Irish President Mary McAleese has said she would welcome an unprecedented visit from the Queen, after chatting with the monarch at a West London reception.
The Queen and President McAleese spent about 15 minutes together as they attended a dinner marking the 25th anniversary of Co-operation Ireland, of which the two are joint patrons. The organisation is a peace-building charity working toward understanding in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Queen Elizabeth II, who became sovereign in 1952, has never made a state visit to the Republic of Ireland. But Mrs McAleese, who commented that the Queen had demonstrated a "formidably strong interest and knowledge of Ireland", said in a statement, "the Irish and British governments are agreed that a visit should take place".
Thursday's event was attended by around 150 guests, including Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Daithi O'Ceallaigh, Irish Ambassador to Britain and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain.
The monarch met up with President McAleese of Ireland during a peace-building charity event
