State Visit from Ireland; October 14-15, 2009
 

The President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary McAleese, will pay a State Visit to Luxembourg upon the invitation of HRH The Grand Duke between October 14 and 15, 2009.

President McAleese and her husband, Doctor Martin McAleese, will depart Dublin on Wednesday morning bound for Luxembourg. During their visit, they will attend a state dinner held by the Grand Ducal Couple.

The Press Association: McAleese set for Luxembourg visit

Post all information, news and pictures regarding this state visit here.



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The Luxembourg Moderators

Please,if somebody find the pictures of this visit post them!

President and Dr. McAleese are returning to Dublin on Thursday, October 15 according to the official program quoted in the Irish press. It is also listed as a 2 day not 3 day state visit in Luxembourg press release.

Im sure once we get pictures they well all be posted, we just have to patient till then.

Is there a programme of the visit? Since this is a state visit, im pretty sure there will be a dinner, anyone knows who from the family will be attending? Since Tessy is now a princess, will she attened such events?

There will be a dinner. Comments about the program with links to article on it can be read here. I don't know if we will have our Grand Duchess back in public yet or not after her surgery. The information from the Luxembourg government implies The Grand Duke and The Hereditary Grand Duke will be present but not Maria-Teresa. It is possible that Tessy will attend with Louis. Sebastien is in school and training for his rugby, Alexandra is at school in Switzerland and Felix starts school in Rome later this month. I wouldn't expect to see Sebastien or Alexandra but Felix, Louis and Tessy may appear.

Thank you for that correction Lalla Meriem. The initial report only said it began on Wednesday the 14th, and I assumed it would last three-days as state visits customarily do.

Here is somewhat of a program, from this article:

Wednesday October 14
-Official welcoming ceremony
-Meeting with various Luxembourg political representatives (PM Jean-Claude Juncker, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies).
-State Banquet hosted by the Grand Duke and Duchess (assuming she attends of course).

Thursday October 15
-Visit to St Willibrord's Monastery in Echternach.
-Address at the Neumunster Abbey on 'Ireland and the EU'.
-Lunch with PM Juncker.
-Address at an Enterprise Ireland reception, where meetings with the Irish community in Luxembourg will take place.

Yeppers. The Luxembourg government has posted a full schedule (English from babelfish). It seems to imply that the Grand Duchess may make a small appearance but will not be present for any other parts of the program.

Pictures from the welcome ceremony featuring GD Henri and President Mary McAleese

Photo from Reuters Pictures - Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri and Ireland's President McAleese listen to national anthems during a welcoming ceremony in Luxembourg News, photos, topics, and quotes

a few more pictures from ANP
Gallery

Lunch hoted by the Grand Duke the Grand Duchess and the Grand Ducale Palace

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture...v/15824364.jpg

It's nice to see MT back. She's looking well after the surgery.:smile:

PPE Agency

courtesy ppe...

Pictures from the Grand Ducale Website
Cour grand-ducale de Luxembourg - Visite d’État au Luxembourg de la présidente d’Irlande Mary McAleese
Cour grand-ducale de Luxembourg - Visite d’État au Luxembourg de la présidente d’Irlande Mary McAleese

Pictures from the gala- Belga Pictures No Sign of Maria-Teresa
http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/15829035.html?citemId=1405050-7
http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/15829232.html?citemId=1405050-1
http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/15829156.html?citemId=1405050-3
http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/15829010.html?citemId=1405050-8

Marie Teresa is not looking well after her surgery. I even think that the beatiful pictures of the Grand Ducal family were taken before.

I think she looks pretty good, a bit tired maybe but still good. She was told to rest for a few weeks but she looks good.

It has been over a month since she had surgery.

Everyone assumes she had a hysterectomy which she probably did given the details and recovery time. This is a major operation and the recovery time will depend on the procedure used as well as her general health before the operation. We have to keep in mind also the hormonal changes in her body due to such a surgery may affect how she feels (tiredness and whatnot) but also how she looks. I really miss seeing my Grand Duchess but I hope for her full recovery. I try to be sensitive of the delicate nature of bodies and what a drastic change (at least hormonally) such a surgery can result in for how a women feels physically and emotionally. Let's just give her a little more time to adjust and recover before we expect her to be back in top form.

I was wondering why I didn't see any pictures of her in the gala dinner. Does anyone know if she really had a hysterectomy and why?

It is only known that she had surgery by a doctor who is a renowned gynecologist and who only works in that field. Therefore it is certainly safe to assume it was gynecological surgery. At 54 years of age there aren't too many procedures she would be undergoing other than hysterectomy. It is not known why the procedure was done only that it went well and was planned for some time. I doubt that if it was anything major like cancer it would have been allowed to be in the works for that long. There are more conversations about this in other threads.

If the Grand Duchess has had a hysterectomy, just guessing, that is a major surgery and it takes several weeks to a month or two to get back to feeling really good and resuming normal activities and not feeling tired afterward. I'm guessing that she had a general anesthetic and that takes time to get out of the system.
It's just a pet peeve of mine when people think that someone recovering from surgery should bounce back right away especially when it's show on tv and the movies that people are their normal selves the next day. Uh uh, doesn't work that way. I admit that when the Duchess of Cornwall was still being excused for not making appearances practically nine months after her surgery, that was too much especially when she felt fine to take vacations.