The full day of a state visit to England by Irish President has gone off without a hitch, continuing the work began three years ago when Queen Elizabeth II visited Ireland.

The Irish Times headlines “Ireland and Britain ‘walking to a brighter future,'” while The Times of London declares, “Former IRA chief has dinner with Queen.” The BBC offers numerous videos of the visit.

Along with the social and political symbolism of the visit, this military history story caught my eye. It’s about a ceremony in England retiring the flags of six Irish regiments after the Irish Free State was created in 1922. The regiments were the Royal Irish Regiment, the Connaught Rangers, the Leinster Regiment, the Royal Munster Fusiliers, the Royal Dublin Fusilers and the South Irish Horse.