Watch: Ireland braces itself as Trump moves to lure back big pharma

As US president Donald Trump takes aim at the mostly American-owned pharmaceutical factories that dot the Irish countryside, the people of Carrigtwohill are getting nervous. 

"He is going to do fierce damage," said retired butcher Anthony Barry, 73, at a charity event at Carrigtwohill's community centre, where the tariff threat to the Irish economy dominated conversation.

Oliver Sheehan said many locals thought he and his wife were "mad" when they relocated their crèche to the business park 25 years ago. Now they look after 450 children, employ 88 staff and spent 3.5 million euros on a major expansion in 2019. Around 40% of Sheehan's business comes from workers at the multinational companies.

That growth mirrors Carrigtwohill, one of Ireland's most diverse and youngest towns whose population has jumped to 5,500 over the last 20 years and is expected to double again by 2028.