Queen flies out of Northern Ireland

The Queen meets Mark Durkan and David Trimble

The Queen has flown out of Northern Ireland after touring a number of towns during a one-day visit to the province.

She toured Northern Ireland in the week when the province's power-sharing executive was up and running again after a period of party wrangling over issues including IRA decommissioning.

However, the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, avoided Belfast, where in the north of the city sectarian tensions remain high after months of street violence and loyalist protests at a Catholic school.

The province's first and deputy first ministers met the Queen at Hillsborough Castle, where she also held a private meeting with Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid.

The Queen visited Londonderry earlier on Thursday

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble was newly re-elected to the assembly's top post with Mark Durkan, the leader of the nationalist SDLP, last week, after his party agreed to re-enter the executive after the IRA move to put some arms beyond use.

Mr Durkan said that he had no problem with meeting the Queen although he suspected republicans would try to make political capital out of the event.

However, on BBC Radio Ulster, Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy said his party were not being "immature" about their decision not to take part in the events organised for the Queen.

He said his party had received no invitations to meet the Queen and added: "This visit was clearly for the unionist community. It therefore had no relevance to the nationalist community."

The Royal party had lunch at Hillsborough Castle.

The Queen meets potter Irene Bourton in Lisburn

The Queen then travelled to nearby Lisburn, where she opened the council's new offices and civic centre the Lagan Valley Island complex.

She met representatives of the council and children taking part in classes at the art centre.

On her last engagement of the day, the Queen visited Ferguson's Irish Linen factory in Banbridge, County Down, where she met Northern Ireland Economy Minister Sir Reg Empey.

Afterwards, she and Prince Philip went on an impromptu walkabout in the town, where they were greeted by a cheering crowd and presented with flowers by a group of children.

First Derry visit

On Thursday morning, the Queen was greeted by a cheering crowd when she visited Londonderry. It was her first visit to the city since 1953.

DUP Social Development Minister Nigel Dodds was among the politicians and representatives from the local council who greeted the Queen in Derry.

He said the visit reinforced the fact that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.

While in Derry, the Queen visited the Maydown Ebrington Centre, which opened in February this year to offer training in the community and provides a dance and drama venue in a renovated shirt factory.

There she was entertained by youth and adult drama and dance groups during their visit.

The Queen also met representatives from the Irish Republic's training agency.

Irish visit speculation

She was last in Northern Ireland in April last year to present the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary at a ceremony at Hillsborough Castle.

There was speculation following the Queen's visit, that she may be preparing to visit Dublin for the first time to signal the start of a new era in Anglo-Irish relations.

It is believed any planned visit would probably be after the Golden Jubilee Year, which is 2002.

It would be the first visit to the Republic of Ireland by a reigning British monarch since the country achieved independence nearly 80 years ago.