Queen Elizabeth Prays for Ulster Peace in Christmas Message

LONDON â€”  Taking note of the glimmers of hope around the globe and in her own realm, Queen Elizabeth II prayed for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland and complimented those who care for the needy as she delivered her annual Christmas Day message.

In a broadcast to the nation from her country house in Sandringham in Norfolk, the queen praised the bravery of law-abiding ordinary folk in Ulster, where recent British-Irish negotiations have offered prospects of peace.

“In Northern Ireland, especially these last years, fear has made the streets dark indeed,� the queen said. But she added: “Now we have seen that the light of hope can brighten them. May 1994 bring to those brave people who live (in Northern Ireland) and go about their lawful lives undaunted the reward they deserve--peace.�

The queen said people must work together to make the world a happier, more humane place.

She noted that gloomy reports from global trouble spots make her “yearn for some good news.� But she said: “It is no longer possible to plead ignorance about what is going on in far-off parts of the world. Switch on the radio or television and the graphic details of distant events are instantly available to us.

“Not all the pictures bring gloomy news,� the queen added. “This year has seen significant progress made toward solving some of the world’s most difficult problems: the Middle East, for instance, the democratic future of South Africa and, most recently, Northern Ireland.�

The queen also complimented “volunteers who are out there in the front line, putting our donations to use by looking after the wounded, the hungry and the oppressed.�

Her holiday message this year was considerably cheerier than it was last year. The queen had called 1992 a “horrible� year, a time in which she saw the break-up of the marriages of her two eldest sons.

On Saturday, the queen was joined in her Christmas prayers for Northern Ireland by Roman Catholic and Protestant prelates in the province.

Christmas prayers calling for an end to the bloodshed were held in every church in the country.

Catholic Cardinal Cahal Daly, primate of Ireland, said the road to peace is not easy--but enormous opportunities lie ahead. “I see a great future opening up for this land of ours,� he said.

Archbishop Robin Eames, head of the Protestant Church of Ireland, said Ulster should have a future free of suffering and fear. Referring to terrorists in both communities, he declared, “It’s time they came out of the darkness and the sinister world they have created around themselves.�