The queen has been barred from a Dublin pub.

John Stokes, the father of Celtic soccer star Anthony Stokes, has hung a huge banner outside his pub saying her Majesty is barred from his bar which is called the Players Lounge.

The banner says the queen and the royal family are banned from the bar and saying she "will never be welcome" in the country.

He told the Sun newspaper "I'm just warning her that she won't get served if she decides to drop in for a drink, to save me the embarrassment of having to tell her if she turns up, because it's a well-known pub and she might.

"I don't believe she has any right coming here whatsoever.

"When you hear the figures being thrown around about how much it will cost to bring her over, it's a disgrace. Surely money can be better used elsewhere?

"My mother died of a brain hemorrhage when she was just 51 and they told us she could have been saved if she'd had a hospital bed. Why are we spending that money on this visit when we could invest in hospital beds?"

He admitted "I've had a few complaints already.

"One guy told me that his father had fought in World War One and that I was a disgrace, but it's my opinion. She has no right to come here."

Some locals disagree. Irish Labour politician Ciaran Lynch said: "People should be positive about the visit. If you look at the last number of years, we've had Tony Blair visit, the Irish people voted overwhelmingly for the Good Friday Agreement, and times have moved on.

"In terms of international exposure it will be a fantastic way of promoting Ireland as a welcoming country. We should all be very welcoming of the visit."