President Higgins will meet the Queen and address Parliament – another historic first.
For centuries, Ireland was under British control until the country won independence from the UK in 1921, following a civil war and a guerilla campaign against British forces.
Six counties remained under British rule, forming Northern Ireland.
His trip follows the Queen becoming the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland three years ago.
President Higgins has said there are still a lot of difficult memories and that “it would be wrong to wipe the slate clean.” But he believes Anglo-Irish relations are at an all time high and the Queen’s visit was a step in the right direction.
“I think Her Majesty coming to Ireland and addressing issues of relations between our two people was doing it all the right
way,” he said, as reported on the BBC website.
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