Terry Prone: Taoiseach exits Oval Office stage left, with a smile. Phew

Micheál Martin's years of experience and a nice mention of Clare County Council's planning prowess gave him a win when it wasn't guaranteed

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and US president Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Picture: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Getting out alive would have been a win for Micheál Martin. Getting out smiling and all in one piece was better than a win. Getting in a plug in the White House for a Fianna Fáil councillor from Clare was nearly as unexpected as having Rosie O’Donnell thrown at him.

He sat, hands splayed on his thighs, watching and listening as Donald Trump advanced the thesis of the day: Ireland was a great country. Ireland had effectively taken the US pharmaceutical industry and had been allowed to do it by one bad president after another.