Flame makes symbolic Irish Republic visit

The Olympic flame lit up the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday on its only visit outside Britain en route to the 2012 London Games, in a symbolic gesture of reconciliation between the two states. Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins received the flame, which is making a 10-week, 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometre) relay ahead of the Games that start on July 27, in Dublin following a handover at the border. The flame was transferred across the border between 1992 Olympic boxing medallists Wayne McCullough from Belfast and Michael Carruth from Dublin. London Games chief Sebastian Coe and Irish Sports Minister Michael Ring watched with a crowd of local onlookers as McCullough lit Carruth's torch with his own. "This is a truly historic day for Ireland," said Ring. "Today we bring the Olympic spirit into the heart of our capital city, in front of a global audience." The flame crossed the border as part of its a five-day journey around Northern Ireland as a token of closer ties between Britain and the Republic of Ireland following Queen Elizabeth II's landmark visit there last year. The trip comes a day after Britain wrapped up four days of celebrations for the sovereign's diamond jubilee, marking her 60 years on the throne. The flame was taken around Dublin ahead of its return to Northern Ireland to visit Newry and Lisburn before finishing in Belfast. The Dublin relay started at Croke Park stadium -- the home of Ireland's traditional Gaelic games -- before passing some of the capital's most historic sites. It was also to be greeted by Prime Minister Enda Kenny. Dublin's 40 torchbearers included former Ireland rugby winger Denis Hickie, and pop duo Jedward, who represented Ireland at last month's Eurovision song contest. Ronnie Delany, who won the 1,500 metres gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, jockey Ruby Walsh and former Manchester United footballer Paul McGrath were also to carry the flame. Final torchbearer Sonia O'Sullivan, who won the 5,000 metres silver at the 2000 Sydney Games, lit an Olympic cauldron in the city's St Stephen's Green park. London Games officials decided the torch should stay in Britain apart from the Ireland trip, following Tibet-related protests that dogged the global torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Games. "It has taken many, many months of lobbying at the highest international levels to get the permission required to bring the relay south," said Pat Hickey, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland. Queen Elizabeth's highly-charged visit last year was the first by a British monarch since her grandfather king George V in 1911, before the republic won independence from Britain in 1922. In a diamond jubilee tribute, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, said he thought the visit had been his mother's "greatest achievement". Seen as the last piece in the jigsaw of peace in Northern Ireland, the queen's four-day trip required the republic's biggest-ever security operation. However, through some highly symbolic gestures -- including speaking in Irish -- she melted away decades of post-colonial angst. The Olympic torch landed in Britain on a plane from Greece on May 18 and will arrive at the Olympic Stadium in east London for the opening ceremony on July 27.