The Olympic torch made its only scheduled diversion from its route around Britain by visiting Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, on Wednesday.
The stopover was meant as a gesture of recognition of the cross—border peace process in Ireland, which has brought together the Catholic and Protestant communities in British—ruled Northern Ireland over the past decade, following the 1998 Peace Agreement.
The torch received an enthusiastic welcome in the Irish capital, where pop duo Jedward, jockey Ruby Walsh, Olympic and former European champions were among the runners.
They were greeted by Irish President Michael D Higgins, and later attended a reception given by Enda Kenny, the Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach).
“We will never have the Olympic Games in Dublin and the nearest we are ever going to come to it is the London Games, so to have the torch relay on our part of the island is quite unique and historical,” Pat Hickey, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, told them.
The most emotional moment came, however, when the torch crossed the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic, on its way to Dublin.
The handover of the flame at the border involved boxers Wayne McCullogh, from Northern Ireland, and Michael Carruth, from Dublin.
Both men, despite their different faiths, made friends as team-mates representing Ireland at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
The cross-border relay was proof of the “power of sport to transcend cultural, political and faith boundaries,” said Sebastian Coe, chief of Olympic organizing committee, LOCOG.
The London 2012 Olympics are due to open on July 27 and run until August 12.
