Taoiseach says he would "absolutely" invite Trump to Ireland

Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters in Dublin today, Tuesday, February 25 that US President Donald Trump would be welcome in Ireland.

“He’s been here before, we would absolutely invite President Trump to Ireland, he’s welcome here,” the Taoiseach said on the way into Cabinet on Tuesday, according to the PA.

Trump visited Doonbeg in Co Clare, where he has a golf resort, twice during his first term as President, and most recently visited in a personal capacity in 2023.

The Taoiseach’s comments come as the Irish Times, citing government sources, said that an invitation for Trump to visit Ireland would be extended as a normal courtesy, as it is to all US presidents.

A spokesperson told the Irish Times that there is “always an open invitation to the President of the United States, a country with deep cultural and economic links."

Meanwhile, there has been speculation that the Trump administration could scale back the St. Patrick's Day engagements in Washington, DC as Republicans are reportedly "struggling to see what they get" out of it.

While a formal invitation has not yet been issued to the Taoiseach, there is an expectation that a visit to the White House will take place, the PA noted on Tuesday.

“There’s no formal invitation, they don’t happen in that manner," the Taoiseach told reporters on Tuesday.

“But our embassy and our people will be engaging with the White House, I am traveling to Washington and then also, will be traveling to Austin in advance of that.”

Elsewhere, there have been calls for politicians across the island of Ireland to boycott the annual events in Washington, DC due to the US response in Gaza. Similar boycott calls were made last year during the Biden administration.

The calls for a boycott intensified after US President Donald Trump said he would like to see the people of Gaza "resettled" in other countries, such as Jordan or Egypt, and that the "US will take over Gaza."

People Before Profit said they would not be going to the US and called upon other politicians to also forgo the events, while the SDLP in Northern Ireland have also confirmed that they will be boycotting.

On Friday, Sinn Féin's leaders, including Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, said they too would not be attending St. Patrick's Day events at the White House "in response to the call for the mass expulsion of the Palestinian people from Gaza."

On Monday, however, Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), confirmed she would be traveling to the US for St. Patrick's Day.

“I intend to go to Washington next month," she told media at Parliament Buildings yesterday, the PA reported.

"I think it’s an incredibly important time where Northern Ireland has, quite frankly, unprecedented access to the President of the United States, to the administration.

“Of course, we engage with the president’s office and we have a long and rewarding relationship with the US.

“It’s a very particular relationship, particularly in relation to foreign direct investment, on trade, in relation to our economy, so of course I will be there standing up for Northern Ireland, making sure that Northern Ireland’s voice is heard in DC that week.

“There is a number of events and I look forward to engaging positively with the administration.”

Asked if she will meet Trump, Little-Pengelly said: “I don’t know. The programme of events is still being worked through, but we know that there are a number of key events over the course of that week.

“It does represent unprecedented access and the opportunity for us in Northern Ireland to have that key role in DC right throughout that week.”