Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to invite President Donald Trump to Ireland. RollingNews.ie

Irish leader to extend an invite to Ireland when he meets with Donald Trump on Thursday.

Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar announced on the fourth day of his Saint Patrick’s Day trip to the US that he intends to extend an invite to Ireland to the US President when he meets with Trump on Thursday.

The annual shamrock ceremony will take place at the White House on Thursday, March 15, as the Taoiseach meets with the President before attending dinner hosted by Irish American Speaker Paul Ryan. Varadkar will also be hosted at a breakfast by US Vice President Mike Pence on Friday morning.

"The invitation that Taoiseach Enda Kenny made to Donald Trump (last year) stands," Varadkar said, despite claiming that no such invite should be given in February 2017, before he was the Taoiseach.

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"Donald Trump has invited me to Washington DC. He has invited me to his house and I think it is just normal hospitality that when someone invites you their house and their country that you reciprocate the invitation.

"I'm not into golf so I won't be playing golf with him if he comes to Doonbeg but perhaps it will be an opportunity for him to potentially visit some of the Irish companies that invest in the US."

On Tuesday evening speaking at the Brookings Institute, Varadkar also stated that he intended to ask Trump for the appointment of a US Ambassador to Ireland but did not think there was a need for a special envoy to Northern Ireland to assist in government-reforming talks.

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Other Irish politicians have ventured to the US this Saint Patrick's Day week, however, to ask for US intervention in Northern Ireland in the form of a special envoy. While Mary-Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin in the Republic, was not granted an invite to the White House as her predecessor Gerry Adams was, she has been told by the US state department that the process of appointing the envoy is ongoing.

The US government has not stated whether Trump intends to take the Taoiseach up on the offer but the debate has already begun in Ireland on whether he will be welcomed or not. 

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