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Life

13th Apr 2016

A 12-year-old Dublin student wrote to the Queen asking for the North back – and there’s been a response

Ellen Tannam

Reese Kilbride is a student in St. Helen’s senior national school in Portmarnock, and after learning about the 1916 Rising he felt like he had to make a plea to Queen Elizabeth.

Reese told Newstalk Breakfast that his class were “learning about the Easter Rising and how much trouble they brought to Ireland and that they had the six counties – they didn’t give back all of Ireland, so I thought they should give it back.”

He decided to pen a letter (including a picture of himself, the Queen and a friend) in February to the British monarch asking her why the UK wouldn’t give back the North, not expecting a reply.

However, he did end up actually receiving some correspondence back, albeit not from Liz herself.

The Deputy Correspondence co-ordinator, Jennie Vine replied:
“The Queen has asked me to thank you for your recent letter in which you wished to tell Her Majesty that you have been learning about the history of the Easter Rising 1916.”

“While it was thoughtful of you to let The Queen know of your views, I must explain that this is not a matter in which Her Majesty would intervene. As a constitutional Sovereign, The Queen acts on the advice of her Ministers and remains strictly non-political at all times.”

The letter ended with, “Her Majesty has asked me to thank you for the pictures you drew especially for her, and I would like to send you and your family my good wishes at this time.”

Sounds like a cop-out to me.