Varadkar would attend men-only dinner

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar says he would attend a St Patrick’s Day dinner in the US boycotted by the Tánaiste because it refuses to admit women.

Eamon Gilmore launched a scathing attack on the Hibernian Society of Savannah meal last year, but Mr Varadkar insists he would use an invite to the men-only event to tell his hosts their attitudes are outdated.

The Tánaiste condemned the dinner a year ago, saying: “Count me out — I’m not doing it. I don’t believe in segregation either on a gender basis or on any other basis. It is not a case of me not wanting to go to Savannah, but there is no point in bringing me to Savannah if one of the major parts of the programme is going to be a men-only event.”

Mr Varadkar, who has not received a formal invitation, said he would attend: “I have never attended any event not open to both genders and I think the whole idea of ‘men-only dinners’ and ‘ladies-only lunches’ belongs to a different age.”

The controversy mirrors a Government split over the main New York parade, which Social Protection Minister Joan Burton is boycotting due to its refusal to allow gay banners, despite Taoiseach Enda Kenny taking part in it.