Trump, the Burkes, and chicken fillet orders: Micheál Martin's week in the US
Micheál Martin and Donald Trump answer questions in the Oval Office. Picture: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
“What is your chicken fillet order?” asked moderator Stephanie Mehta.
“Huh?” Micheál Martin replied, looking a bit miffed on stage at the South by Southwest festival.
It was 4pm in Austin, and already the Taoiseach had visited Dell HQ, announced new jobs for Cork while at the Tricentis tech firm, stopped by a pop-up Gaeltacht, met Fís Éireann representatives and had a bilateral meeting with controversial Texas governor Greg Abbott at his mansion.
Martin is a man who makes the most of every moment, even his officials were giving silent knowing nods when the week's demanding schedule was raised in conversation with them.
After touching down in Austin at 3am Irish time on Monday morning, the Taoiseach met embassy staff before heading to bed.
His first engagement of the day just before 9am was to take questions from the waiting media. Perhaps feeling the jet-lag, he asked that the light on RTÉ’s camera be dimmed slightly before launching into questions.
Of course, the impending Trump meeting was raised.
“I’m taking one day at a time,” said Martin, detailing the list of events he had planned while in the lone star state.
Journalists following the Taoiseach on any foreign trip always manage to get their daily steps in but rarely get a chance to take in the sights.
Some of us took the opportunity to walk to the first event, crossing by the capitol building and strolling (at speed) up the expansive boulevard cordoned off to traffic for SXSW events. But the remainder of the day was a combination of taxis, official mini bus, along with one frightening but memorable ride in a driverless Uber, rushing from one event to the next.
Back on stage at the festival, Mehta was adamant to get a reply despite Martin’s growing puzzlement: “Okay, mayonnaise or spicy?”
“No, no mayonnaise, no spice, I’m a salad kind of guy, a purist on food," Martin responded.
News that the infamous Burke family were Washington-bound broke on a group WhatsApp set up among journalists covering the Taoiseach’s trip.
Some of the Irish media contingent had opted to just take the Washington leg and by pure happenstance had booked the same flight as the Burkes that was now hurtling towards the US capital.
Messages were sent trying to ascertain how many family members were on board, what was their movie of choice (no screens in fact), and what was the purpose of the trip?
It meant when the Taoiseach arrived into suite 555 of the JW Marriott for a 9am doorstep, I had no choice but to ask him about the family and whether he was aware if they were on the guest list for the Shamrock ceremony.
“I'm not familiar with the travel arrangements of any particular family, and I'm not aware of any issues around that. I mean, people are free to travel,” he said.
As the Taoiseach hastily left to attend an event at the state capitol, further queries were made with embassy staff and any officials who might know if the Mayo family were, in fact, due to be guests of Trump.
The day was due to end with the annual St Patrick’s reception at the Ambassador's residence in Washington. Would the Burkes turn up and put on a show in front of hundreds of invited guests as they queued to get into the mansion?
The answer for a group of disappointed Irish media was no. But Steve Bannon was there to provide a diversion in a pair of bright green and white shamrock trousers.
It was a 6.30am start for reporters ahead of a long day of sham-rockery, which started at vice-president JD Vance’s official residence.
Martin must have been hoping the unseasonably sunny morning was a good omen.
“The weather cooperated, unusual in DC," Vance said with a smile and a handshake.
Just moments later, with guests seated for fresh berries, poached eggs benedict and roasted potatoes, Vance showed off his shamrock-themed socks to the Taoiseach.
Relief, as the first event of the day went off without a glitch, even RFK who was in attendance, was perfectly behaved.
It was then onto the White House for yet another sniffer dog security check before the media were let into wait for the arrival of the Taoiseach.
Waiting forms a significant part of what is a frantic day for Irish media. Shuffling from the White House to the Capitol onto Blair House and back over to the White House happens in waves of almost panicked speed, when staffers order the pack to immediately move, only then to tell us to wait in corridors, outside doors or in hallways.
But the wait for the Oval Office was worth it as Trump engaged in a question-and-answer session for 50 minutes before the journalists were once against abruptly ushered out.
After viewing lunch, the Capitol (journalists never to get to actually sit down and eat at these events and instead awkwardly stand around the edges) it was back on a minibus for a quick doorstep with the Taoiseach before the shamrock ceremony.
But there was a diversion between both scheduled events when word spread the Burke family were holding a protest past the security barricades. A quick sprint down to take footage and it was straight back to the White House gates for the final dog sniff of the day.
It was a subdued start to the day, with a Taoiseach's press conference in the Omni Shoreham hotel ahead of a busy schedule of business briefings and IDA events for Martin.
Many journalists, myself included, took the afternoon to catch up on getting longer-reads and work for the weekend out of the way before getting ready for the annual black tie Ireland Funds event, which we do get fed at!
Standing silently with placards, the Burkes greeted those arriving guests in their finery, who had paid $1,000 to attend the gala.
All progressed as normal and attendees were almost finished their steak dinner when the commotion started.
Martina Burke and her children Ammi and Isaac entered the Ireland Fund's event and began shouting at the Taoiseach, who was seated right in the centre of the room.
“My son is in prison,” Burke repeatedly shouted before being pulled out.
Journalists sprung up to capture the action as shoes were lost and two police officers plunged to the ground as they struggled to get the screaming trio out of the venue.
At the band started up and people got onto the dance floor, laptops were opened on trestle tables as the pack of Irish journalists sent back the latest chaos from Washington — it was well past 2am back home.
Reporters gathered for the fifth and final doorstep of the week, with the Taoiseach at 9.40am in the Dupont Hotel.
Everyone was exhausted but there was still plenty to be written and reported on, the most obvious question for Martin was his view of the Burke madness the night before.
"First of all, I think it didn't significantly in any way kind of disrupt the event. I think it was regrettable that that incident happened.
"People have a right to protest in a proper way and that is not a proper way, you know, to attempt to maybe disrupt an event that was to honour people who have been of such service to Ireland in the US, and people of the Irish American diaspora who really are not involved in anything to do with this issue."
We had all survived the annual trip to Washington... just about.
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