Eire set to rejoin Commonwealth

THE PROSPECT of Ireland applying to rejoin the Commonwealth has become the subject of informal discussion following the successful visit of the Prince of Wales to Dublin.

According to Maurice Manning, Irish Senate leader and a member of the ruling Fine Gael Party, the idea was now "a case waiting to be made", in view of the "huge changes" northern Unionists would be asked to accept as a result of the Ulster peace process.

A Commonwealth Secretariat spokesman said: "Ireland seems to meet our membership requirements: democracy, rule of law and good government."

The Northern Ireland Office confirmed that the idea had been mooted, "but not through ourselves". And the Irish embassy in London said the idea was simply "wafting around", as a result of the peace moves.

Stephen Cranston, a spokesman for the Ulster Unionist Party, said: "We see no reason for [the Irish Republic] to be outside the Commonwealth, but if you're saying that country should rejoin as part of a quid pro quo which would include a reunited Ireland, that would be unacceptable."

A British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said the idea had been "around for some time, but as far as we know, Ireland has not made any application. It would be a matter for the Commonwealth as a whole, and it's up to the Commonwealth Secretariat how it would treat an application." When the Irish Free State achieved independence in 1922, it did so within the British Commonwealth, but the link was broken in 1948 when Ireland declared itself a republic.

Last August, however, Mary Robinson, Ireland's president, had unprecedented talks in Canada with Emeka Anyaoku, secretary-general of the Commonwealth, prompting speculation that the Irish might return to the fold.

Dick Spring, Ireland's foreign minister, said afterwards that a future visit by the Queen would be welcomed, and yesterday the Prince of Wales said, at the end of his well received four-day visit, that it would be "marvellous" if the Queen could follow him to Ireland.

He added: "The most important thing is to increase reconciliation between everybody on all sides."

Senator Manning said Commonwealth membership had not yet been raised in the Irish parliament. "The feeling has been that greater rapprochement would be likely through European Union structures," he said.

"The idea of Commonwealth membership was never fully debated here in the past because of the word 'British' [dropped from the Commonwealth's title in 1965]; people felt it would mean some sort of subordination to Britain."