 2020.
The trip comes at a unique time in Irish politics after Sinn Fein became the second-largest party in elections last month.
None of the parties in Ireland won enough seats to form a majority government, and inter-party negotiations have stalled.
But Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she may well be the next taoiseach (prime minister).
If that happens, it would likely rekindle a constitutional battle over Northern Ireland as Sinn Fein wants a referendum on Irish unification to be held within five years.
A separate border poll in Northern Ireland would also be required for it to happen, according to the terms of the 1998 peace accord.