Meet the Irish who might mess up Queen Elizabeth II’s visit

Read more: Anti-Queen banner publican arrested - suspected connection to dissident republicans

It's time to face the truth: no one really knows exactly what kind of welcome Queen Elizabeth will receive when she visits Ireland next month but one thing seems sure - there are some Irish citizens who will not welcome an English monarch now or ever.

Dublin pub owner John Stokes made the headlines for unveiling a banner outside his pub insisting the Queen would never be welcome but he told the Irish Independent this week that despite news reports he's not a member of any republican outfit.

"The Queen," he told the Independent, "is a war criminal and the timing is not right. The British are still in the six counties."

Despite his militancy Stokes swears he would never hurt a fly. "I don't support any human life being taken - in Iraq, Afghanistan, wherever. I remember watching the Vietnam War on the television as a child and being really upset."

Stokes added he would not protest Queen Elizabeth if she came to Ireland in a private capacity. "I'm against a visit by her as a head of state," he said. "I would have no problem if she walked in in jeans."

Republican Sinn Fein have also been picketing the Irish Parliament and the British Embassy and have set up a weekly stall outside the General Post Office in Dublin to get signatures for a petition opposing the Queen's visit.

Republican Sinn Fein are linked to the Continuity IRA, one of the dissident republican groups still engaged in violence.

Asked if are dissidents are considering an attack on the Queen, RSF president Des Dalton told the Independent: "It's not a matter for us - we're a political party. Other groups, because of the position she holds, regard her as a target."