Taoiseach to meet Trump
Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, along with government ministers and some ministers from the North, are set to make their annual trip to the United States for St Patrick’s Day.
The Taoiseach is set to visit Pennsylvania for two days commencing 14 March 2026, and will then visit Washington DC, where he is expected to meet President Donald Trump on St Patrick’s Day and present him with a bowl of shamrocks, continuing tradition which first began in 1952.
In 2025, the annual trip to Washington DC should have marked a high point for the Taoiseach, following his victory in the general shortly prior.
Although Martin was returning as Taoiseach, he was unable to ever make the trip to meet then-President Joe Biden during his first term as Taoiseach, as there were Covid restrictions in 2021, and then the Taoiseach tested positive for Covid in 2022 and was forced to meet Biden via video screen in the Oval Office.
In the end, Martin’s first St Patrick’s Day trip to the White House was one to forget.
Initially, all appeared well as Martin’s reserved manner in the Oval Office was initially widely praised as a “masterclass in diplomacy” after he visited Trump on 12 March 2025, especially given that this was the first foreign visit hosted by the US Government since Trump and JD Vance’s infamous outburst against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Indeed, the relatively friendly affair ended up with Trump even giving the Taoiseach a useful excuse for the State’s housing crisis: “You know why they have a housing crisis? Because they’re doing so well. They can’t build houses fast enough. That’s a good problem, not a bad one.”
Trump, who later boasted to the Taoiseach that “the Irish love Trump”, subsequently shocked Irish society on St Patrick’s Day 2025 by unveiling MMA fighter and convicted criminal Conor McGregor firstly in the White House Press Room, then later that day in the Oval Office with Trump.
McGregor used his time in the White House briefing room to tell an informal press conference that it was “high time that America is made aware of what is going on in Ireland”, adding: “The illegal immigration racket is running ravage [sic] on the country.”
The 2025 occasion was also mired by Sinn Féín’s boycott, although when asked about this, Trump gave reporters the impression that he had never heard of Sinn Féin, even though Trump met and was pictured with Gerry Adams at a Sinn Féin fundraiser in New York City in 1995.
Sinn Féin has also announced that it will not attend any events in America in 2026, although the American Embassy in Dublin has since clarified that Sinn Féin has not been invited to any events, stating that “no members of Sinn Féin have been invited to the White House” and “none are expecting to be invited”.
American Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh adds: “We will continue working closely with leaders in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland who are committed to peace, prosperity, constructive partnership, and the enduring friendship between our nations.”
Other government ministers will be travelling throughout the world on St Patrick’s Day. Tánaiste Simon Harris TD is set to travel to London and Paris, while Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee TD is to travel to Boston, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers TD is to visit Senegal and Nigeria, and Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien TD is to travel to Brazil.
While the North’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA is to boycott the visit in line with her party, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly MLA is to travel to Washington, although it is unclear whether she will meet President Trump.
