Belfast - Tight security was in place Thursday as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II attended a traditional church service in the province of Northern Ireland. Police said two "suspicious objects" had been discovered ahead of the traditional Holy Thursday service at the Church of Ireland's St. Patrick's cathedral in Armagh, south-west of Belfast.
No further details were available. But police had warned earlier that dissident members of the pro-Irish republican movement in Northern Ireland had resumed activities despite the end of hostilities declared by the underground Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Police searches extended up to 30 kilometres from Armagh ahead of the ceremony. Vehicles were checked and sniffer dogs used to comb the area.
Airport-style security was in place to screen those attending the so-called Maundy Thursday service and their belongings.
The queen, 82, and Prince Philip, were driven right up to the cathedral entrance and walked only a few steps as crowds gathered nearby.
During the service, the queen was to distribute Maundy money, precious commemorative coins worth 82 pence - reflecting the monarch's age - as a symbol of the giving of alms.
The queen has previously attended such services in England and Wales, but never before in Northern Ireland.
The diocese of Armagh, Ireland's ecclesiastical capital, traces its history to St. Patrick in the 5th century, who founded the see.
The queen's participation in the service, on the final day of a three-day visit to Northern Ireland, is to mark the 10th anniversary of the Peace Agreement signed in Belfast on Good Friday, 1998.
