Former Irish president Mary McAleese has said Queen Elizabeth II "abhorred" hardline unionist Ian Paisley and had "no time for him whatsoever", in remarks made on The Ireland Podcast. McAleese, who was president from 1997 to 2011 and hosted the Queen's historic 2011 State visit to Ireland, said the comments arose while discussing the late monarch's genuine fondness for Gaelic games, particularly hurling. The claims have drawn a sharp response from the Democratic Unionist Party, which Paisley once led.

McAleese recalled a 1998 car journey in Belgium, alongside the Belgian king and queen, during which Elizabeth spoke warmly of hurling and shinty before turning, unprompted, to Paisley, who had at that point stayed out of the Good Friday Agreement for years. According to McAleese, the Queen said she "abhorred" him and his politics, adding "lucky you" when the Belgian queen said she didn't know who he was. Paisley, a staunch Free Presbyterian, had previously accused the Queen of acting as a "parrot" for the Labour government and criticised her over a papal visit; he went on to become Northern Ireland's First Minister in 2007. A DUP spokesman said the Queen would have kept such conversations private and questioned McAleese's motives for revealing them decades later.