Micheal Martin confirms St Patrick’s Day visit to meet Trump at White House

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has confirmed he will visit the White House on St Patrick’s Day.

In a speech at the Cork Chamber Annual Dinner, Mr Martin said US President Donald Trump believes the annual engagement is a chance “to celebrate the special relationship between our two countries”.

Calls were made last year for the Taoiseach to drop the trip as Mr Trump began his second term as president. The leaders of the main opposition party, Sinn Fein, did not attend the White House over the US administration’s approach to Gaza.

Those calls have been amplified in the wake of the US’s rescinded threat to take over Greenland and Mr Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown in the city of Minneapolis and elsewhere in the US.

Last year, 38 representatives of the state travelled to more than 90 cities in 40 countries.

“Local, national and international issues matter and there is no doubt that these turbulent times are causing a lot of uncertainty,” Mr Martin said on Friday evening.

“Perhaps the single most common question I hear from people is ‘how can we protect our interests and our successes when things are changing so rapidly, when long-established assumptions are being questioned?’.

“No one can deny that today there is a crisis in international affairs. We have new and deep challenges to overcome.

“But we also have incredible strengths in our country. I absolutely believe that we can secure and strengthen our interests now and in the years ahead.

“We can do it if we focus on our strengths, if we are true to core values, if we avoid knee-jerk reactions to every new development.”

Mr Martin went on to say he had received a formal invitation from Mr Trump to visit the White House which the US president described as “an opportunity to celebrate the warm and historic friendship between the US and Ireland”.

He said: “The president also pays tribute to the Irish American community, who have made such an enormous contribution to the United States.

“He believes this is an opportunity to celebrate the special relationship between our two countries.”

He added: “Our economic contacts are of enormous value to both of our countries – and this has at its foundation an open dialogue.

“Our cultural contacts are also of enormous value to both of our countries – and they have evolved through constant contact.

“I am looking forward to my meetings in Washington and to celebrating the 250th anniversary of a democratic ideal which remains an inspiration.

“As we negotiate these challenging times, my focus in relations with all countries and especially in our critical relationships, is not on the short term. It is on the long term. On finding points of shared interest rather than opportunities for division.”

Mr Trump’s “Board of Peace”, which he has said could eventually rival the United Nations, may also present a diplomatic challenge for the Taoiseach.

The group was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire in Gaza, with Mr Trump as chairman, but it has since evolved and scepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a step back.

Norway and Sweden indicated they would not participate in the board. France declined, citing concerns the board could seek to replace the UN, and the UK said it would not sign up because of potential Russian involvement in the plan.

Mr Martin said the UN is “facing a serious crisis” but that Ireland must work “to protect the only organisation which is capable of carrying out vital international functions”.

“In fundamental areas like public health, maritime safety, famine relief, support for the Palestinian people and child protection, the UN and its agencies are irreplaceable,” he said.

Sinn Fein has yet to declare whether it will attend Washington DC in March this year, after boycotting last year in “a principled stance against the threat of mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza”, according to leader Mary Lou McDonald.

The party’s vice-president and First Minister at Stormont, Michelle O’Neill, hinted last week that her party may not attend, saying “I decided last year that I wouldn’t go in the context of the genocide that we see unfolding in Gaza”, adding: “I believe that situation has deteriorated even further.”

St Patrick’s Day is also the date that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is next due to appear before a US court.