Read more: Queen's visit will change Ireland for ever ---old enemies will put hatreds aside

The Queen’s route for her three-day trip to Ireland, which begins May 17, includes several Irish Republican landmarks that have police deeply.

Her route will include the Garden of Remembrance, dedicated to the memory of "those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom,” and Croke Park, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association and scene of the infamous massacre of 1920, when British troops opened fire on a crowd, killing 14 Irish civilians.

The police fear Republican dissidents will use the emotion attached to spark a violent reception. Police also worry that demonstrations against the Queen's visit have the potential to turn violent, particularly in north inner-city Dublin. A €7m security operation is being put in place to protect the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Outside the GPO, where the Easter Rising began in 1916, demonstrators from the hardline group Republican Sinn Féin were collecting signatures in opposition to the royal visit as police looked on.

Colum Moyes, an RSF activist from Dublin, said he was there to "demonstrate my opposition to a Queen who is head of armed forces that are still occupying six counties of my country in the north.”

Asked if there would be violence, he told the Guardian: "I wouldn't know about that. There will definitely be protests, but I will probably be in jail because they [the garda] will lock as many of us up before she comes."

A few yards away from the Garden of Remembrance, Christy Armstrong, a seller at the flea market on Parnell Street in Dublin, said: "Some people don't forget. It would not be appropriate. I remember what happened to the hunger strikers and other things the British did. But just because I don't want her to come here doesn't mean I want people to kill her. I would rather that any protests that are held are peaceful.

"As for the people living around this part of Dublin, I don't think most of them care. They are more concerned about the recession. I think they would rather choke a banker before they would choke her." he said.

Said Dubliner Briege Daly, who was also at the flea market: "It's time to move on and let bygones be bygones. What's in the past is in the past. I'm more worried about getting a bargain today."

Read more: Queen's visit will change Ireland for ever ---old enemies will put hatreds aside