Visit will be first by a British monarch since George V in 1911 at time of Home Rule crisis

The Queen is to make a historic first visit to the Irish Republic before the end of next year. The last monarch to visit Ireland was George V, who went to Dublin in 1911 at the time of the Home Rule crisis, when the country was still part of the UK.

The taoiseach, Brian Cowen, made the announcement after meeting David Cameron at 10 Downing Street. Cowen said there had been a clear transformation in the relationship between Ireland and Britain, which should be reflected in normal diplomatic relationships.

The visit will be opposed by a number of republican dissident organisations. Republican Sinn Féin has vowed to bring demonstrators on to the streets of Dublin if the Queen visits the Irish capital.

Security will be extremely tight for the groundbreaking royal visit. The last major attack in Dublin on a British establishment target was in July 1976, when the Provisional IRA assassinated the UK's ambassador to Ireland, Christopher Ewart-Biggs. He died after his car was blown up by a landmine near his residence in south Dublin.

The Ewart-Biggs murder led to a crackdown in the Republic with the then Fine Gael-Labour coalition declaring a state of emergency. His widow, Jane, later declared that she had no bitterness towards the Irish people and launched a peace prize in her husband's name.

The Irish National Liberation Army almost murdered his successor several years later but a bomb near his pew in Dublin's Anglican cathedral failed to detonate.

Prince Charles is the most senior royal to have visited the Republic. His trip to Dublin was marked by violent demonstrations by republican groups. During protests outside Trinity College Dublin, which the prince visited, demonstrators threw potatoes in memory of the Irish potato famine.