From Rocky Balboa to Ronnie Delany: Taoiseach's US trip kicks off with sporting theme

Ronnie Delany, Rocky Balboa and the World Cup all played a part in the Taoiseach's trip to Philadelphia, writes Tadgh McNally 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary Martin pose next to the statue of Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

This time last year, Micheál Martin was sitting in the Oval Office as the US president highlighted how the Taoiseach's father was a champion boxer at home in Cork.

Donald Trump joked with the Taoiseach, saying that he didn’t intend to “mess around” with the Fianna Fáil leader after hearing his father, Paddy ‘The Champ’ Martin, had been a “great fighter”.