Prince Charles shakes hands with Old Bailey bomber Gerry Kelly

The Prince of Wales has shaken hands with former IRA bomber and Sinn Fein Stormont Assembly member Gerry Kelly during a visit to Belfast.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Jun 2018, 14:32 BST
Updated 19th Jun 2018, 16:42 BST
The Prince of Wales shakes hands with Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly at Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast where he is meeting the organisations involved in the regeneration of the building as a permanent home for the Ulster Orchestra. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 12, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Charles. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA WireThe Prince of Wales shakes hands with Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly at Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast where he is meeting the organisations involved in the regeneration of the building as a permanent home for the Ulster Orchestra. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 12, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Charles. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
The Prince of Wales shakes hands with Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly at Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast where he is meeting the organisations involved in the regeneration of the building as a permanent home for the Ulster Orchestra. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 12, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Charles. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Mr Kelly escaped from the Maze Prison in 1983 while serving a jail sentence for the 1973 bombing of the Old Bailey.

He was later a senior member of Sinn Fein’s negotiating team and embraced the peace process, serving as a minister in the powersharing Executive.

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Charles has spoken many times about reconciliation in Ireland and has previously met Gerry Adams, offering condolences on the death of Martin McGuinness.

He began a two-day trip to Northern Ireland on Tuesday with a recital by the Ulster Orchestra in a 19th century Methodist church in Belfast which is undergoing major restoration.

Sinn Fein’s former culture minister Caral Ni Chuilin and Mr Kelly were among those to meet the royal visitor.

The prince toured the Carlisle Memorial Church, which has served as a gateway to north Belfast since 1875.

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The neo-Gothic building was at the heart of one of the most troubled parts of Belfast, Charles’s host, the Belfast Buildings Trust, said, during a 30-year conflict when there were many sectarian murders.

In 2015, the prince visited nearby St Patrick’s Catholic Church, which was at the heart of disputes involving loyalist band parades.

He has often touched on the theme of reconciliation during recent visits to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Charles will also visit Ulster University in Coleraine, Co Londonderry, to help celebrate its 50th anniversary.

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On Wednesday, he will visit Omagh Hospital in Co Tyrone and later, in the town of Omagh, will be joined by the Duchess of Cornwall to meet those affected by the 1998 Real IRA bomb which killed 29 people, one of the worst blasts of the Troubles.

At the request of the British Government, Charles and Camilla will travel to the south of the Republic for two days later this week.

Their itinerary includes the English Market in Cork City previously toured by the Queen during her groundbreaking 2011 visit, and Co Kerry, where they will see the ancestral home of 19th century Irish statesman Daniel O’Connell, Derrynane House.

Related topics:Prince CharlesBelfastOld BaileySinn FeinPrince of WalesCatholic church